Plants
Twinspur
Diascia · Scrophulariaceae
Twinspur is nemesia's delicate sibling: loose sprays of small, heart-like blooms in pink, salmon and apricot tones that sway gently in the wind. Hardly any balcony plant looks as natural and light. Yet it is tougher than it looks and, with two small cutbacks, flowers from May to October.
- Light
- Sunny to partially shaded, ideally with some shelter from midday heat.
- Watering
- Regular and even — neither let it dry out nor keep it wet.
- Care level
- Easy
- Botanical
- Diascia
The name twinspur describes the two small spurs on the back of each flower, in which the plant offers floral oil instead of nectar — in South Africa specialised bees collect this oil. Here, the detail simply makes the bloom unmistakable.
The colour range is diascia's great strength: hardly any other balcony flower offers such fine salmon and apricot shades. Series like Breezee, Divara or Aurora are bred compact and rain-proof; older varieties such as Ruby Field grow looser and almost perennial-like.
The habit is semi-upright to slightly trailing, 20 to 30 centimetres tall. That places twinspur perfectly in the second row of a window box or at the edge of a hanging basket, where its sprays can arch softly over the rim.
Like nemesia it prefers sun without scorching heat, and even moisture. In hot dry spells it briefly stops flowering — cut it back by half, water and feed, and two weeks later it blooms denser than before. Many gardeners shy away from this summer cut, yet it is the whole secret of continuously flowering diascias.
In combinations twinspur looks best tone-on-tone: pink diascia with white geraniums, apricot varieties with blue-violet partners such as fan flowers. Coarse, large-flowered neighbours visually overwhelm its fine texture — better to stay small-scale.
A bonus at the end of the season: twinspur tolerates light frosts down to about minus five degrees and often still flowers when petunias have long given up. In sheltered spots some varieties even survive mild winters.
Is Twinspur toxic to children and pets?
- Children
- Non-toxic
- Cats
- Non-toxic
- Dogs
- Non-toxic
Twinspur is considered non-toxic to cats, dogs and children and can safely be kept on family balconies and in pet households.
Overview: toxic & non-toxic plants for cats, dogs and children
Care
- 01Place in sun to light partial shade; fierce midday heat is not required.
- 02Keep evenly moist, the root ball must never dry out completely.
- 03Feed every two weeks with liquid fertiliser, or weekly at low dose in boxes.
- 04Cut back by half after the first flush — this completely renews the flowering.
- 05Avoid waterlogging and use a free-draining substrate.
- 06Leave it standing in autumn: twinspur keeps flowering until light frosts.
Frequently asked
- What is the difference between twinspur and nemesia?
- Both come from South Africa and are closely related. Nemesia has snapdragon-like blooms with a distinct upper and lower lip and often strong contrast colours; twinspur carries flatter, softer blooms with two small spurs and leans towards pink and apricot shades. In care and use they are almost identical and combine beautifully.
- Should twinspur be cut back?
- Yes, definitely. After the first big flush in early summer, shorten the shoots by about half and keep watering and feeding. The plant branches anew and after two to three weeks flowers denser than before — carrying it into October.
- Is twinspur hardy?
- Only partly. It shrugs off light frosts to about minus five degrees but freezes in harsh winters. Individual varieties survive mild winters in sheltered, well-drained spots, but even in the Rhineland this is not reliable — we treat it as a seasonal plant.
- Is twinspur toxic to pets?
- No, diascia is considered non-toxic to cats and dogs. Children are not at risk either, which makes twinspur a worry-free choice for plantings at ground level.