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Spiderwort

Tradescantia × andersoniana, Commelinaceae

Sources last read 13 September 2026.

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Spiderwort is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. Toxic to people (low severity). NC State Extension

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun, Partial Shade
NC State Extension, filed as Tradescantia x andersoniana · read 13 September 2026
Water
Good Drainage, Moist, Occasionally Wet
NC State Extension, filed as Tradescantia x andersoniana · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Clay, Loam (Silt), Sand; pH Acid (<6.0), Alkaline (>8.0), Neutral (6.0-8.0)
NC State Extension, filed as Tradescantia x andersoniana · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
Toxic to people (low severity)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Propagation
By division.
NC State Extension, filed as Tradescantia x andersoniana · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by slugs and snails, and caterpillars.
NC State Extension, filed as Tradescantia x andersoniana · read 13 September 2026

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About the plant

Native range
Northeastern U.S.A.
NC State Extension, filed as Tradescantia x andersoniana · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
Ground Cover, Herbaceous Perennial; habit cascading, clumping, horizontal, spreading
NC State Extension, filed as Tradescantia x andersoniana · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 12–36 in
NC State Extension, filed as Tradescantia x andersoniana · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers pink, purple/lavender, white; blooms in fall, summer
NC State Extension, filed as Tradescantia x andersoniana · read 13 September 2026

Other Tradescantia

More of the Commelinaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.