3 tips for caring for Torenia

Cheerful, brightly-coloured, delicate yet full of character, Torenias add personality to your flower beds whether scattered or in clusters. Follows these tips to care for these cheeky flowers to your yard with success.

Native to Indochina, Torenias bear bicoloured flowers reminiscent of pansies, traditionally sporting a light blue hooded upper "lip" and a blotched royal purple lower "jaw." A prominent yellow "throat" enhances each flower.

Also known as wishbone flower, Torenias have a delightfully clownish quality, with 2.5-centimetre-wide two-toned flowers covering compact 20 to 30 centimetre plants, whether they are grown in sun or partial shade.

Torenias withstand summer heat in champion style and you only need to keep their soil moist for them to stay in bloom through summer continuously until frost.

Look for healthy bedding plants at your garden centre in the spring, and keep them constantly moist until you plant them.

• To sow the small seeds, it's best to sow them indoors about 10 weeks before your last spring frost.
• The seeds need light to germinate, so sprinkle them over moistened seed-starting soil and place on a sunny windowsill or under fluorescent lights and keep the soil at 21°C (70°F). After seedlings sprout, grow them at 16° to 18°C (60° to 64°F).
• Transplant them into five-centimetre-diameter pots when they have three sets of mature leaves.
• Move seedlings outdoors when the weather is warm and there is no danger of frost.
• In mild regions, sow seeds directly on moist, fine-textured garden soil and keep it barely moist until the seeds germinate and have several sets of mature leaves.
• Torenias are not prone to pests but occasionally do fall victim to sap-sucking pests, usually tiny, pear-shaped aphids and spider mites, which can be recognized by leaves marred with pale, stippled spots. Simply rinse off the leaves, especially the undersides, with a firm spray of water several times a week until they are gone.
• Control tiny whiteflies with insecticidal soap per label directions.
• Torenias will grow in full sun in cool-summer areas, but where summers are hot they require at least a half day of shade.
• Fertile, well-drained soil that holds moisture well is ideal. Apply an eight-centimetre-thick layer of organic mulch to reduce evaporation from the soil, and water as needed to prevent wilting.
• To promote abundant flowering, apply a balanced, soluble fertilizer every two or three waterings during the summer and pinch off seedpods.

Torenias work wonders in small spaces because of their sheer volume of colour and are a great addition to shady areas. They also add spice to window boxes and garden edges.

• The heat-tolerant 'Happy Faces' series and the dwarf Duchess series includes flowers in plum, blush pink, white, and lavender.
• A selection of another called 'Suzie Wong', is similar, but has a more mounding growth habit and an abundance of striking yellow-orange blossoms with purplish, nearly black throats.

For bursts of colour and character in your yard, Torenias fit the bill. These tips will help you care for these pretty, fun flowers for a thriving crop.