Commelina virginica
| Commelina virginica | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 4' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Commelina virginica (common name: virginia day-flower)
Propagation: Seed - sow March in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in 4 - 5 weeks at 20°c[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in early spring. Make sure that each portion has at least one growing bud[2][K].
Cuttings during the growing season. Very easy[3].
Cultivation: Prefers a light fairly dry well-drained loam with added leafmold[4]. Prefers a sunny position with some shelter[1].
Plants are not very winter hardy in Britain, the roots are best dug up in autumn and stored like dahlias in a cool frost free place[5]. When grown in a light well-drained soil and mulched well, the roots usually survive the winter outdoors.
The roots of this plant do not seem to be tuberous, the plant seems to be more like an annual[K].
Range: Southern N. America. Naturalized in Europe in S. Italy[6].
Habitat: Rich woods, thickets and clearings[7].
Edibility: Tubers - cooked. Rich in starch, but with a fairly bland flavour.
Edible leaves[8].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Grey, Charles. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate, 1938.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.