Ohio spiderwort earns its common name Blue Jacket from the blue-green, slightly glaucous cast of its smooth, erect stems and the grass-like leaves that fold lengthwise into a neat channel. The foliage runs eight to fifteen inches long and less than three-quarters of an inch wide, and the whole plant reaches two to three feet in height, spreading about two feet wide. Each stem carries a loose cluster of up to twenty flowers, each one blue to rose-purple and lasting exactly one day, though the succession is continuous from late May into early July.

Hardy from zones 4 to 9 and native from Ontario to the central and eastern United States, this plant tolerates drought, dry and shallow rocky soils, and a fair amount of shade, though full sun produces the best bloom. Cutting it back to six to twelve inches in midsummer can coax a second round of flowering in fall. Division, stem cuttings, or seed all work for propagation, though self-seeding means it can spread assertively in the right conditions. By late summer the foliage often sprawls and looks tired, so positioning it alongside later-season plants that can fill in helps carry the border forward.