Colorful Calibrachoa

There’s a plant that always delights wherever it’s grown. But I’m always surprised that more home gardeners don’t grow it. So if you only buy one flowering plant this year, make it calibrachoa. Calibrachoa are commonly called million bells and really live up to this name. Aloha Kona Blue Sky has flowers in a soft shade of silvery lavender; the stunning trumpet shaped flowers blanket the plant from late spring to early fall. Aloha Kona Honey Comb has flowers that are a sweetly golden honey color. I absolutely love the delicate red streaks that radiate out from the throat of the flower. Candy Bouquet is a fantastic floriferous selection. The bright colored flowers feature blotchy magenta accents along with warm tones of golden yellow; the colors are variable flower to flower. What a fantastic plant for baskets or containers. Another great group are the Superbells which are calibrachoa hybrids that have even more flowers. Rising Star has flowers featuring hot pink flowers that are streaked with a yellow star. Flowering is abundant all through the spring and summer season. Superbells Morning Star has blush-pink to dark pink flowers with the classic yellow star in its throat. These are low maintenance and hummingbird and butterfly magnets, as all the calibrachoa are. If any of your plants get unruly, simply snip back to tidy them up. I think that calibrachoa will always look better in hanging baskets or container, you can take that to the bank. I’m horticulturist Gary Bachman and I’ll see you next time on Southern Gardening.