Butterfly Flower Seeds (Schizanthus wisetonensis)

Schizanthus wisetonensis

Butterfly flower, poor man's orchid, schizanthus: this last nickname comes from its finely marbled and spotted corollas, which are remarkably reminiscent of certain orchids — even though it is simply an annual, related to petunias and tomatoes. Native to Chile, it offers one of the most intricately patterned blooms that can be obtained from seed.

Features:

• Spectacular flowering: clouds of marbled flowers ranging from purple to pink, with shades of orange, salmon, violet and red, above finely divided foliage.
• Long flowering season: it blooms abundantly from May to September.
• Compact, bushy habit: ideal for pots, hanging baskets or borders.

Sowing advice:

• Position: bright but sheltered from scorching sun — in hot regions, it appreciates partial shade in the afternoon and dislikes intense heat.
• Soil: light, humus-rich, moist and well drained. It likes rich but airy substrates that are never waterlogged: in pots, good potting soil lightened with sand is ideal.
• Method: sow in pots under cover from February to April, on the surface without covering: the seeds need light to germinate. Keep moist at around 18°C. Pinch out young plants to encourage a well-branched habit. See how to sow seeds.

Planting advice:

• Transplant after the frosts into pots, planters, hanging baskets, beds or borders, spacing plants 25 to 30 cm apart.

Care advice:

• Water regularly but not excessively, especially in pots. Remove faded flowers to extend flowering.

Benefits for biodiversity:

• Its open-throated flowers attract bees and bumblebees, and its long flowering period makes it a useful food source for much of the season.

Uses:

• Ornamental: pots, planters, hanging baskets, beds and borders. It also grows well indoors in a bright location.

Harvesting your own seeds:
Leave a few faded flowers to form their small capsules, then harvest them as soon as they turn brown, before they open and disperse their tiny seeds. See how to store your seeds.

Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, test them for germination rates, and carefully sort and package them without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to sow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.

Treat yourself to an exotic-looking bloom with these butterfly flower seeds.