Million Bells

Hi,

I just bought this beautiful plant at the nursery the other day. It wasn't labeled, but I'm pretty sure it's called 'million bells', kind of like a mini petuna but without the yucky sticky branches. I want to put it in this pot on the pillar, but am wondering if it's too hot for it? This spot BAKES during the day and the wall makes it even hotter. The plant files here on Daves say to keep it consistently moist which may be a problem in this heat. The pots are all on drippers that get watered every 2 or 3 days. I can't turn it up or I'll flood the other pots.

What do you think? Is this a wise or a poor choice for this spot? I have one in the front of my house that survived the winter despite being labeled as an annual, and it's just blooming it's heart out again! Love these!

Thanks, Christina :)

leave it. it looks great. maybe you can hand waer it when necessary.

Million Bells do like the sun so it should be okay in this spot. You will probably have to water these every day. But I have lots of containers and I water them all each day. Unless there is not proper drainage a daily watering for all your plants shouldn't be a problem :)

Thanks for responding so quickly! The handwatering is what I was hoping to avoid. I'll never remember on a regular basis, so I don't want something that is reliant on it. Is there something else that would do better in this spot that might be more draught tolerant?

Since we both live in San Diego, I have had my ups and downs with Million Bells, so hopefully I can offer some advice. I have mine in morning and early afternoon sun. They grow perfectly with that amount of sun. When I had them in full sun all day, they would die. I don't care how much I watered, they seemed to bake. Once you find a good place to keep your plant, be sure and cut it back a few inches every three weeks or so. They grow fast, give ample water, weak fertilizer once a week, and it will overwinter for you. Good luck!

By the way, I never buy them in that big of a basket. I buy the quart pots at Lowe's for $2.49 and pot them up in old hanging baskets. Within a month, they're about as big as the one you have.

Thanks for sharing your experience, that is good advice. I did actually end up keeping it since it was so pretty. I put a big pan underneath and turned the drip up with the idea that it would fill the pan and the plant could suck it back up on the off days of watering as needed. It's in a teracotta pot which may hold moisture too? I also mixed in some bark chips to help hold moisture in the soil. Wish me luck!

Bummer that I didn't know about the Lowe's plants for $2.49! I paid $16 for this one at Walter Anderson Nursery.

Your idea of cutting it back reminds me of another question. The older plant I have is a bit leggy. If I cut it back to just a few inches of the base would it come back nice and full? It's pretty on the ends, but no where near as dramatic as it used to be since you can see all the woody stems.

Thanks!

I don't know if the pan of water underneath is a good idea or not--I don't know much about million bells, but many plants will rot if their feet stay wet like that. Also, if you want a pot that holds moisture, plastic will keep it in better than terra cotta...terra cotta is porous and breathes which lets water evaporate out faster but plastic holds it in. Have you thought about trying those gel crystals that soak up water and then slowly release it? I saw a thread about these recently, I think it was either here or on the Garden Products forum but I'm not positive. They could definitely help cut down on the amount of watering.

Also, I agree with Chunx on not baking them in the sun all day--I'm not in the same zone as you but it gets pretty hot on summer days, and mine always did much better when they had AM sun but a bit of shade during the hottest part of the day.

I added soil moist to my pots and it does help. This is the thread that talks about it. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/594592/ It is a very lengthy thread but lots of good as well as funny info.

perfect, I'll check it out!

Eventually I'll have much more shade in my garden, but right now my trees are young. I can't wait! I chose liquidambars and they are known to be fast growers. Hopefully in a few years I won't have these issues. :)

This message was edited May 30, 2006 8:58 PM