Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea)

Sowing date: 4/20/10 (?)

Zone: 8+ or Annual (all zones)

These were the first to sprout. I knew that I wanted to try some sort of vine or creeper, possibly something to hang from the ceiling. A co-worker gave me a couple hanging philodendron plants a while back and I really liked the look, so I wanted to add to the collection. When looking online to see what I might want to grow, I came across the Butterfly Pea and read this:

"Clitoria ternatea is a vigorous, twining vine that blooms in just 6 weeks from seed. Sensational plant for hanging baskets. Bright, deep blue flowers to 2" year round. White blooms may also appear occasionally. Full sun to part shade, morning sun is best. Annual or tender perennial."

Here are pictures of the seed, click on the pictures to see a larger version:

The sowing instructions (see below) called for nicking or pricking the seedcoat and then soaking the seeds for 24 hours prior to planting. So I took a regular serrated kitchen knife, lightly nicked about half of the seeds, then soaked them in water for a day. Since nicking the coat was only a suggestion, I planted the others without any pre-treatment, both the treated and untreated seeds sprouted, so use your own judgment. The instructions also called for high humidity and bright light so I placed them in a clear plastic box by the window that gets morning sun.

I planted seeds in 4 seedling pots and two sprouted. However, one seems to have sprouted upside down. I do not know if it matters and I figured once planted they would sprout as they were supposed to, naturally growing right-side-up towards the light. Perhaps because it's a vine it doesn't matter. But take a look at this, they are virtual opposites:

Hmmm, looks somewhat odd. The one on the top looks like its leaves are buried in the soil. That was the first one to sprout though and it actually had a twin that sprouted the same way. If you look closely, you see a dead stem to the left of it (sniff, sniff), so I am worried that it might not be growing right. That seems like a silly statement though, seeds know what to do (then again, the twin-seedling didn't...). The one on the bottom came a week later. And has recently done this:

Looks nice! So I am thinking about flipping the other one, shouldn't be too difficult. If I had a bunch sprouting, I would leave it and see what happens, but I only have two.

Here are the sowing instructions, click in the picture to get a clearer read:

Update - 5/25/10

<- I flipped the "upside-down" seedling

The other one keeps growing ->

Update - 5/26/10

Oops, looks like flipping the seedling was a bad idea. Lesson learned...

Seeds planted, basic set-up

Below is a list of seeds I have planted, most are now on a windowsill on the east side of my apartment, getting plenty of morning sun. A few are in my room on the other end of the apartment, and they get the less direct and less strong, late afternoon sun.

Here's the set-up for the plants getting the bright morning sun. As you can see, some of the seeds were placed in a clear plastic box. It is my experience with a few other plants that seedlings thrive under high humidity, at least to get them started. In the past I've used a Jiffy Greenhouse Starter Kit. Unless the sowing instructions call for a seed's soil to be lightly moist or perhaps susceptible to damping-off, then I would try it (damping-off is a disease that can kill seedlings caused by fungus. It can be prevented by sowing seeds in dryer conditions, i.e., don't over water. More on that later). However, I believe it is important for there to be some air circulation, especially if the seedling pots are getting direct sunlight and especially if the seeds sprout. So I usually crack the top open to let them breathe and at some point in the day I will take off the cover completely. Really, it's all trial and error for me. The rest of the seeds were not covered and planted in regular seedling pots, those are pictured as well. I'll talk about watering later, but if your seedling pots are small and getting a lot of light, the soil will dry out quickly and possibly destroy the seeds if not watered frequently. I water the pots in the morning before I leave and then when I get back from work, not a ton, just enough for the soil to be moist. If the pots are not getting direct sunlight or only a little direct sunlight each day, then once a day is fine.

Here is a list of seeds I have planted. In the future, I will post pictures of seeds before I plant them.

• African Baobab (Adansonia digitata)
• Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea)
• Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
• Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
• Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata)
• Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia)
• Marigold Striped (Tagetes patula)
  
• Monkey Pod Brazilian Rain Tree (Samanea saman)
• Sensitive Plant/Touch-Me-Not (Mimosa pudica)
• Splitleaf Philodendron (Monstera deliciosa)
• Telegraph Plant (Desmodium gyrans)

So far a few have sprouted: the Butterfly Pea, Coast Redwood, Sensitive Plant, and the striped Marigold.