What Is Scaevola taccada?
Scaevola taccada, known by common names including fan flower and silver lace vine [1], is a native Australian plant whose silvery foliage contrasts with the bold colors of its summer flowers.
Scaevola taccada requires little maintenance once planted, making it an ideal choice for busy gardeners or those who prefer to let plants tend themselves. Silver lace vine is an excellent choice for the conservatory and sunny windowsill gardens, as well as outdoor rockeries or borders.
Scaevola Taccada Care & Maintenance:
Scaevola Taccada is an easy-to-grow vine that grows best in full sunlight, resisting pests and disease while producing abundant flowers. Most varieties of silver lace vine bloom in summer but you can choose from annual and perennial varieties.
Light Requirements:
Scaevola Taccada prefers five to six hours of sunlight each day. As a native of Australia, it is well-adapted to the intense summer sun and heat of that country.
More light will help promote healthy plant growth; less sunlight may slow its growth rate but will not kill it outright.
Shade cloth is an excellent way to provide Scaevola with extra moisture in the hot summer months without sacrificing sunlight hours. Indirect or filtered sunlight will prevent burning while allowing adequate amounts of sunshine to shine through and help your plant thrive.
Water Requirements:
Scaevola loves water, so make sure it is properly watered at all times. The plant will not suffer if you occasionally neglect watering and it does best in soil that is consistently moist but not soggy.
Your Scaevola Taccada vine may lose its leaves during a dry spell. Use caution when watering since wet leaves are more susceptible to damage from wind or frost than their healthy counterparts.
If you have killed the foliage by over-watering, cut off any damaged portions of the stem and allow the plant to re-grow naturally; otherwise, allow the plant’s natural ability to heal itself (heal-fast response) to take hold and it will soon grow new leaves within a few days time.
Soil Requirements:
Scaevola Taccada prefers well-drained, neutral to alkaline soil. Be sure your potting mix drains freely and doesn’t collect water at the bottom of the container; see our collection of top-quality soils [2] for a good choice that will quickly drain but still retain moisture. Avoid overly sandy soils since they tend to dry out quickly with the prolonged exposure to direct sunlight.
The vine thrives best in rich loamy soil that is slightly acidic, but it will acclimate if planted into a peaty medium. Plants growing in too many nutrients (such as compost or manure) may exhibit excessive flowering at the expense of plant health and vigor; however, Scaevola does
Temperature and Humidity Requirements:
Scaevola Taccada is extremely adaptable to warm and dry conditions but it prefers a hot, dry climate.
The plant will become leggy if grown in damp soil or waterlogged containers; this can be remedied by pruning long stems back periodically to promote healthy growth near the soil line.
Excessively wet roots are not good for your Scaevola vine since they encourage fungal infection of the stem and root rot.
As with most plants, warmer temperatures promote faster growth and more flowering; keep your Scaevola Taccada growing somewhere between 68˚- 80˚ (20-27°C). More humid air tends to increase the rate at which leaves drop, but overall, the plant is tolerant of a wide range in humidity.
Fertilizing Requirements:
Scaevola Taccada is an extremely easy plant to care for; however, it requires regular fertilization during the spring and summer months.
Fertilize every three weeks from spring through summer by sprinkling slow-release fertilizer around the pot’s surface. A complete water-soluble fertilizer works best since it provides both nutrients and micro-nutrients for the benefit of healthy growth.
Relocating Requirements:
Scaevola Taccada is a hardy trailing vine that can be trained over walls or used as ground cover in warmer climates with full sunlight.
As temperatures drop below 50° (10°C), this delicate plant will begin to lose its leaves or die back completely; protect Scaevola in cold winters by bringing the plant indoors as a houseplant or simply bury the pot in a sunny location and allow it to re-sprout naturally.
If you will be moving your Scaevola vine, do so early in the summer when its growth rate is high; pruning any long stems back well ahead of time will help keep them from breaking during transit.
Potting and repotting Requirements:
Scaevola Taccada grows well in a wide variety of containers, but it prefers to be planted into a tall and narrow pot that will naturally force the plant to trail along the ground when positioned near a wall or fence.
Repot Scaevola every other spring by removing the old container’s drainage material and re-filling with fresh soil; if you have lost any roots during repotting, place them back on top of the soil surface after watering your new planting medium thoroughly.
Shedding Requirements:
If you find dead leaves on your Scaevola, don’t panic; this is completely normal and healthy for your plant.
Scaevolas shed their old leaves each year during the summer, and this is simply the process by which they rejuvenate their growth cycle.
The plant will often drop leaves if the temperature rises above 86° (30°C) or if it has been placed in direct sunlight with no airflow; be sure to rotate your Scaevola periodically so that all sides of the vine receive about 6 hours of sunlight per day.
When a leaf begins to turn brown around its edges, you can gently pull it off using your fingers; dead leaves should not be forcibly removed from any part of the plant since you risk damaging healthy new growth underneath. Watering Requirements:
Scaevola Taccada requires evenly moist soil throughout spring and summer but during fall and winter, water only enough to keep the leaves from shriveling.
Established plants that are kept indoors should only be watered enough to prevent any wilting; this can be accomplished by letting your plant’s soil become dry for a day before watering again.
Larger pots naturally hold more water than smaller ones, so you will need to provide extra drainage if your Scaevola vine grows in a container larger than 10″ (25 cm) across. Fertilization Requirements:
Scaevola Taccada plants require regular fertilization during the early spring and summer months when their growth rate is highest.
Apply slow-release fertilizer around the pot’s surface every three weeks until growth for the season begins to slow down in late August or September.
Scaevola will not need further fertilization for the rest of the year.
Scaevola taccada Propagation info:
Scaevola Taccada can be reproduced from stem cuttings or by taking a leaf cutting.
Leaf cuttings should be taken in early spring before new growth begins to emerge; place the cutting into a small pot filled with moist soil and cover with plastic wrap.
The leaf will begin to root after two to three weeks, at which point it can be repotted as a single-stemmed plant in a container slightly larger than the original.
Once your Scaevola has grown large enough that you no longer want it trailing along the ground, simply clip off any new stems below each main vine using sharp scissors and allow them to grow on their own. Voilà! You’ve now created free Scaevola Taccada houseplants.
Scaevola Taccada Problems:
Scaevola Taccada is a very hardy houseplant that does not have many problems.
While it can be susceptible to spider mites and root rot if overwatered, the main mechanism by which plants are damaged is incorrect watering; too little water during the winter months will cause leaves to turn brown around the edges, and over-watering during the fall and spring will leave your plant with rotted roots.
The other major issue you may encounter when growing Scaevola indoors is fungal leaf spot.
This fungus usually appears as black spots on new growth that may eventually survive down into the stem of a mature plant, causing defoliation or death depending on how severe it becomes.
