Tradescantia 'Concord Grape'

Tradescantia 'Concord Grape': Grape Soda Purple, Bottomless Refills

'Concord Grape' looks like somebody squeezed a jar of grape jelly into three-petalled flowers. Each bloom lasts just one day, then it rolls out another, and another, all summer. FRESH BATCH EVERY MORNING.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Tradescantia (Andersoniana Group) 'Concord Grape'
• Common Name: Spiderwort
• Height: 40–45 cm (16–18 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Rich violet-purple, three-petalled, with yellow stamens; each lasts one day
• Bloom Time: Early summer to early fall (June to September)
• Foliage: Narrow, grass-like, blue-green leaves in a compact clump
• Features: Long blooming, rabbit resistant, tolerates moist soil

Where to Plant: Use it in the middle or front of a border, in a cottage garden, or in a rain garden or along a pond edge where the soil stays moist. Its grassy blue-green leaves add texture between rounder plants.

Companion Plants: Iris 'Butter and Sugar' grows to 65 to 70 cm with bicolour flowers in May and June, and its upright blades suit the spiderwort's grassy foliage. Chelone 'Black Ace' adds white turtlehead flowers at 120 to 150 cm from August to October. Trollius 'Lemon Supreme' brings yellow globes at 25 to 30 cm in May and June, a bright contrast with the purple. All three like full sun to partial sun and evenly moist soil.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun in average to moist soil. It handles clay well and likes soil that doesn't dry out fully. In hot, dry spots, give it some afternoon shade and extra water. Flowers open in the morning and close by afternoon on hot days. That's normal. Each flower drops on its own, so no deadheading is needed. If the clump looks floppy or tired by midsummer, cut it back hard. Fresh leaves and often a second flush of flowers follow. Divide in early spring every few years.

History: 'Concord Grape' is an American selection credited to breeder Kevin Vaughn. It belongs to the Andersoniana Group, garden hybrids that most likely involve Tradescantia virginiana, T. ohiensis and T. subaspera, all native to eastern North America.

Final Thoughts: Rabbits leave it alone, bees and butterflies don't, and it's fine with damp soil. SPREAD IT THICK.