A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Butterfly and Bird Gardens What Have I here?

Please tell me in 4 words or Less.. What is this?

Hint.. Perennial came back over winter......seed sown.

Purple and check the buds there before they open.
b

looks like a balloon flower to me

Balloon flower
Platycodon grandiflorus

^ exactly four words

Knew it would get someones attention.........

They often say that here ......In 4 words or less.LOL

Thanks Ken
Ballon flower........Didnt know it grew, but must of planted it last year..

i have some that came back for me dodge.. i love mine!

Is purple the only color they are??

b

No they come in white and a pinkish color too, Barb.

Mine came back for the last three years Dodge~ Mine are blueish Purple

I am zone 5......
If they come back here, they will come back in alaska.

b

Barb, they come back here. my neighbour has a rather mature patch in their front garden :)

What color and how large do they get? Height.

I never seen them before.............Sure didnt know they were perennials.

Mine got so tall they leaned over I'd say about 14" each year they get bigger and bigger,(wider),, I believe I need to add more soil to that area,, I've seen them stand tall and proud,, so I guess I don't have enough soil to support them??

Diane,

You probably dont realize, the plants are always much larger in warmer climates, when we share the same plants.
They wont get that tall in cold climates like me an Kennyso..

:o)

Thats my story and I am sticking to it ..b

Kenny just wrote you that his neighbor has a rather mature plant in their front yard, and that is In cold cold cold Canada, I wonder how big a rather mature plant of his neighbors the balloon flower is,,

MIne isn't that BIG it's just tall I started out with one stock now I have about 8 stocks three years later, sooooooo it could be that it's TOO HOT here,, Mine have already begun to die back from the heat.
I wish you good blooming and successful years coming with it, it's really a nice plant to have come back year after year.

Know what Diane. Mine has a whole bunch of stocks now and lots of blooms coming .
Wont make me mad.

I didnt realize how mature Kennys neighbors was..

Thanks for the help..

I have 2 more plants out there I will probably never identify.

One bloomed pretty purple little .. maybe 2 maro photos will come.

b

Your busy diane .............beats me how you have time, with a job too.

wow yours is doing Very Well then!! That's Great!

Yep I try to stay Busy,, But always time for the GH and friends!
I always look for your flower blooms Dodge!

Diane your neat .

And thanks for the compliments..
Oh I found out my photos upload faster with that thing I showed .. have to go get another..

Too bad they're done blooming or else i would've shown you a picture :( the patch is about 2-3 feet in diameter blooming, and the flowering stems were a good 2-3 feet tall. Mind you, the patch is 2-3 feet AFTER they take a chunk to give away. It's been blooming the past three years i've lived in this house. Maybe i can collect some seeds. It looks to me they spread and reseed themselves.

Some plants that we struggle to keep alive as perennials do VERY well down south, but there are also plants that thrive here but struggle to survive down south because they need less heat...hostas come to mind. They thrive everywhere even in sun, but can fry down south with partial shade depending where you are lol

Your right in all accounts Kennyso..

Cold weather plants like Hostaa love my area.. So do astibile.
Just purchased some of those an goats beard.. Both are taking off like mr wizard.

Tulips do well an daffodils, lilac, azalea......No luck with rhodendrens.

Lilys of course......sweet peas. Lemon fluff. Peonies giants here.


Lots of cold weather lovers .

What zone are you in Kenny?

I want to say that even though he is Canada he is in a warmer zone than I am in here in MN so I guess not all of Canada is terribly cold all the time!

I have a friend in Ontario Canada .. she is zone 5 like me..

I think Kenny is at the opposite side of canada

Jessica, would it surprise you if I told you there are Canadians who can grow bananas and palms year round in the ground? The far west of Canada has the warmest zones of all the country. I think the highest is z8 on the USDA chart. I'm a 5b. There are parts of Alaska that is designated as z7!

I'm in Ontario as well, Barb :)

Whoops Kennyso,

Then I have 2 friends in Ontario..LOL