Know how to grow butterfly pea flower from seeds. You can grow blue pea flowers (Clitoria Ternatea) from seeds quite easily by first germinating the seeds in paper towel or by directly sowing the seeds in soil, as I have grown in Sydney, Australia. The butterfly pea flower plants are also simple to care for, they do not need any special care, even indoors.
Clitoria Ternatea, commonly known as blue pea, bluebellvine, butterfly pea, Aparajita and Shankapushpi in Hindi, Anchan in Thai, and Bunga Telang in Malay is native to the Indonesian island of Ternate.
The butterfly pea vine striking blue flowers looks very beautiful that can add a lush tropical look to your garden. You can train this vine on a trellis or a fence or grow in a hanging basket.
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| Blue Pea Flower, Aparajita Flower |
Butterfly pea flower is rich in antioxidants, it may offer several health benefits, including weight loss, blood sugar control, etc. The Blue pea flower plant has many benefits and is used in many herbal teas, latte, drinks and cosmetic products. Generally butterfly pea flower is safe to consume in moderation. However, some reports of their side effects like stomach pain, nausea and diarrhoea has no research to support them.
Growing Butterfly Pea Flowers from Seeds : Step-by-Step Procedure
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| Butterfly Flower Plant Seeds |
Growing butterfly pea flower plant from seed is quite easy, following are the steps:
- Buy the butterfly pea seeds from a garden shop or you can use the seeds taken from the pods.
- In spring, take some seeds and lightly scratch their surface with a file or sand paper and soak them in water for 10-12 hours. Scratching the seeds is not essential but it will speed up the germination process.
- Discard any floating seeds, they are not viable and will not germinate.
- How to germinate butterfly pea flower seeds: You can quickly germinate blue pea flower seeds by paper towel method, even indoors. The picture below shows a butterfly flower seed germinated indoors in 2 days.
- Sow the seeds 1 cm deep in seed-raising soil in a small pot or tray to grow seedlings. Place the pot in sun or in a shade at a warm place and keep the soil soil moist. You can plant the seeds directly in ground.
- The seeds will germinate in 1 to 3 weeks depending on temperature. Keep the soil damp.
- Transplant the butterfly pea seedlings in pots or in ground in a sunny or part shade spot.
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| Germinated Butterfly Pea Flower Seed |
Is Butterfly Plant Perennial or Annual Plant?
The butterfly flower plant is perennial plant in warm frost-free climates, where they will flower year after year. But in cold climates they may be treated as annual plants because the plant may die during cold period, they have a lifespan of one year in colder regions. Plant them is pots and bring them indoors during cold period.
The blue pea vine is a fast-growing herbaceous vine (no woody stem) that reaches between 1-2 metres in height. It is an easy-to-grow plant, perennial plant in warm climates.
How To Care For Butterfly Pea Flower Plant
Butterfly pea Plant Growing Conditions
The butterfly pea plant requires very little care. Only requirement is to keep it moist while it is young. However, do not overwater. Once it’s established, it becomes drought tolerant.
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| Butterfly Pea Flower Seedlings |
Where to Plant Butterfly Pea Flowers
The Blue Pea plant needs full sun for its growth. It thrives in temperatures above 16°C (60 °F), but can die in frost or too low temperatures. However, this beautiful flowering vine thrives in partial shade and low light conditions. You should move the plant indoors if the temperature goes below 16°C.
Soil For Butter Pea Flowers Plant
The butter pea plant prefers sandy acidic soil, but can grow in almost any type of soil. But standing water on the soil will kill the plant so the soil should be free-draining. if growing in a pot, then mix some river sand or perlite in the potting soil to make it free-draining.
Add ample cow manure or compost to add nutrients while preparing soil for planting butterfly pea plants.
Water Requirement For Blue Pea Flower Plant
The butterfly pea vine pea vine needs lots of water and consistently moist soil for its growth when it is young. However, do not overwater. Once the plant is established, it becomes drought tolerant.
Fertilizer requirement
If you’ve prepared the soil for your blue pea vine as mentioned above, you need not to feed any fertiliser. The plant adds nitrogen to the soil so it needs little additional fertiliser.
You can however, feed the plant a liquid fertilizer like powerfeed fertilizer during flowering season.
Pests and Diseases
The butterfly pea vine is resistant to garden pests and general diseases. However, in wet area or due to prolonged overwatering may lead to mold, root rot and mildew, all of which can kill your plant. It has drought tolerance.
The first sign of peas with powdery mildew disease is small, white or grey spots on the top of mature leaves. Rub off them with your fingers.
How to protect pea plants from pests?
- Hang yellow sticky traps on the vine to catch the pests on the vine.
- Cover the vine with a insect netting to protect from insects.
- Beneficial insects such as ladybugs and green lacewings can be helpful.
- Red dots on the underside of leaves may be due to spider mites on the plant.
Butterfly Pea Blooms
Butterfly Plant Blooming Time: The butterfly pea plant grown from seed takes about 6 to 8 months to flower. The blue pea vine blooms continuously from early summer to late autumn (fall). The plant produces blue, purple or white flowers.
As the butterfly pea flowers are perennials in warm regions, so they will bloom year after year.
The butterfly flowers, the plant's leaves and tender pods are all edible.
Harvesting and Butterfly Seed Saving
- The butterfly flowers bloom at their best for a day then they start to dry. You can then gently harvest the flowers, leaving the forming pod behind. Spread flowers out in the sun to dry them before you store them.
- Store the dried flowers in an air-tight glass jar. Keep the jar in dark at room temperature.
- Too large pea are tough and flavorless, so harvest them before they grow too large.
- When the butterfly pods mature, turn brown and fill out with seeds, harvest them to save seeds. Too dry pods may drop seeds on ground.