New Annual Flowers for the 2016 Growing Season - Calibrachoa

It’s time to rev up my blog again.  I have been planting seeds and rooted cuttings have started to arrive.   One of the most popular of these cuttings is calibrachoa (spell check makes it very hard to write that word). This plant features loads of small bell-like flowers that resemble miniature petunias. The original species is native to South America, but all calibrachoas are now hybrids and there are hundreds to choose from.  

Last year I ran out of calibrachoas (often requested as “million bells” by customers) in the middle of May, so this year I will double production, as well as introduce some new varieties. 

The Callie series are nice for hanging baskets and I have used the Callie Light Blue (above) for two years in front of the Cabot Village Store.    This year I am adding Callie Dark Blue and Callie White. 

I have had good results with the Noa series of calibrachoas, so I will add from that line  Noa Sunset,  Noa Mega Pink and Noa Cherry Blossom. All three of these scored high in last year's trial gardens.

NOA SUNSET

NOA MEGA PINK

                                         

                           

                                                              NOA CHERRY BLOSSOM

       Photos courtesy Danziger Flower Farm

I seem to have selected a lot of new very bright flowers when pondering the orders this winter.   Among them are Aloha Tiki Neon and Minifamous Cherry Red.

ALOHA TIKI NEON

MINIFAMOUS CHERRY RED

While Calibrachoa is closely related to petunias, in 1985 it was determined that this plant had 18 chromosomes, while petunia had 14.   In 1988 wild samples were collected from South America and, after breeding, the first 'Million Bells' was released in 1992.   Their trailing habit make them ideal for hanging baskets, containers or as a small area ground cover.  They are actually a tender perennial, so can also survive low temperatures. 

And MORE New Flowers for 2015 - "Million Bells" (CALIBRACHOA)

Customers often ask me for "Million Bells" petunias, which shows how good marketing pays off. "Million Bells" is a brand name one company gave to their line of calibrachoas, a close relative to petunias. Calibrachoas have smaller blooms than petunias and more of them.  So when someone comes in and asks what I have for "Million Bells" I show them all the different calibrachoas.  So here are some million bells  calibrachoa that I will grow for the first time this season.

I am trying 'Noa Papaya' this year from the Danziger company, because 'Noa Blue Legend' always does so well.  (And I think the two will be pretty in combinations as well.)

Noa Papaya by Danziger

Another new calibrachoa in the Noa series I will grow this year is 'Noa Purple Black'.

Noa Purple Black by Danziger

Another nice calibrachoa I saw last year that filled out baskets is 'Callie Light Blue.'

Callie Light blue by Syngenta Breeding

And lastly, from the Proven Winners series,  'Pomegranate Punch'.

Pomegranate Punch

New Plants for 2011 - Part II

Fortunately for me, many of my customers are just as excited to try new plants as I am.

Dahlia 'Dark Angel Dracula'

I've always liked the look of bright blooms on dark foliage, and this dahlia, 'Dark Angel Dracula' won best dahlia at the Colorado State Flower trials. It is compact and uniform and is grown from cuttings.

Callie 'Painted Coral'

Calibrachoa is closely related to the petunia and was first introduced to Europe in the early 19th century about the same time as the petunia. In 1988 wild samples were collected from South America and, after breeding, the first 'Million Bells' was released in 1992. Hundreds of different colors and growth habits are now available and I grow a lot of them including some from the 'Superbell', 'Minifamous' and 'Dream' series. The 'Callie' series have been good performers for me and I am looking forward to trying Callie 'Painted Coral' .

Argyranthemum 'Angelic Pink Delight'

Argyranthemums are essentially daisies grown from cuttings. It would be hard to beat the perfomance of 'Butterfly Yellow," but I have heard good things about 'Angelic Pink Delight,' so they will be on our shelves this year. They have fully double flowers and bloom early in the season and then hopefully throughout the summer.

'Landmark Citrus' Lantana

Another flower grow from cuttings that has won rave reviews at trial gardens is 'Landmark Citrus' Lantana. This is a plant that's good for high heat situations and hopefully will do well in baskets.

I'll have more new varieties to show grown from cuttings and then it's time to share new perennials and plants grown from seed.

CALIBRACHOA (AKA “Million Bells,” “Super Bells,” “Mini Famous,” etc.)

In recent years many new flowering plants have been developed that are grown from cuttings, not seeds. These plants produce little, if any seed, and must be vegetatively propagated. (All photographs of blooms supplied by the companies selling the plants.)



Calibrachoa, which looks like a small petunia, was first released as ‘Million Bells’ in 1992. It came from wild samples collected in South America in 1988. Wikipedia says that calibrachoas are named after a Mexican botanist, Antonio de la Cal y Bracho, so I learned something composing this blog entry.

Calibrachoa has hundreds of small flowers from spring to fall. “A tiny petunia on steroids” is how I have seen it described, although they are actually an entirely different species. Like most flowers grown from cuttings, you don't have to deadhead calibrachoa.

Dream Kisses Orange Sunset
All the big companies are breeding calibrachoas now. They are great for any container, as they tumble over the side and are loaded with flowers.

My favorite calibrachoas from last year were 'Superbells Plum' and 'Superbells Saffron'. These are both from the Proven Winners series.

Superbells Plum

Superbells Saffron

I like to mix colors in hanging baskets and the combinations sold well last year.


Stay Tuned!
We had five below zero last week, so it’s not exactly planting time in northern Vermont. And yet they are predicting 80 degrees (record highs) for tomorrow.

A new calibrachoa I am trailing this year is 'Mini Famous Double Yellow' developed by Selecta. I have had a few doubles in the past, but they were spotty bloomers. This variety has done well in trial gardens around the country.


Mini Famous Double Yellow


Above is 'Noa Blue Legend,' another new calibrachoa (I wonder what the correct pronunciation is on that word) that I have this year because it rated high in trial gardens across the country last year. I am growing ten different colors this year and I suspect in a month or two I will be posting photos of the results. For now, all is green.