C. ternatea makes an excellent cut flower; in its native country the blossoms are considered sacred and are used to dye rice a beautiful caerulean blue.
Propagation is easy by seed or cuttings. Germination generally occurs in five days or less if the seed is first soaked overnight in hot water, or if seed is planted directly in soil warmed to 80F. Blue Butterfly vines are notoriously slow to germinate if placed in cold soil. Gardeners in the Panhandle can get a jump on the season by placing single soaked seeds into individual 4" pots on a heated propagation mat. As soon as germination occurs, plants are removed and grown-on at cooler temperatures. Plants can be transferred outside when they are 6" tall or when 5 sets of leaves have formed.
Like all members of Leguminosae, Clitoria produces its seeds in typical pea-like pods up to 4" long. See http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/mi15/mi15...
Seed can be collected as soon as the pods begin to turn a dark brown. One note of caution-- C. ternatea and its legume relatives often have their seeds destroyed by the larval stage of certain moths. To prevent destruction of the seed, simply place the pods into an airtight bag to which a mothball has been added. After two days, remove the pods and collect the seed as usual. Cuttings root readily in sand with gentle bottom heat.
Blue Butterfly vines do best when sited in good sandy loam in full sun. Plants are very drought resistant once established, and are tolerant of coastal conditions.
Vines look very nice when offset by Texas sage, Salvia greggi. Both thrive in our heat and humidity.
Another indispensable provider of electric blue flowers is found in Salvia sinaloensis. A low-growing herbaceous perennial harking from the Mexican province of Sinaloa, it was first introduced to American gardeners in the mid 1980's by the Huntington Botanical Gardens in California. See http://www.flash.net/~elang/Salvia%20sin...
Growing under 1 foot tall, this delightful dwarf sports whorls of cobalt-blue flowers from April through September. The flowers contrast nicely with the plum-colored leaves and stems. Cold temperatures and dry weather promote this effect.
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