Annuals & Biennials

Schizanthus
butterfly flower, poor man's orchid

- Height 1-4 ft (30-120 cm)
- Planting distance 1 ft (30 cm)
- Flowers late winter to early spring in California; elsewhere, early summer to midsummer.
- Fertile, moisture-retentive soil
- Sheltered, sunny site
- Half-hardy annual

This Chilean plant flourishes only in cool weather and grows best in coastal or cooler regions with temperate summers. The orchidlike blooms in pink, red, and purple blotched with yellow make good cut flowers. Each has a pale throat veined with a darker color, set off by pale green, almost fernlike foliage. They bloom in late winter to early spring in California and in early summer to midsummer elsewhere. Schizanthus pinnatus and its cultivars are often grown as indoor pot plants, but several dwarf cultivars may be grown outdoors.

Popular species and cultivars
'Butterfly Mixture,' to 11/2 ft (45 cm), has dainty pink, carmine, purple, crimson, or white blooms.
'Disco' has neat, compact plants 1 ft (30 cm) high covered profusely with flowers in mixed colors.
'Dwarf Bouquet Hybrids' are 12-15 in (30-38 cm), with red, pink, amber, or salmon blooms.

Annuals
and
Biennials