Calibrachoa × hybrida
Calibrachoa
Common names: Million Bells, Mini Petunia, Trailing Petunia
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 3 l
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Flowering
- May–Oct
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 2 °C
- Water need
- High
Category imageThis description was machine-translated.
Description
Calibrachoa × hybrida looks like a miniature petunia but belongs to its own genus. The parent species come from South America, and the garden forms are cultivars. The bell-shaped flowers measure only 2 to 3 cm, yet they sit in such large numbers along the shoots that in summer the plant disappears under a dense cushion of blossoms. It is available in almost every color, from white through yellow, orange, pink and red to violet and blue, often with a dark throat. The plant grows about 15 to 25 cm tall, and its shoots hang 30 to 50 cm over the edge of the container. It blooms without pause from May until the first frost in October. It suits window boxes, hanging baskets and pots on balconies and terraces. It is demanding only with water: it tolerates lime and waterlogging poorly.
Care instructions
Plant Calibrachoa after the Ice Saints in mid-May, from calendar week 20, in a sunny, warm spot in acidic, loose soil. Water evenly and preferably in the morning, keeping the soil moist but never wet: if the root ball dries out, the plants wilt quickly, and with waterlogging the roots rot. Use rainwater where possible. From the end of May, fertilize once a week. Spent flowers do not need to be pulled off, as the blossoms clean themselves, and they tolerate rain better than petunias. If the shoots become long and bare in midsummer, cut them back by a third; with fertilizer they will soon sprout densely again. Yellow leaves with green veins indicate iron deficiency caused by calcareous water or a pH value that is too high.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringMay–Oct
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, humus-rich, nutrient-rich, lime-avoiding
Million bells need loose, humus-rich soil that drains water well, best a special petunia or balcony plant compost. A slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.2 is crucial. If the soil is more chalky, the plants hardly take up iron any more: the leaves turn yellow while only the veins stay green. So water with rainwater or stale, low-lime water. Waterlogging quickly makes the fine roots rot, so every pot needs drainage holes.
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
May–Sep
Million bells are heavy feeders and only flower right through with regular feeding. Mix ripe compost into the soil when planting. From the end of May, add a liquid fertiliser for flowering plants to the water about once a week; in cool weather every two weeks is enough. Diluted nettle liquid feed is an organic alternative. If the leaves turn yellow between the veins, it is usually down to chalky water and not too little fertiliser.
Overwintering
Botanically, the million bells is perennial, but in Central Europe it doesn't survive a winter outdoors. If you want to keep it, bring it in before the first frost, cut the shoots back to about 10 cm and place it in a bright spot at 10 to 14 °C. Water only sparingly, but the root ball must not dry out, and give no feed. After the Ice Saints in mid-May, the plant can go outside again. A more space-saving option is to take cuttings in late summer.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
You propagate million bells by cuttings, because most commercial varieties are hybrids that only stay true to type this way. In August or September, cut shoot tips 5 to 8 cm long, preferably without flowers, just below a leaf node, remove the lower leaves and insert them in lean, moist seed compost. Under a clear lid they root bright at about 18 to 20 °C in two to three weeks. Ventilate briefly every day, otherwise mould forms. Seed is available for only a few varieties, so you buy most million bells as young plants in spring.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
mint family (Lamiaceae)
particularly well establishedYou will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.
For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 43 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
borage family (Boraginaceae)
Borage attracts pollinators and is supposed to keep tomato pests away from the nightshade family.
For example BorageCommon comfreyLacy phaceliaForget-me-notLungwortSiberian bugloss and 2 more species in the catalogue
Source: organic greenhouse companion planting practice
Rather not
gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)
You should avoid planting potato and cucumber together because they share disease pathogens such as leaf and brown rot and stand in each other's way as strong feeders.
For example CucumberPumpkinCourgettePickling cucumberButternutHokkaido and 15 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Calibrachoa yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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