Salpiglossis

( sal - pig - LOSS - iss )

At-A-Glance Information

Commonly called Painted Tongue, this annual flowering plant needs full sun and regular water The stems and leaves are sticky on this South American petunia-relative. These plants grow to 2-3 feet tall and 1 foot wide. Blooms can be mahogany, red, reddish-orange, yellow, purple, deep blue, or pink. These plants flower heavily in late spring and early summer, but will continue their bloom longer in cooler climates. They are great when used as cut flowers. A choice selection is 'Kew Blue' with a deep purple throat, and other commonly grown strains include Bolero (to 2 feet tall), Royale (to 12-16 inches tall) and Stained Glass (to 18 inches tall). The genus Salpiglossis includes three species and is a member of the plant family Solanaceae. Painted Tongue grows well in zones 1-24 (To find your zone, click here: Zone Map).

Caring for Salpiglossis

Salpiglossis is typically grown from seed, though it may be available from nurseries from time to time. They are typically planted in groups, and seeds can be sown indoors in trays in late winter or early springtime. Place several seeds in a pot, and store it in a warm, sunny place, and once seedlings sprout, thin to one per pot. Once the last frost of your area has passed, you can plant the seedlings outdoors. Painted Tongue performs best in rich, well-draining soil with a pH of between 6.0 and 7.0 (slightly acidic to neutral). If local soils are particularly poor in nutrients or do not drain well, make sure to amend the planting area with plenty of organic compost before installing. Apply a layer of mulch around the planting area to suppress weed growth, maintain consistent soil temperatures, and to increase soil moisture retention. Water new plantings regularly as they establish a strong root system in their new home. At maturity, these plants are considered to be somewhat drought-tolerant, able to get by on rainwater alone for most of the growing season with supplemental irrigations needed during extended periods of dry weather.

Fertilize yearly in early springtime with an application of 2 inches of compost around the base of plants. Pull mulch back before applying, work the compost gently into the soil a bit, water it in, and then replace mulch. These plants are not heavy feeders, and this should be sufficient to provide the necessary nutrients for the active growing and flowering seasons. Pruning is simple; remove any damaged, diseased, or dead foliage at any time during the growing season, and remove spent flower spikes to neaten up the appearance of plants and encourage reblooms. Some taller varieties of Salpiglossis may require staking or netting to remain upright. When plants are young (about 4 inches tall), pinch the tips of stems to encourage a more branching habit to form. Salpiglossis is grown as an annual, pulled at the end of the growing season and replaced in the next.

Propagation

Salpiglossis, or Painted Tongue, plants are typically grown from seed. They are annuals, and will freely re-seed in the garden if allowed to mature.

Propagating Salpiglossis by Seed

Keep in mind that the plant you get from seed will not necessarily mimic all of the characteristics of the parent plant. To propagate by seed, you will need a paper bag, a pot or tray filled with well-draining compost or other organic material, a spray bottle and a fork. If you don't have any potting medium on hand, you can make some. Just mix together equal parts (by volume) moss peat and horticultural-grade sand or grit sand. You will also, after a few weeks, need individual 3-inch pots for each seedling that grows.
Harvest your seeds. The seed heads on plants are pretty easy to spot, they're left behind after flowers have faded. Once they have dried out and begun to split open, you can harvest the seeds inside. Cut them off of the plant, placing them in a paper bag. Harvest as many as you can, and place the paper bag in a dry, cool, dark area. They will continue to split open and release the seeds contained inside. Once they have been released, take them out of the bag and put them in a container so you can work with them.
Get your container prepared. Water your prepared seed tray or pot filled with soil, and ensure that good drainage is occurring. Place your seeds in your prepared pot or seed tray about a quarter inch to a half-inch under the soil surface. Cover them with soil and water with your spray bottle. Place your tray of seeds in a warm area that receives bright, indirect light. A greenhouse is the most ideal climate, but a planting tray inside a window will do as well. Germination usually takes between 14 and 30 days from sowing. Once you begin to see seedlings sprout and they are able to be handled, transplant them to their own individual 3-inch pots, filled with the same potting medium as described in Step 1. Loosen the seedlings from the potting medium by digging down with the tines of your fork about an inch and a half, gently working the seedling up until it is out. Then, replant the seedling in its individual pot.
Keep the seedling's potting medium moist, but not wet, by spraying the soil with your spray bottle. Keep your new plant in an area with bright light (though not direct sunlight) and temperatures between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure that the soil stays moist, but not wet, until the next spring (after the danger of frost has passed), when you can transplant it to its new home.