Do not confuse this butterfly pea with the non-native one used to make butterfly pea tea! Spurred Butterfly Pea is a delicate native vine with pink or purple flowers, which has a long blooming season ranging from April into November. Its easy to grow and care for, and a great choice for small yards or container gardens.

Care requirements:

Light requirements: Full sun-Part shade

Water requirements: Low-Medium

Soil requirements: Dry-Medium, well-drained

Bloom time: April-November

Bloom color: Pink, purple

Height: 12 feet

Width: 1 foot

USDA Zone: 5-9

Larval host: Northern Cloudywing, Long-tailed skipper butterfly

Other notes: During its flowering season, Spurred Butterfly Pea blooms daily, but individual blooms wither after just half a day of flowering. It is drought tolerant. If no support is available, it will sprawl along the ground and become a ground cover. It climbs by twining. The unique shape of the flowers is highly specialized to favor pollination by bees.

Emily’s notes: This is one of my favorite native vines. I have grown Spurred Butterfly Pea from seed and found it very easy to germinate. Where I live, it is fairly easy to find growing wild, and its also very easy to root from cuttings (cuttings will root just from sitting in water). Unlike some native vines, Spurred Butterfly Pea has a fairly loose growth habit; it will use other plants to climb but you don’t have to worry about it growing so dense that it will be harmful to the other plants! It is also a fairly small vine, which makes it a good choice for small yards or container gardens.

Do you have Butterfly Pea growing in your garden? Do you have any tips or tricks for growing it you would like to share? Do you know of any Southeastern nurseries that regularly stock it? Let us know in the comments!