Cool Calibrachoas

After another 2" of snow overnight, we did have a sunny but very frigid Tuesday.  With temperatures well under zero degrees F, the only outside activity was some snow removal efforts by Larry and Bill.  We did have some nice help at the Horticulture Center though.  Larry H. came in to help process some lights and Pat M. was in as well a bit later in the morning.  Larry and Bill had some other projects after snow removal and Dick H. came back to work on a broken snow blower after plowing the Horticulture Center parking lot.  Chuck S. came in for recycling and Maury ran more errands for us. Bob K. worked on repairing an outdoor light at the Horticulture Center and we saw a few others here and there.

I thought a colorful blog would be in order on another cold winter day.  I'm focusing on the million bells (Calibrachoa) selections which continue to expand each year with many new varieties appearing each spring.  The variety above is 'Aloha Volcano Sunset' which I find spectacular.  I did a blog on these seasonal plants a long time ago but have some photos of more current varieties.  Appearing like small petunias, these floriferous plants are heavy on flower power in the basket, container and bedding scheme. There are so many out there including more clumping forms and semi-trailers!  We've dabbled with some but have to give them some added TLC later in summer by applying fertilizer with iron to keep the foliage green and the plant robust through the summer.  Full sun and perfect drainage is a must.  Almost all of these examples are of Calibrachoa selections in containers where they can thrive due to good drainage.

some of the many varieties seen at the Ball Customer Day (West Chicago, IL)

 CanCan 'Purple Star'

 MiniFamous 'Compact Dark Blue'

 'Aloha Tiki Soft Pink'

 MiniFamous 'Compact Orange'

 MiniFamous 'NeoViolet + Eye'

MiniFamous 'NeoCoral + Eye'

MiniFamous 'Double Rose Chai'

 Superbells 'Lemon Slice'

 MiniFamous 'iGen Tangerine'

 'Sprinkles on Top' (mix)

 'Fruit Cocktail' mix

Calibrachoa patch in Colorado