Colorful Calibrachoa

Dr. Gary Bachman:

One of the flowering plants that is sure to attract a lot of attention this year in the garden centers is calibrachoa today on Southern Gardening.

Announcer:

Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University extension service.

Dr. Gary Bachman:

This relative of petunia is commonly called Million Bells and certainly lives up to this name. I think calibrachoa is one of those must have landscape plants for splashes of color throughout the garden season. There are several series that offer plenty of options when it comes to color. The Noah's series flowers are beautiful with contrasting petal and center colors. Noah papaya is a bright vermilion and Noah apricot is mellow amber with a dark eye and I really like the early bird series with the clear bright colors of red, yellow and white.

Calibrachoa should be grown in the full sun where the plants will produce an incredible number of one-inch wide funnel shape flowers. Though calibrachoa really put on a floral show with literally hundreds of flowers, they are self-cleaning. I consider this an important consideration because deadheading is not required. The growth habit of calibrachoa is suitable for the landscape, but they really excel in containers and hanging baskets. The spreading habit and trailing stems will sprawl over the container edges, and if they get a little unruly, simply prune back to keep them neat and tidy.

Be sure to keep your plants fed. Fertilize every other week with water-soluble fertilizer using one tablespoon per gallon. If you follow these two suggestions, the flowering will be unbelievable.

So, this year, be sure to have calibrachoa in your landscaping garden. With its prodigious flowering, I know you won't regret it. I'm horticulturist Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.

Announcer:

Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University extension service.