Tradescantia ohiensis seedling!

It's only one seedling, but that's one more Tradescantia seedling than I got last year, when I managed to screw up most of my native plant seeds by putting them in peat pellets outside (which were impossible to keep from drying out).

My son Nicky doesn't usually appreciate native plants, but I piqued his interest in this one by telling him one of its common names in English is "snotweed", because the flowers disintegrate into slimy goo. He was also impressed by the gorgeous photos at Missouri Plants—scroll down for an amazing close-up of the stamens.

Tradescantia ohiensis: flowers

Tradescantia ohiensis, known in English as "bluejacket", "Ohio spiderwort", or "snotweed", and in French as tradescantia de l’Ohio, is a perennial native to much of eastern North America.

Unfortunately, my attempt to grow spiderwort (and a bunch of other natives) from seed was a flop. I learned the hard way that peat pellets are not the way to go; I sowed them and put them outside in the winter to cold moist stratify the seeds, but I find they are impossible to keep moist outside.

This beautiful plant was growing in a neighbourhood garden. The flowers are larger and even prettier than I expected. I still have some seeds left so I'm going to try again next year (I figure it's the wrong time of year to start now.)

Tradescantia ohiensis: seeds

Tradescantia ohiensis, known in English as bluejacket, Ohio spiderwort, or snotweed, and in French as tradescantia de l’Ohio, is a perennial native to much of eastern North America. The flowers are a lovely vivid blue, with three petals; a bit like small trilliums, but the foliage is completely different, almost grass-like. (The unfortunate name "snotweed" refers to the faded blossoms, which turn into a runny blob.)

This is my first year growing Tradescantia, starting with seeds from Wildflower Farm. The seeds are plump and about 2 mm long; I found them fairly easy to handle (especially compared to the other seeds I sowed tonight!).