Photo: David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Light
- part sun to shade. Morning sun and afternoon shade is ideal here; full afternoon sun cooks it
- Water
- medium to high. Keep the soil evenly moist and mulch a bed to keep the roots cool. It wilts fast in a dry pot
- Toxicity
- not listed by ASPCA or Pet Poison Helpline. Absence from the list is not evidence of safety
| Type | Warm-season annual |
|---|---|
| Sun | Part sun, shade |
| Water | High |
| Size | 6 to 18 in tall, 6 to 8 in wide |
| Bloom | purple, blue, pink, white · June to frost |
| Plant in | mid-April to June |
| Interest | Summer, fall |
| Upstate winter | One season |
| Use in | Containers, beds |
| Role | Filler, trailer |
Toxicity not independently confirmed: Not listed by ASPCA or Pet Poison Helpline. If you have pets, check with the ASPCA or your vet before putting this one where they can reach it.
Torenia, the wishbone flower, is the small blue thing to plant when a shaded porch needs flowers and impatiens have let everyone down. The two-tone blooms, violet and lavender with a yellow spot in the throat, keep coming all summer with no deadheading. Look inside one and the two stamens meet in the shape of a wishbone, which children like and adults pretend not to.
In the Upstate
It is a true annual. It goes out from mid-April, blooms from early summer, and the first frost ends it. Our heat is fine as long as it stays out of afternoon sun and the roots stay moist, so give it the shady side of the porch and mulch it in a bed. A dry August with the sun on it, and it wilts, browns and quits.
In a container
Torenia is a low filler, 6 to 18 inches tall and narrow, 6 to 8 inches across by NC State’s measure, so plant several together. The trailing types (Summer Wave and its kin) spill a little over the rim. It pairs with caladiums, coleus and begonias in a shade planter. Keep the mix evenly moist. In a pot that means checking every day or two in July. Pinch it back once early on for a bushier plant, and it needs no swap midseason.
Care
Rich, moist, well-drained soil, and a light liquid feed every few weeks. Water at the soil and keep it from drying out. The one thing that kills it is heat plus drought: a pot in afternoon sun that goes dry for a day, and it does not come back well.
Want this planted for the light you actually have? Start a project
Where it shows up
Sources
- NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Torenia fournieri (plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/torenia-fournieri/)
- Clemson HGIC 1166, Impatiens, for the shade-annual context after downy mildew (hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/impatiens/)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list, searched for Torenia and wishbone flower (aspca.org)
- Pet Poison Helpline, searched for torenia (petpoisonhelpline.com)
