Torenia fournieri Seeds | Wishbone Flower
LATIN NAME: Torenia fournieri
COMMON NAME: Wishbone Flower
Plant Profile
Among the ornamental and useful plants raised from seed, Wishbone Flower (Torenia fournieri) stands out as a low, bushy, annual in the false-pimpernel family. Wishbone flower is violet-blue face of summer pot, and velvety, trumpet-shaped flowers with yellow throat open through long season. Plant is a fine, generous presence of container and shaded bed. It is a plant of open, partly shaded, moist, rich ground. Its appeal to pollinating insects adds a second, ecological layer to its ornamental one. These traits together are what have kept the plant in gardens for so long.
Science & Biotechnology
Botanists studying the false-pimpernel family regularly include Torenia fournieri in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. Breeders and collectors still work with it, so well-kept seed remains available.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Wishbone Flower has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. Wishbone flower is a fine, generous plant of container and shaded bed. It is a fine, generous plant of open, partly shaded, moist, rich garden. Keep pots well watered in heat and trumpet faces will hold through long season. A plant that has settled in will get along with only routine care.
Beyond its looks, it serves the wider garden: the flowers feed bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects, and stems cut for the vase bring the season indoors.
Growing from Seed
Raising Wishbone Flower from seed is straightforward. Sow the seed evenly over the surface and cover lightly, using a loose, well-drained seed compost, and keep it just moist in bright light until the seedlings are well up. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
Given the right start, Wishbone Flower is a long-term garden companion. It grows as a low, bushy, annual, so its place in the garden is easy to plan. Once the young plants are away, there is little left to do but watch them grow.
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