How to grow butterfly pea flowers

Are you allergic to synthetic colors? Are you frustrated because “natural food dyes” taste awful. May I introduce you to a plant that is soon to become a favorite of yours; butterfly peas. Learn how to grow butterfly pea flowers for your own flavorless food color!

What are butterfly peas

Butterfly peas hail from South America and Asia where they are used in traditional cuisine to make things like blue rice and tea.

Disclaimer: While this plant is said to be edible I am not a doctor so make sure to research before consuming any of its parts.

This is a tropical plant that loves the heat and humidity. Even though this plant is perennial it can easily be grown as an annual in cooler climates.

How I found Butterfly Peas

I am allergic to synthetic colors so I am always looking for natural food dye options. I was flipping through a seed catalog and saw this picture of blue rice.

This piqued my interest and I decided to try these blue flowers out. After months of growing butterfly peas I finally got my first flower.

Sure enough this flower has a potent dye that can turn everything blue. If you add a drop of lemon juice it turns pink (pink lemonade).

You can use this in teas, lemonade, rice, or even make colored icing. Butterfly peas are truly versatile.

Where to buy butterfly peas

Even though this is an exotic plant the seeds are very easy to find. I buy my butterfly seeds here.

How to start butterfly pea seeds

Butterfly peas take 90 days to reach maturity (similar to most tomato varieties). So I start my plants indoors in March to get a good head start on the season.

I start the seeds in organic seed starting mix. The seeding tray has a heat mat under it and grow lights above it.

For the best germination rate you should scarify and soak the seeds overnight in warm water. To scarify you can sand the seeds with sand paper or nick them with nail clippers. This will help the water penetrate the hard seed coat.

Once your seeds have soaked plant them about 1/2″ deep in the moist seed starting mix and cover with soil. Keep the heat mat between 70-80⁰F.

Your seeds should pop through the soil in 1 and 4 weeks after planting. As with everything in gardening patience is key, just keep the soil moist and wait.

Potting them on

Once the plants are outgrowing their seed trays it is time to put them in bigger pots. I use 4″ pots (reused from other plants) filled with organic potting soil.

You can give your plants a good drench with diluted fish emulsions to keep them going. Just remember the number one enemy of butterfly peas is cold.

I will grow them in this pot until they get a few good leaves on them. These plants are very slow growing at the start but don’t worry they will take off later on.

Growing Butterfly peas in a greenhouse

I live in zone 5 which is anything but tropical. We do have a small greenhouse and found this to be a great place to grow butterfly peas.

I have a big plastic pot that I grow my peas in. Three plants will fit easily in to this pot. I then put one stake next to each plant to give the vines something to cling to.

I thought that the greenhouse would be too warm in the summer because it can get up to 115 and hotter. To my surprise these plants flourished.

I was shocked because everything else fries in that little greenhouse. I usually water this pot every other day to keep up with the heat.

Where to plant them

These plants love the heat and sunshine so make sure to place these plants in full sun. If you have a south wall for them to grow against that would work best.

Butterfly peas also do not like waterlogged soil. Make sure the soil you plant them in has good drainage and never gets standing water.

How to harvest butterfly pea flowers

After your vines start to really get going they should show signs of flowering. These flowers really burst with color so they are hard to miss.

I harvest my butterfly pea flowers daily to encourage more flowering. If you want constant blooms make sure to pinch the flowers off.

I layer the flower petals in my dehydrator and set it on the lowest setting (95⁰F) and let it run until the petals are completely dry.

You can store these dried petals in an airtight jar for later use or use them fresh. Butterfly peas can be mixed with tea blends used in rice or whatever else you want. Here are some ideas to get you started with your butterfly peas.

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