FLOWER OF THE WEEK AT SOPCHOPPY DEPOT PARK

Spiderwort

By LYNN ARTZ, SANDY TEDDER and DAVID RODDENBERRY

Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis), the most common in our area, is also called dayflower because its charming one-inch flowers open in the morning and last just one day. The showy 3-petaled bluish-purple flowers have bright yellow anthers and attract native bees. Long-tongued bumblebees are their most important pollinator. Other visitors include halictine bees and syrphid flies. This erect native perennial blooms profusely in the spring and early summer, then off and on into the fall. It grows in clumps 1-2 feet tall with grass-like leaves and favors moist meadows in full sun. If spiderwort sprouts in your lawn, you can easily relocate it to form nice clumps in a casual or wildflower garden. It is striking in mass when in bloom. Ohio spiderwort is blooming now in the meadow at Sopchoppy Depot Park.