FREE: Balloon Flower (Chinese Bellflower) Seed

The listing, Balloon Flower (Chinese Bellflower) Seed has ended.

This heavy bloomer gets its name from the way each flower bud swells before its starry petals unfold. Balloon flowers are one of the easiest perennials you'll ever grow, and they bloom in profusion in mid to late summer, when many other perennials are beginning to fade.

Balloon flowers are a cottage garden standard, and they are excellent for cutting. To make the flowers last in the vase, sear the stems with a match or candle flame immediately after cutting.

Balloon flowers grow in Zones 3-8. They thrive in full sun or light shade in well-drained garden soil. They appreciate a little afternoon shade in zones 7-8. You won't find a more carefree perennial! Just work a little slow-release fertilizer into the soil in spring, and pick off the flowers as they fade to encourage more blooms. Moderate drought conditions aren't a problem, but it helps to water the plants deeply when the soil dries out too much or if drought conditions persist. Balloon flowers are seldom bothered by insects, and they are very cold-hardy.

Be careful when weeding the garden in spring. Balloon flowers don't sprout until other plants have begun to grow, and it is easy to dig them up inadvertently or pull them thinking they are weeds. Mark the area where they are planted to prevent this type of mistake.

Start new plants from seeds in spring, just after the last winter frost, or summer, up to 2 months before the first fall frost. When starting indoors, sow in individual pots 6-8 weeks before the last expected frost. Seeds require light to germinate, so press them lightly onto the soil, and don't cover. You can expect flowers the second year.

I LOVE this flowering plant, they come back year after year and will re-seed. The seeds are for flowers the blue color in the photos, they do come in white also. Harvested this summer from plants in my yard.

Thanks for looking!