Torenia

( tor - REEN - ee - uh )

At-A-Glance Information

This compact annual species, commonly called Wishbone Flower, Bluewings, Nanioola'a, and Ola'a Beauty, needs partial shade in warmer climates and regular water. It is native to tropical Asia, and has deep purple flowers with yellow throats. These flowers are wonderful in pots or window boxes, and varieties come in a range of colors. They reach 6-10 inches tall and are fantastic in mixed beds, borders, and window boxes, containers and hanging baskets. Torenia is a charismatic addition to any type of garden design.

Torenia Species and Varietals

The genus Torenia is a member of the plant family Linderniaceae (previously in the family Scrophulariaceae) and includes between 40 and 50 species. Wishbone Flower grows well in zones 1-24, H1 and H2. To find your zone, click here: Zone Map.

Torenia fournieri (Bluewings, Wishbone Flower)
This species is typically grown as a landscape annual plant, and reaches between 12 and 15 inches tall when fully grown and in bloom. Leaves are green. Flowers range in color from blue and pink to white and yellow, and are often bicolored or multi-colored.

Torenia travancorica
Native to peninsular India, these plants are typically seen growing in evergreen forested areas and grasslands. These are creeping herbaceous plants, with ovate green leaves and tubular, narrowly winged flowers. Blooms are yellow and blue-violet. Great as a container spiller plant.

Caring for Torenia

Sow seeds in pots and transplant them to the garden once the danger of frost has passed in your area. Wishbone Flower can also be purchased in nurseries. Plant Torenia in a space in the landscape that receives partial shade; an area that receives morning sun and afternoon shade is perfect. If they are grown in sun, make sure you provide them with a layer of mulch to keep their roots cool. They prefer a well-draining soil that is rich in nutrients and has a pH of between 6.0 and 6.5 (slightly acidic). 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, Torenia appreciates consistently moist soils but does not like to have its roots in soggy substrate.

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 flowers to neaten up the appearance of plants and encourage reblooms. At the end of the growing season, pull plants and replace them the next spring.

Propagation

Torenia, or Wishbone Flower, can be propagated by cutting or seed. To ensure that your propagated plant will have the exact same qualities and characteristics as the parent plant, use the cutting method. If you would like to experiment and see what plant you can grow from seed, just keep in mind that it will not necessarily be the same as the parent plant, especially if you are propagating a hybrid cultivar. To propagate your Torenia, follow the instructions below:

Propagating Torenia 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 2-6 weeks 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.

Propagating Torenia by Cutting

Gather your materials. You'll need a clean, sanitized, sharp pair of garden shears, rooting hormone, a pencil, and a 3-inch pot filled with well-draining compost or other organic material. 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.
In early summertime, choose the plant that you'd like to propagate. Ensure that this plant has had a good watering the night before, as this will improve the chances your cutting will take root. Cut one or more 3-4 inch portion(s) of the end of a non-blooming branch and strip the leaves off of the lower half. Make a hole in your planting medium by pushing your pencil into the soil. Dip the end of the stem in rooting hormone, and plant it in your pot. Fill in soil around the cutting to support it, but do not pack it down too much.
Moisten with water, and ensure that the pot has good drainage. Your pot should be kept in warm, sunny conditions indoors (and not in direct sunlight). Water whenever your soil is dry under the top layer. After about four to six weeks have passed, your cutting should be rooted. When you notice new growth, you'll know you have roots.
Keep your new plant in an area with bright light (though not direct sunlight) and temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure that the soil stays moist, but not wet, until the next spring, when you can transplant it to its new home. Ensure that the last frost of the year has occurred before doing this, as it can seriously damage your new plant.