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Commelina coelestis
Commelinaceae FAMILY

Commelina coelestis

Commelina coelestis

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Commelina coelestis is a plant of medium to high elevations in the tropics[1]. It is not very tolerant of frost[2]. Prefers a light well-drained loam with added leafmold and a warm sunny position[3, 4, 5]. Established plants are drought tolerant[5], though they die back to the roots in periods of drought[1]. A very ornamental plant[2]. This plant is very attractive to slugs[PFAF]. I The roots are best dug up in autumn and stored like dahlias in a cool frost free place[2]. When grown in a light well-drained soil and mulched well, the roots usually survive the winter outdoors, at least in the milder areas of the temperate zone[4, PFAF]. This plant is very attractive to slugs[PFAF].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in 4 - 5 weeks at 20°c[6]. Prick the seedlings out into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Division in early spring. The root clump consists of a number of finger-shaped roots joined together at their tops. When dividing this, it is important to ensure that each division has at least one growing bud at the top[4, PFAF]. Pot up the divisions and grow them on in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are established and then plant them out in late spring, after the last expected frosts[PFAF]. Cuttings during the growing season. These root very easily[7]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Commelina+coelestis>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]Hardy Bulbs.; Including Half-hardy Bulbs and Tuberous and Fiberous-rooted Plants — Grey. C. H. · Williams & Norgate. · 1938 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
  4. [4]Popular Hardy Perennials. — Sanders. T. W. · Collingridge · 1926 · ISBN - ↩︎A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
  5. [5]The Dry Garden. — Chatto. B. · Dent · 1982 · ISBN 0460045512 ↩︎A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.
  6. [6]Growing from Seed. Volume 4. — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1990 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.
  7. [7]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  8. [8]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  9. [9]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎