Schizanthus pinnatus

Poor man's orchid

Schizanthus are annual or biennial herbaceous plants, with attractive flowers. Schizanthus pinnatus is an annual plant of 20 to 50 cm in height. If you love the look of orchids but don’t want to worry about fussy plants, poor man’s orchid plants may be the ideal solution to your gardening dilemma.

Contributed by @tal2lifshitz

plant Features

Full sun to partial shade
Occasional watering
Not Frost hardy
Light and free draining

plant information

Common name

Poor man's orchid

Latin name

Schizanthus pinnatus

type

Half hardy annual

family

Solanaceae

ph

5.0 - 7.0 Acid - Neutral

Light

Full sun to partial shade
Frost

Not Frost hardy

Soil

Light and free draining
Water

Occasional watering

Plant & bloom calendar

Best time to plant

full grown dimensions

The size of a fully grown Poor mans orchid is 0.20meters x 0.50meters

0.20 M 0.50 M

Schizanthus pinnatus

Propagation by seed

From Late Winter TO Early Spring

Sow indoors, from late winter to early spring. A warm kitchen windowsill is all you need for starting these seeds. Sow, 0.5cm (¼") deep, in trays of compost. Water well and place in a warm position. A temperature of 15-20°C (60-68°F) is ideal. Keep moist. Seedlings usually appear in 14-28 days.

Planting

From Late Spring TO Late Spring

Gradually accustom young plants to outside conditions before planting out into well-drained soil, in late spring, 20cm apart, when frosts are over. If growing as indoor plants, pot on seedlings individually, first to 12cm pots and then to 15cm pots. Keep in a light, airy location and feed occasionally when in bloom. Flowers: early to late summer.

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