Painted Tongue is a striking, exotic-looking ornamental plant with very showy, large trumpet-shaped flowers and light green, finely lobed foliage. The beautiful, decorative blooms are carried on sturdy, light green stems. Painted Tongue mixed consists of a blend of purple, pink, white, and lilac flowers, each with a contrasting and eye-catching pattern. Painted Tongue originates from South America (Chile). It belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which also includes plants such as potato, cape gooseberry, eggplant, bittersweet nightshade, thorn apple, goji berries, sweet peppers, chili peppers, pepino, petunia, tobacco plant, tamarillo, tomato, deadly nightshade, and black nightshade.
Provide this attractive plant with a very sunny, sheltered position, although light shade is also tolerated. It is very suitable for growing in flower pots and containers, as a cut flower when harvested before the blooms are fully open, and as a striking focal point in borders. Painted Tongue can also be sown along the edges of vegetable gardens to attract pollinating insects. In the garden, it combines well with plants such as asters, cosmos, marigolds, lavender, petunias, salvias, and forget-me-nots. Remove spent flowers regularly. Painted Tongue flowers from June through September and is highly attractive to bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. Non hardy annual. Height: 45 - 70 cm.
Indoor sowing: mid-March - mid-April
Outdoor sowing: mid-April - end of May
Germination: 14 - 21 days
Germination temp.: 21 - 24 °C
Sowing depth: shallow - ½ cm
Planting distance: 25 - 30 cm
Plant position: sunny - half shade
Flowering period: June - September
Sow indoors from mid-March in seed trays filled with well-moistened seed and cutting compost. Sow the very fine, tiny seeds on the surface and barely cover them, as this plant needs light to germinate. Cover the trays with a lid to retain moisture and maintain as even a temperature as possible to ensure good germination. In particular, do not allow the temperature to drop at night. Remove the lid as soon as the seedlings emerge. Transplant the seedlings into individual pots once they are about 7 cm tall. At this stage, water only when the top layer of the soil has dried out.
Harden the plants off from early May by placing them outdoors during the day, in full sun or in a cold greenhouse, for about 10 - 14 days. After this period, they can be planted out from mid-May onwards, once there is no longer any risk of night frost. Choose a very sunny location, sheltered from wind, with well-drained soil.
Direct sowing outdoors in open ground is possible from mid-April, provided there is no risk of night frost. Sow in rows spaced about 15 cm apart. To make sowing of the very fine seeds easier, they can be mixed with a little dry, fine sand. Ensure a very sunny position, sheltered from wind, with well-drained soil. Keep the soil evenly moist until germination, but never overly wet. Thin the seedlings once they are large enough to handle, spacing them 25 - 30 cm apart. Provide support for the plants and water adequately during very hot and dry weather, but avoid leaving the roots standing in water. Remove spent flowers regularly to prolong flowering.
