Wishbone Flower, also known as Torenia, is a medium-sized plant with a full form. Abundant, often bi-color flowers grow on long, upright stems with lush green, serrated foliage filling the spaces between blooms. This lovely blooming plant is generally considered easy to maintain and requires very little care. Trimming is unnecessary, but if you want the plant to look fuller, then regular pruning can help.
Torenia is a beauty, and with some routine maintenance pruning, you can keep this annual looking full and lush throughout the growing season. Cutting the plant back to encourage growth may seem counterintuitive, but trimming the plant in the right spots at the right time will redirect energy into new growth.
When to Prune Torenia
Wishbone Flower is commonly grown as an outdoor plant. This plant can become leggy or overgrown, and cutting it back periodically throughout the growing season can help it maintain a more full and dense appearance. Trim the plant any time the stems are elongated and large spaces develop between branches and foliage.
Plants grown in low light are more apt to become overgrown. Moving the plant to an area that receives more light can prevent it from becoming leggy, or pinching back new growth as it appears will cause new growth to emerge, creating a more robust plant. Torenia is considered a self-cleaning plant, and as the blooms fade, they naturally fall away and maintain a tidy look. Deadheading or removing the spent blooms is not necessary.
Why Prune Torenia
Torenia has a lovely natural form, but in some instances, the stems will grow very long, and the plant will not be as dense and compact. This is often referred to as becoming leggy, and plants grown in very low light conditions are more likely to become leggy. Cutting the plant back if and when it becomes straggly or leggy will rejuvenate the growth and encourage more branched stems and flowers.
How to Prune Torenia
Step 1 - Look at the plant to inspect the growth
Remove any dead or damaged sections and look for elongated, overgrown stems.
Step 2 - Pinch back new growth
Remove new growth by pinching it between your finger and thumb, and new branched growth will emerge from the pinch point.
Step 3 - Trim back elongated stems
Use clean pruning shears or scissors to cut back long stems to redirect energy into new growth.
Torenia Pruning Tips
- Pruning is not generally necessary for Torenia
- The plant can be trimmed if it appears straggly or overgrown
- Pinch back new growth to encourage the plant to become full and dense
- Torenia is self-cleaning, and deadheading is not necessary, but removing spent blooms will maintain a tidy appearance
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Author Alison Cotsonas - Published 30-06-2022 |