Gardeners want plants that bloom over a long season — and if they come in blue, all the better.

        Spiderwort or Trinity Flower (Tradescantia virginiana) is an old plant named for John Tradescant, gardener to Charles I and his queen, Henrietta Maria. The folk name, Trinity Flower, is based on the three petals of rich violet (the original color before the hybridists got busy), that position themselves among the grassy leaves.

        The fussy gardener might say, “Oh, not that weedy thing!” The old tradescantia is a perennial that you either tolerate in a corner of your garden, relegate to the wildflower garden or refuse to grow.

        But the new cultivars of tradescantia are improved. “Zwanenburg Blue” is a hardy, trouble-free, pest-free and disease-resistant tradescantia that will thrive anywhere. Its glorious, intense royal blue flowers start in June and continue for eight weeks in a major flush, then with less enthusiasm into September.

        Each 2-inch to 3-inch blossom opens for only one day, but the plant produces so many buds that you will find a glorious display each day for its eight-week blooming period before it slows down.

SOURCES

• Garden centers and nurseries.     • Wayside Gardens, Hodges, S.C.; (800) 845-1124.

        The foliage of “Zwanenburg Blue” is not spectacular and it doesn't match its blooms in quality: stiff 24-inch stems sheathed in rush-like foliage are coarse looking. But this particular cultivar is clump-forming and more compact than others. I cut mine back in early August and by late September enjoy another flush of blooms.

        Average, well-drained soil is all you need for “Zwanenburg Blue.” Grow in full sun or partial shade and never fertilize.

        Other tradescantia cultivars include “Red Cloud,” rosy-red flowers; “Snowcap,” pure white, and “J.C. Weguelen,” 2-inch blue blossoms.

        Contact Tim Morehouse by Web site: www.getmoregarden.com; mail: c/o Cincinnati Enquirer. (If writing, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.)
       
       

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