Tips To Prevent Wishbone Flowers From Wilting Or Drooping

Are you growing the delightfully whimsical wishbone flowers in your garden? These pretty, low-growing annuals have the most interesting two-toned blooms that will definitely put a smile on your face when you see them happily dancing in the summer breeze. But your smile will soon fade if you stroll out to your garden and all the small flowers are drooping and looking desperately wilted. There are two big factors that may cause these dainty blooms to wilt: too little water or too much sun. To stop those happy flowers from hanging their heads, you need to give them protection from harsh afternoon sunlight and ensure the soil remains consistently moist and cool. In fact, you'll find that these pretty plants will thrive without direct sunlight in your yard.

Wishbone flowers (Torenia fournieri) are native to Asia, but they're commonly grown as summer annuals in USDA Hardiness zones 2 through 11. Gardeners in southern climates may be especially drawn to this plant, as adding these two-toned flowers to hanging baskets will attract hummingbirds to your garden, but hot and dry conditions can quickly sap the life out of your wishbone flowers. Here's how you can prevent your wishbone flowers from wilting or revive them if they're looking down.

What you need to know is that these plants grow best in a shady area in the garden, preferably one that gets a little morning sun but lots of shade in the afternoon. If you live in a particularly hot climate, to keep the summer heat from scorching your torenia plants, you definitely don't want to grow this species in a sunny area of your yard. Wishbone flowers should experience only 2 to 6 hours of direct sunlight at most; dappled sunlight or deep shade is ideal. If you don't have a suitable spot in your garden, it might be better to grow your wishbone flowers in a container which you can move into the shade during sweltering summer heat waves.

If your flowers still droop in the shade, the other vital thing to remember is that this plant requires plenty of moisture. The soil should never be allowed to dry out, although good drainage is also important. During especially warm weather, you might have to water your plants twice every day to prevent those pretty blooms from wilting. To keep the soil nice and cool and stop the water from evaporating too quickly, consider dressing flower beds with a thick layer of mulch. This should help to keep your plants nicely hydrated and plump-looking all season long.