Fan flower – Flowering plants

Fan flower is a flowering plant. It normally grows to 9-18″ tall and spreads to 24″ wide. It is ideal for containers, hanging baskets and rock wall edges since it can spread over the ground and not grow too tall. In sun, it will bloom non-stop all summer until frost. The thick stems and dandelion-shaped leaves produce blue, white or pink colored flowers that look like five-fingered, palm-shaped fans. The flower consists of a semi-circle or colored petals with a yellow dot in the center.

Scientific Name: Scaevola aemula
Common Name: Fairy fan-flower or Fan flower.

 

 

 

 

How to grow and maintain Fan-flower plant:

Soil & Light:
Scaevola aemula should be planted in loamy, somewhat acidic, well-drained soil that has been enriched with generous amounts of compost and peat moss. Scaevola aemula is best planted during the winter months and developed in full sun, although it will tolerate partial shade.

Fertilizer:
Feed your Fan Flower plants every 6 to 8 weeks while they are actively growing, with a half-strength solution of a soluble, all-purpose fertilizer.

Water:
water plants early in the day or later in the afternoon to conserve water and cut down on plant stress. Do water early enough so that water has had a chance to dry from plant leaves prior to nightfall. This is paramount if you have had fungus problems. This plant requires less watering during winter months, so reduce watering from late November through early March.

Pruning:
Light, regular pruning is the way to getting the best out of the species.

Propagation:
Fan Flower plants can be propagated with semi-ripe stem cuttings taken in late spring or during the summer months.
Fan Flower seeds are little. They should be sown when new. Sow Fan Flower seeds directly in the garden after all danger of frost has passed, barely covering the seeds with light, sandy soil. Begin seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before your last frost date. Keep up a temperature in the growing medium of 70°-75° until germination, which can take from 30-60 days.

Pests and diseases:
Scaevola aemula can be susceptible to scale, mealybugs and a botrytis fungal mould, although these are not common when it is grown in appropriate conditions.