(Collinsia heterophylla ‘Chinese Houses’)

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Chinese Houses is a cool weather annual flower that is native to California but can be found growing in woodlands and grasslands, or on the slopes of foothills throughout Illinois and Kentucky. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 2' and features narrow pointed leaves and circular tiers of ½-¾” flowers with two white upper petals and two fuchsia lower petals. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, self sows, and is great as a cut flower!  

  • General Information
  • Starting Chinese Houses Seeds
  • Crop Care
  • Harvesting
  • Seed Saving
  • Companion Planting
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​Family: Plantaginaceae 

Genus: Collinsia 

Species: heterophylla

Variety: Chinese Houses

Also Known As: Purple Chinese Houses, Innocence 

Native to: California, Mexico Southwest.

Introduced into: Illinois.

Grown as: Annual
 
Maturity (Blooms): Spring-Early Summer

Light: Full Sun to Part Shade

Water: Medium

Soil Moisture: Medium

Attracts Beneficial Insects?: Yes. Bees and Butterflies.

Containers?: Yes. Chinese Houses have bi-colored purple and white blooms that bees and butterflies adore.

Height: 18-24”
 
Spacing: 12-15”

Sow Depth: On soil surface
 
USDA Zone: 3a-9b

Produces: narrow pointed leaves and circular tiers of ½-¾” flowers with two white upper petals and two fuchsia lower petals.

Starting Chinese Houses Seed Outdoors for Spring

​In Early Spring, direct sow your Chinese Houses seeds outdoors spacing them 12-15" apart. Keep them moist until germination occurs. This plant adapts well to rocky or coarse soil.

Starting Chinese Houses Seeds Outdoors in Fall

For best results, direct sow your Chinese Houses seeds on the surface of the soil in late fall. Chinese Houses seeds need light for germination so take care not to cover the seeds. Press your seeds down firmly for good seed-to-soil contact.
Water your Chinese Houses seedlings regularly until they become established, keeping weeds down to a minimum to avoid competition. Mature plants also appreciate occasional watering, though they can survive short dry periods, they do not tolerate drought well. For the best display of blooms, remove wilted flowers. This plant grows best in moderate climates and does not do well with excessive heat. If allowed to self-seed, it will reproduce itself and establish a colony. This plant attracts bees and butterflies.
For long lasting fresh flowers, cut the stems long and place them in water immediately.
After flowering, the plant will produce tiny seed pods with ripe brown seed. Watch the pods closely, since they will soon split and drop their seeds. Though the pods can be gathered individually as they ripen, an easier method is to pull the entire plant when the majority of the seed pods have ripened; hang it upside down in a protected area where the seeds can safely fall. When the plant has dried completely, thresh the pods that have not split open to remove the rest of the seed. Store the cleaned seed in a cool, dry place.
Chinese Houses occurs as an understory with oaks and other trees. Other plants that occur with it include various native ferns, Clarkia spp, Sisyrinchium spp, and other annual wildflowers.

Suggested Varieties

(Clarkia pulchella ‘Deerhorn’)

Deerhorn Clarkia is a native annual flower that can commonly be found growing in rocky forest and grasslands, or in disturbed soils throughout the northwest United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 18” and features a hairy erect stem that has 2-3” lance-shaped leaves alternating around it, and topped with clusters of four divided fuchsia flower petals and a prominent white pistil. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees and butterflies, is resistant to deer, self sows, and is great as a cut flower!  
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