Do the million bells (Torenia) bloom most of the summer in the midwest region in containers? I have good luck with Bacopa, but would love to add some purple to my plantings this summer. I hate things that peter out soon and have to be replaced. Is it in the petunia family? Sandy in Naperville
trailing plants for hanging baskets and containers
Both Wishbone flower (Torenia) http://plantsdatabase.com/go/249/index.html and Million Bells (Calibrachoa) http://plantsdatabase.com/go/950/index.html
should bloom all summer long in your zone. Both do well in more moderate climates such as yours. Torenia does better in hot weather if given some shade, while calibrachoa blooms better if grown in full sun.
Calibrachoa looks like a petunia but is not. It is actually a perennial in warmer climates.
Thanks -- I am going to use them this year in my hanging baskets and window boxes. I have three hanging containers in full sun and two window boxes in partial shade. I purchased the one that looks like mini-petunias, not knowing how long it would bloom, and it was terrific. Of course, by then I had tossed the little plastic marker that tells you what the plant is, away! I pinched it back now and then and it just kept going and going, like the Energizer bunny!
in the pictures of calibrachoa (million bells), they had a few different hanging baskets, planted with bacopa, and one with lysimachia and licorice plant.
http://plantsdatabase.com/t/383482/
http://plantsdatabase.com/showpicture/17552/
????? how many plants per 10" or 12" basket?
????? how many plants per 16" basket?
????? what would you suggest as a substitute if i can't find the bacopa, lysimachia or licorice plant?
thanks i look forward to hearing your suggestions and ideas.
I would not put more than 8 in a 12" basket. I like to crowd things, so that I get a lush, full look. Has anyone ever planted up one of those wire baskets with those stiff kind of mossy liners that they are selling? I read somewhere that you are not supposed to just plant IN them, but slit the sides and insert plants all around. I'd like to try to do it this year. I don't want to go the sphagnum moss route - as it dries out so fast -- I thought these others would be better??
thanks yulordgarden. i planted in those last year. they held the moisture in nicely, i really let them soak before planting, and of course kept up with it. i'm going to try reusing a couple this year too, to see how they do. i don't see why you couldn't slit them. they surtainly are sturdy enough, although i might do more than a slit, because they are so stiff, and not something that the roots would grow into or spread open easily like the grow bags or spagnum moss.
let me know how your experiment goes. debi z
I just love million bells! Need to go and get some myself! They do very well in containers here, in zone 5b, where it is dry and hot in the summer. I saw them for the first time last year at my next door neighbors - hers were in partial shade. She had them in containers, and along the sidewalk to her porch, where they grew a little over the sidewalk, softening the look of the pavement. Very pretty.
Did anyone ever find out if the million bells (calibrachoa) take well to shearing or cutting back? The ones I got from the garden supply place this year are all kind of leggy -- I hate to cut them back and lose the length, but I want them to fill out better?? Also, any luck in propogating them from cuttings in water or any other way -- I'd like to increase my supply so I have back ups in case some of them don't make the transplant too well! Gee, I paid $3.99 each for them in little 4" pots this year. I dropped over $200 for two containers and enough plant material to plant them up and two window boxes! I think I am going to have to get some shelves put up with grow-lites in my basement so I can start things from seed. Last year, I spent a fortune on plants to do several pots around my townhouse and some railing boxes and containers for the deck. I also move a lot of the big houseplants outdoors for the summer -- the hibiscus, jades, ferns, etc. Also --Bacopa does not seem to divide too well -- sometimes I can get a good piece out of one plant -- any suggestions on propogating that?
take cuttings from your bacopa.
$200.00 for two containers? was that a typo?
Karrie -- I meant the baskets, and enough plants for both of them and two window boxes as well! I bought a couple of ready made hanging pots the other day at the garden center and they were a little pot-bound -- took out the plants and divided them into two good sized containers. That was a good buy for $9.99! We have had so much rain in Illinois that everything is looking lush and green right now -- hope we do not have a really hot summer, as I hate to be a slave to the watering can and hose. Some of the baskets will need to be watered twice a day!
Cuttings from Bacopa: root in water or sand or vermiculite? which works best? I've tried putting them in water and they turn to mush after awhile.
Oh, ok! lol!
I think if you take cuttings and dip them in rooting hormone, and then place them in a soil they should root for you. I saw this on another forum and heard they are fairly easy to do. I love Bacopa for pots - they drape very nicely.