Tradescantia Sweet Kate - Spiderwort

Tradescantia andersoniana 'Sweet Kate' is a stunning and bright plant from Virginia. This variety combines unique foliage, made of golden ribbons, with abundant intense blue flowering, celebrating a perfect union between two complementary shades all summer. A true spot of colourful light, this hardy perennial will thrive in moist and semi-shaded conditions, or along the edge of a pond.

'Sweet Kate' is a hybrid of Tradescantia with origins in both Americas (Tradescantia ohiensis, T.subaspera, T virginiana). It belongs to the commelinaceae family. It forms an upright clump 40 cm (16in) tall and spreads over 50 cm (20in). Its superb golden yellow, grass-like foliage emerges in spring and develops into a dense clump. Flowering begins in June and lasts throughout the summer with flat blue-violet flowers, with contrasting yellow stamens, original and pure in their simplicity. They bloom in pairs and are carried in terminal cymes at the top of stiff stems. Each flower only 'lives' for a few hours, but they continuously renew themselves above the foliage.

Easy to grow and maintain, you can plant Tradescantia andersoniana 'Sweet Kate' in humus-rich, moist to wet soil. This plant prefers semi-shade where it will fully show its colours. In full sun, regular watering will be essential. In a moist rock garden, at the foot of a shady wall, in woodland or borders, its blue flowers surrounded by gold will brighten up all small shaded areas. This perennial will thrive in wet ground along stream banks or ponds, with Carex, tiarellas, Persicaria vacciniifolia, Primula bulleyana or Ophiopogon japonicus. It also grows well in pots, regularly watered in semi-shade.