How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Torenia

Whether you call it bluewings, clown flower, or wishbone flower, torenia is lovely. This annual produces a plethora of bright wishbone flowers that really liven up your garden, window boxes, or hanging baskets.

Moderate in height, the wishbone flower thrives in shade or partial shade conditions. Its mid-green foliage is bright and cheerful. Unusual, trumpet-like wishbone flowers rise above in shades of blue, pink, white, or lavender. Early to bloom, their colors continue well into the summer months.

Let’s talk about Torenia fournieri today. This easy-growing annual is a real treat to have in your garden!

What is a Torenia?

Grown mostly for its showy wishbone flowers, torenia is a great way to add color. If you look at the flower’s patterning, it might remind you of a classic TV or circus clown from the 1940s or 1950s. This is especially true with the pink and white varieties. The pink coloration looks like the hair and brightly painted mouth. A spot of yellow serves as the clown nose.

Native Area

Torenia fournieri has its origins in the Asian continent. There, the name “torenia” was coined. It was named in honor of Reverend Olaf Toren (1718-1753), a chaplain for the Swedish East India Company.

The species name, fournieri, was also an honor name. French botanist Eugene Pierre Nicolas Fournier (1834-1884) was best known for ferns. An entire genus of tree ferns was named after him. As a respected member of the Société Botanique de France, he was also remembered in this fashion.

The term “bluewings” is applied to the blue version of its flowers. They tend to look like they’ve got a pair of deep blue petal wings.

But what of the “wishbone flower” name? Well, look at the trumpet shape. Tucked just inside are the stamens, which rise up to touch the anthers. This gives the visual appearance of a bird’s wishbone tucked inside the petals.

Characteristics

Blue or blue-violet variations of wishbone flowers are by far the best known. But cultivars of other colors exist. Burgundy, lavender, pink, rose, or white variations are now just as common as the blue ones.

The wishbone flowers themselves are two-lipped and trumpet-like in shape. Usually, the upper lip and tube of the trumpet will be a lighter color, whereas the lower lip and outer edges will be dark.

Medium-green foliage can be found beneath those showy flowers. The oval leaves have toothed edges and are soft and supple. They emerge from slender stems. Most cultivars range between six to twelve inches in height from soil to the tip of flower. This makes them great for hanging baskets, window boxes, containers, and in-ground beds.

The shorter cultivars are often ground-hugging. Taller ones often have a herbaceous, trailing appearance. They may bend under the weight of water caught in the flower.

Planting

One thing that you need to know is that the root system of Torenia fournieri is quite delicate. It doesn’t like being transplanted and can easily show signs of transplant stress. This makes transplanting difficult. It’s not impossible by any means, but it can be difficult.

You can directly seed into beds or a hanging basket, which creates healthy flowers. If you choose to direct-sow, do so six to eight weeks before your final frost date. Torenia is a great container plant.

If you need to start your wishbone flowers indoors, opt for paper pots or peat pots. Use something that can be sliced on the sides and base to allow for root growth and expansion.

Seedling wishbone flowers can be transplanted once the last frost date has ended. Plant at the same level they were in their starter pot. If using paper/peat pots, be sure to score the pot (not the roots) into quarters, which provides ample room for root growth.

Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged, and place the container in a warm spot with temperatures around 68–75°F. The seeds should sprout within 10 to 15 days. Once the seedlings have developed a few sets of true leaves and the outdoor temperatures are consistently warm, transplant them to their final location, spacing them about six to eight inches apart to allow for airflow and healthy growth.

How to Grow Torenia

As far as herbaceous plants go, the wishbone flower is very easy to care for. There are a few important things to get you started. Once they grow and are settled in, they’ll take care of themselves.

Light

If you have a location that gets morning sun and afternoon shade, this is the perfect placement. But unlike most flowers, your torenias are more likely to bloom in shadier conditions. If there’s plenty of ambient light, it’ll thrive – it doesn’t need full sun. But it definitely needs afternoon shade. This plant is full shade tolerant, too.

Water

Like many annuals, torenias don’t like wet feet. You’ll want to keep the soil moist but not muddy. Check the soil before watering. A good layer of mulch helps keep soil moisture in, as well.

Tolerant of humidity in cooler climates, it doesn’t like humidity in the heat. If your region is humid, opt for a full-shade planting location to protect your plant.

Soil

When preparing your soil, start by digging in a couple of inches of compost. Torenias like their soil to be loamy and rich, well-draining, and full of organic material. If you have trouble keeping the soil moist, add moisture-retentive material to the planting hole.

Neutral pH levels are fine, but your plant prefers a hint of acidity. Aim for a 6.0 to 6.5 pH range whenever possible. Use a pH meter before planting to make sure you’re on the acidic side of neutral.

Fertilizer

Keeping your torenias blooming will require fertilization. There’s no way around it – if you want blooms through the summer, you need to fertilize.

Those who prefer granular slow-release options should choose a balanced fertilizer. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for exact application rates. A balanced liquid fertilizer can also be used. These are generally recommended every two weeks through the growing season.

While these are heavy feeders, you should still exercise caution when applying fertilizer. Don’t over-fertilize, and avoid spraying liquid formulas directly onto the leaves and flowers.

Temperature

Full shade is likely better than full sun if you’re in a particularly warm climate. When the heat starts to build, clown flowers prefer a slightly cooler spot. If you can keep them in temperatures below 80°F (27°C), they’ll be happier than if they were in full sun.

Maintenance

Unlike many other flowering plants, deadheading is not required for your wishbone flower. You can deadhead if you prefer to, but it doesn’t spur additional flowering as it would in other annuals.

Most pruning is also wholly cosmetic. You can encourage some bushing by trimming the main stem just above a pair of leaf nodes. Otherwise, it self-regulates its height, remaining between six to twelve inches tall.

When trimming, sterilize your pruning snips before using them. This prevents the spread of fungal-based diseases.

Propagation

Propagation is done from seeds or cuttings. Division is very much a no-no.

Select roughly six to eight healthy stems and try to cut them off just below a leaf node. That node will be where the roots will form. Strip off any excess leaves that would sit below the water level. Set the cutting into a glass of water.

Be sure to gently rinse off the roots and replace the water with fresh water daily. Once roots begin to form, delicately plant your cutting in potting soil and keep the soil moist until new growth appears. You can expect some cuttings will suffer transplant shock. Start more cuttings than the number of wishbone flowers you want to survive.

Common Problems

While not entirely problem-free, torenias are still easy to maintain. Even these few disease issues and pests can be remedied in short order. Let’s talk about what you may be facing.

Growing Problems

Your largest growing problems will originate from two things: weather and water.

Too much direct hot sunlight, or too much heat in general, can be a problem. Your torenias may suffer wilting during the hotter parts of the year, which is also true in stiflingly warm humidity. Try to provide plenty of airflow around your wishbone flowers, but keep them in a cooler location.

Watering should only happen when the soil is starting to dry out. Maintaining an even moisture is best. The fragile roots can be susceptible to root rot conditions if the soil is soggy for too long. To prevent root rot, use well-draining but rich soil.

Pests

Two pests are common amongst the torenia plants or wishbone flowers: aphids and whiteflies.

Both of these sucking insects will attach to the underside of leaves and stems. They pierce the skin and drink the sap inside. This creates blemishes on the leaves. Too many insects can cause severe defoliation and possibly even cause death. Start your treatment of these pests with a strong stream of water from a hose.

Like with diseases, neem oil can act as a preventative here. It makes the leaves themselves seem unpalatable for the insects. The oil also coats larvae and eggs with a layer of oil that prevents their breathing. Another option is good insecticidal soap. Not to be confused with normal soap for washing, insecticidal soap is a mix of fatty acids and oil. It works similarly to neem oil.

Try to catch both of these pests before they can multiply to large numbers. They breed very quickly and can become a real chore to eliminate!

Diseases

The grey mold known as botrytis is fairly common. This begins with water-soaked spotting on leaves, and gradually greyish mold spores appear. You can prevent this from forming on healthy growth with neem oil.

Powdery mildew also may make an appearance, particularly in more humid regions. This looks like a whitish powder on the leaves and stems. It’s common, but if not treated can cause problems. This can be prevented with good airflow around your wishbone flowers. Prune as needed to keep air circulating evenly between leaves and stems.

Frequently Asked Questions