It's been a dozen or so years since I found this neat little plant on a perennial list somewhere and of course I had to have it. I remember the exact spot where I planted it, enjoyed it all summer and mourned its death when I looked for it the following spring.

I think I did this happened at least twice maybe three times before I gave up on it. This was a marketing failure and they seem to occur more often than I like. I'll save the marketing failures for a future effort because I want to talk about the return of the plant.

Diasia is the plant and it is now grown as a cool season annual. That means it blooms wonderfully in the early spring and in the fall. The newest releases also show rather good blooming habits in our summers.

The common name of diasia is twin spurs for the double coiled spur on the back of each flower. The top of the flower looks a bit like an impatien but with multiple flowers on each of the many slender stems. The spur almost reminds me of a snapdragon.

It remerged as an annual maybe eight years ago as a low pink weaver for mixed containers. It was a great filler and hugged the bases of the taller plants in the container. The only problem was that it looked a bit worn and bloom tired by mid summer.

I gave the plant a rather severe haircut and a bit of extra fertilizer and within two weeks it was back. The newer varieties offer a wider range of colors including corals, pinks and reds and differ a bit in growth habits. Some are a bit upright while the others ramble more.

The chief use of diasia today is in mixed containers but I suspect they would be fine at the gardens edge. They like lots of light but the hottest sun might increase the water needs. My first effort, twelve years ago was under high shade, was quite successful.

Foliage is light green to green and consists of numerous wispy stems with rather small leaves. The stems quickly give way to dense columns of flowers.

Since diasia is usually grown in a container, let me briefly touch on soil, water and fertilizer. I would use a lighter commercial potting mix. If you are starting with a partially grown plant from a greenhouse, a barky mix works well.

Most commercial mixes have a ph ranging from the low fives to near six. Diasia likes the 5.8 to 6.2 range. Often our water and fertilizer will slowly raise the ph in a container, but that is seldom a problem with diasia.

If you have a tired looking container from the petunia look alikes, the problem may be from the upward ph creep. Avoiding ammonium based nitrogen fertilizer usually is enough to prevent this.

Fertilize diasia in the middle range and try not to over water. Again, moderation is the key. Diasia is rather easy to grow.