Balloon Flower

Other Names: Chinese Bellflower, Japanese Bellflower

Description:

A beautiful summer blooming perennial with large buds that resemble balloons that eventually open into saucer shaped stars; great for borders, rock gardens, and containers; a long lasting cut flower

Ornamental Features:

Balloon Flower features beautiful blue bell-shaped flowers with white eyes at the ends of the stems from early to mid summer, which emerge from distinctive blue flower buds, and which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It's narrow leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the season. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.

Landscape Attributes:

Balloon Flower is an herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance perennial, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Balloon Flower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• General Garden Use
• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Container Planting

Plant Characteristics:

Balloon Flower will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. The flower stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

This perennial does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder zones.

This species is not originally from North America.