Balloon Flowers are important plants for the late season garden. They begin blooming in mid-July lasting through the month of August. Colors of white, pink and lavender are available with shades of blue being the most common. Blue is a color not frequently found in any season.
Cut flower fans will appreciate the long stout stems and large blooms. Be sure and sear the milky stems before placing in water. They are easy to grow and thrive during our most humid and hot weather.
Platycodon grandiflorus (Plat - i - koh' - don) is a single species plant, but fortunately it is very variable.
Native range is primarily Japan and Northern China, Korea and Eastern Siberia. There it grows in grassy open places on hills and mountains. The weather they survive in those areas makes the plant adaptable to a cold hardiness of Zone 3; heat tolerant in all but the Gulf Coast and Southern Florida.
Soil conditions are usually rich with humus, well drained. The root systems are large and carrot-like, making them tolerant of dry conditions, but they perform best with adequate moisture.
Full sun is best for bloom, however light open shade is acceptable.
Stems are stiffly upright on Balloon Flowers. As foliage matures the plant takes on an overall vase shape. Buds and blooms develop, adding to the weight of the individual stems. When the first rains appear during bloom you can count on the stems falling over, so staking is required if floppy flowers are not desired.
Height is 24-30", so this is the way the plant places it's seeds away from the parent. Leaves are bluish-green or gray-green in color with sharp-toothed margins. Outline is generally ovate to a rounded lance shape about 3" in length. Leaves are arranged in whorls the base of the stem, becoming alternate as they ascend.
The plant received its name from the inflated buds. As they mature each bud swells until it resembles a paper lantern or balloon.
The balloons open into five pointed broadly shaped shallow bells, sometimes described as saucer shaped stars. Blooms resemble Campanulas to which they are related.
Petals, which can reach up to 3" across, are arranged solitary and terminal. Veins of a deeper color radiate outward from center to pointed tips, further enhancing color and form. Reminds me of landing guides for bees. Buds and blooms are long lasting both in the garden and as cut flowers for the table.
While there may be only one species of Balloon Flowers, it is one of the most variable of plants. There are countless hybrids and cultivars. (Cultivars are selected forms picked for a specific desirable difference from the norm. For example, a double blooming plant among singles, or one that remains dwarf in mature size.) There are named series bred by propagators. All of this is reflected in the available choices at your local nursery or garden center as well as plant catalogs.
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In the 24-30" height, grandiflorus has selections of blue flowers, white, pink and a double blooming form in blue. Height given in descriptions is not the same as my experiences. Grandiflorus reaches 30-36" in my garden. Some of the named cultivars to seek out are the late flowering "Autmnalis" and "Shell Pink", a delicate pale pink. "Roseus Plenus" has semi-double pink flowers and "Mother of Pearl" is a pale pink with the underlying luster of pearl.
The "Mariesii Series" (40-42" in my garden) has an enlarged corolla (the inner whorl of a flower, in this case, of one piece) slightly larger blooms and, for me, somewhat more blooms in number. Color of blooms are violet-blue, white and pink.
Another series to look for is "Fuji." Various sources describe the height as being anywhere between 18 and 24." The blue is listed as one of the best of the single tall blues. Fuji Pink is a light shell pink and the white occasionally has bluish streaks. In this same size range is "Hakone Blue" which has full double flowers.
Stepping down a bit in size, P. g. "Nova Nana" is described as a blue flowering dwarf of 10" in height. For me the plant reaches from about 12 to 24." I suspect this is because the ones I received were seed grown from open pollinated seed. I ordered three plants and one is 24" while the other two are 12 to 14". Nova Nana is about one half the size but the biggest advantage in growth habit is the ability to remain upright during bloom. The stems are of heavy substance, stiffly upright and retaining that position even after heavy rains. Blooms are somewhat reduced in size as well, but still of good size in relation to the plant. Since I am not particularly fond of floppy flowers this one will remain in the garden while Mariesii and the others will get a new home this fall.
After my experience with Nova Nana I began to look for other dwarfs in catalogs and seed lists. Incidentally, seed is easily germinated in pots placed in open cold frames or the garden if you wait until the soil temperature has warmed.
Possibly the very best of the blue-flowering dwarfs is "Zwerg". While only 6" in height, the flowers are supposed to be even larger than on "Sentimental Blue" and, in my opinion, a better blue color. Thus far I have seen this one listed in seed catalogs only but if sown early in the season, they bloom the first year.
"Sentimental Blue" is probably the most easily located of the dwarfs. It has been around for a while and is quite popular. It is described as 5-6" with purple-blue flowers almost normal in size. That should be over 2" blooms on a 6" stem. There is also an "Early Sentimental Blue" which is an F1 hybrid. This one has been bred for pot production.
"Baby Blue" is described as 6-8" in height and bushy in habit. Originally developed for growing in pots, Baby Blue comes pre-potty trained for the patio.
The following are on my list to experiment with next year from plants and seed depending upon which is the more easily located:
"Apoyama" has very large violet-blue single flowers on 6-10" stiffly upright stems. It is listed as an "all summer bloomer." Sources list it as an outstanding plant in performance. There are two other forms of this hybrid from Japan.
A. "Misato Purple" grows to about 8" and carries purple - violet flowers.
Fairy Snow" is a pure white bloomer obtaining about 8" in height.
When planting Balloon Flowers it pays to mark the site with a stick or label. They emerge late in the season. Once they begin growth is rapid soon catching up with the early risers.