TORENIA FOURNIERI SEEDS
LATIN NAME: Torenia fournieri
COMMON NAME: Wishbone Flower
The wishbone flower is the violet-blue face of the summer pot, and the velvety, trumpet-shaped flowers with the yellow throat open through the long season. The low, bushy, annual plant carries the oval, toothed, green leaves and the velvety, trumpet-shaped flowers of the violet-blue, lavender or purple with the yellow or white throat, marked with the fine, darker lines, through the summer and into the autumn, one of the fine, bold sights of the shade pot. The plant is a fine, generous presence of the container and the shaded bed. It is a plant of the open, partly shaded, moist, rich ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The wishbone flower is a bright subject of the plant science, and the trumpet faces keep showing up in the work on the shade annuals. The breeding of the torenias for the velvety, marked flowers and the long season has been studied closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the shade-tolerant annuals, the bedding-plant breeding and the members of the false-pimpernel family. The oval, toothed leaves and the low, bushy habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the wishbone flower is a regular subject of the work on the violet-blue faces of the warm world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The wishbone flower is a fine, generous plant of the container and the shaded bed. The velvety, trumpet-shaped flowers of the violet-blue, lavender or purple with the yellow or white throat open through the summer, one of the fine, bold sights of the shade pot, drawing the small bees, and the plant flowers on into the autumn without the fuss. It is one of the fine choices for the patio pot, the hanging basket, the shaded border and the window box, and it has been written up in the horticultural papers for the trumpet faces and the long, generous season. It is a fine, generous plant of the open, partly shaded, moist, rich garden.
Keep the pots well watered in the heat and the trumpet faces will hold through the long season.
To grow the wishbone flower from seed, sow the small, round seeds on the surface of a pot of loose seed compost, with a light press, keep the pot in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out after the last frosts. The seedlings push through within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. With the light shade and the moist, rich ground, the violet-blue faces will open through the summer.
One of the few ground covers that grow equally well in sun or semi-shade. Plants make a compact, upright bush of eight to twelve inches in height. The flowers have deep purple blotches on the lower petals with yellow inside. The cool colors are a welcome relief during the heat of summer. This everblooming ground cover looks like a bright blanket. Attracts bufferflies and makes a blooming atmosphere.
Torenias grow best in rich, moist, well-drained soil. They're widely used in frost-free areas for winter and spring display. Elsewhere, they thrive during summer in partial shade. They like high humidity and won't tolerate being dry. Plant outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. Space 6 to 8 inches apart