Browallia Americana, is a bushy plant that will fill the gaps in your garden with bright, sky-blue flowers. Plants grow about 20 inches tall. It establishes readily from Browallia flower seeds and are South American relatives of petunias.

Sow indoors 4 - 8 weeks before last frost.

Browallia does best in full sun to partial shade with well drained soil.

• Start seeds indoors 8 - 10 weeks before last frost.
• Press the seeds into the soil but do not cover, light is needed for germination.
• Keep the flower seeds consistently moist and warm.
• When soon as seedlings emerge, provide plenty of light on a sunny windowsill, greenhouse or grow seedlings to the true leaf stage beneath fluorescent plant lights turned on 16 hours per day, off for 8 hours at night. Raise the lights as the plants grow taller. (Transplant to larger pots once they are large enough to handle if needed) Incandescent bulbs will not work for this process because they will get too hot. Most plants require a dark period to grow, do not leave lights on for 24 hours.
• Once outside temperatures are warming, Before transplanting, seedlings need to be “hardened off”. Accustom young plants to outdoor conditions by moving them to a sheltered place outside for a week. Be sure to protect them from wind and hot sun at first. If frost threatens at night, cover or bring containers indoors, then take them out again in the morning. This hardening off process toughens the plant’s cell structure and reduces transplant shock and scalding.

• Browallia is an excellent plant for containers. It can tolerate a small container of only 4 inches, if it is the only plant in the container; if planted with other shade-loving perennials, make sure the container is large enough to accommodate the roots of all plants to their maturity. Growing in a container ensures more blooms through late in the season, as it can come indoors at the first sign of frost.
• You can overwinter your container if you have a large, south-facing window. Bring plants indoors before nighttime temperatures fall below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and prune plants back to a manageable size. Keep the soil consistently moist but not wet. In zones 10 and 11, you can also sow browallia in pots in the fall for winter blooming. Start the seeds in small pots and move them to larger containers as they grow.
• If you start with good, rich soil, browallia will only need moderate fertilization. Apply a low-nitrogen fertilizer a couple of times during the growing season. As with too much water, excess fertilizer will result in mostly foliage instead of flowers. However, if growning in containers browallia needs more frequent fertilization, about once a month depending on the frequency of watering.
• Make sure soil does not dry out and keep it evenly moist but not soggy. Too much water will give you more foliage and few flowers.