Ornamental · Goodeniaceae
Fan Flower
Scaevola aemula
Hand it sun and soil that drains well, and fan flower will trail blue blooms until frost shows up.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
64–95°F · 18–35°C
USDA 10–11
Overview
So where does the name come from? Each bloom opens like a little one-sided fan, and they line up all along the trailing stems. Fan flower's an Australian native, which is why it's such a tough, heat-happy thing once it's in the garden, whether that's a bed, a border, or a hanging basket. The colors lean cool blue and violet, with the odd pink thrown in, and they just keep coming all season.
Most folks grow it as a warm-season annual, and honestly that's the easy way to think about it. It's really a tender perennial, but it's only hardy in zones 10 and 11, so pretty much everywhere else you pop it in come spring and enjoy it until frost calls time. That's fine by the plant, since it puts on its whole show in one long summer anyway.
Once it's settled, there's not much to it. Give it sun, decent drainage, and a regular feed and you've basically covered everything, and since the flowers are self-cleaning, you're off deadheading duty for good. The one thing it really can't stand? Soggy roots. Keep it from sitting wet and you're golden.
Care
The short version: full sun and well-drained soil, a drink whenever the top of the soil goes dry, and a balanced feed every couple of weeks while it's growing.
Light
Fan flower wants full sun, plain and simple, and that's where you'll get the most flowers. A touch of afternoon shade won't hurt, but stick it somewhere really shady and it'll get stretchy and skimp on blooms.
Water
Water it every 3 to 7 days while it's growing, then let the top of the soil dry out before the next drink. It'd much rather be a little dry than soggy, so if you're not sure, just wait.
Soil
Any average, well-drained loam with a bit of organic matter will do. It's not picky about pH either, since anywhere from 6.0 to 8.0 is fine, as long as the water actually drains away.
Temperature
It's happiest when it's warm, somewhere around 64°F to 95°F (18°C to 35°C), and summer heat doesn't faze it one bit. Frost is the deal-breaker though, which is why colder spots just grow it as an annual.
Humidity
You don't need to worry about humidity at all, since regular outdoor air is plenty. It'll even shrug off a sticky, humid summer without missing a beat.
Feeding
Give it a balanced liquid fertilizer about every two weeks while it's growing and it'll thank you with flowers. Just steer clear of the high-phosphorus stuff, which it doesn't really like.
Pruning
There's hardly anything to prune. If it starts looking leggy, just pinch those long stems back to keep it bushy, and since the flowers tidy up after themselves, you can forget about deadheading.
Size & spacing
Plants get to about 9 to 18 inches (23 to 46 cm) tall and spread out 12 to 24 inches (30 to 61 cm) wide. All that trailing width is exactly why they look so good spilling over a basket or wall.
When to plant
Fan flower loves warmth and can't handle frost, so most people just grow it as a summer annual. Want a head start? Sow seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost, then hold off on planting out until the soil warms to 65°F (18°C). After that it'll bloom from summer right up to frost.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date
- Plant: In spring after the last frost when soil temperatures reach 65°F (18°C)
- Harvest: Summer through first frost
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 10–11
Temperature: down to -1°C
Troubleshooting
Here's the good news: fan flower's easy, and almost everything that goes wrong comes back to too much water or not enough sun. Keep an eye on the roots, stems, and flowers and you'll usually catch trouble early, while it's still easy to fix. Find your symptom below and take it from there.
Wilting, yellow leaves, and soft brown roots
If it's wilting and yellowing and the roots have gone soft and brown, that's root rot, and soggy soil is almost always behind it. When the mix never dries out, the roots can't breathe and start to rot away. Ease off the water, sort out the drainage or move it into a faster-draining mix, and let go of anything that's already collapsed.
Fix:
- Reduce watering frequency
- Improve drainage or replant into well-drained media
- Remove severely affected plants
Cottony white fluff and sticky film on the stems
See cottony little tufts at the leaf joints and a sticky film? That's mealybugs, and they're just sap-suckers. Blast them off with a strong spray of water, then dab whatever's left with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. It helps to check new plants before they move in and to give everything a bit of breathing room.
Fix:
- Wash off with a strong spray of water
- Spot-treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
Not many flowers on long, floppy stems
Barely any flowers and long, floppy stems usually mean not enough light or not enough food. A plant sitting in the shade, or one that never gets fed, stretches out and skips the blooms. Move it into full sun, feed it through the season, and pinch back those leggy stems to get it branching again.
Fix:
- Move to a full-sun location
- Fertilize regularly during the growing season
- Pinch back leggy stems to encourage branching
Toxicity
Good news if you've got pets or little ones running around: fan flower is not toxic. There's nothing in the leaves or flowers that'll poison a cat, dog, rabbit, bird, grazing animal, or kid, so you can plant it wherever you like and not give it a second thought.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Cats are totally fine with it. A nibble won't poison them, though like any plant, a big helping might leave a cat with an upset stomach.
Dogs None
Dogs are safe too. The worst a chewed-up stem might do is a bit of mild tummy trouble that clears up on its own.
Horses Safe
Horses can graze right next to it, no problem, since there's nothing in fan flower that's poisonous to them.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits are fine around the leaves, and a stray bite here or there won't do any harm.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can share a field with it safely, because it's got nothing in it that hurts grazing animals.
Birds Safe
Backyard and pet birds are safe near it, and there's nothing toxic in the leaves or flowers for them.
People Safe
It's not poisonous to people either. It's grown for the flowers, not for eating, so there's really no reason to snack on it.
Varieties
There are only a handful of named types to know, and they mostly differ in color and how far they trail. Here are the ones you'll actually come across.
Blue Wonder
Blue Wonder just keeps cranking out cool blue to violet fan flowers on long trailing stems, so it's a no-brainer for a hanging basket.
New Wonder
New Wonder's a vigorous trailer that really loads up on blue-lavender fan flowers.
Pink Charm
Pink Charm's the little one, only about 4 inches tall and 5 inches wide, with soft pink blooms.
How to propagate
Making more fan flower couldn't be easier, whether you take a cutting or just start some seed.
Stem cuttingsEasy
During the growing season · A few weeks to root
The easiest way is a stem cutting taken while it's growing, which roots in just a few weeks and gives you an exact copy of the parent. Or if you'd rather, start it from seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost.
Myths
You've got to deadhead fan flower or it'll stop blooming.
Nope. The old flowers just drop off on their own, so there's no spent-bloom cleanup hanging over you. Fan flower takes care of itself, and about the only thing you'll ever trim is the occasional stem that's gotten too long.
Fan flower needs rich soil that stays wet all the time.
Actually it's the other way around. It does best in well-drained soil and handles heat and a dry spell just fine once it's established. Keep it wet and the roots rot, and that's the quickest way to lose it.