This morning I was up early (for myself) and could barely make out the plants outside. But I saw the Superbells calibrachoas move as if there was a ghost in the middle. I knew immediately that it was a ruby-throated hummingbird that didn’t waste time on the daily feeding ritual.
Although hummingbirds are mentioned in Proven Winners Day, it really came as a surprise this season. You will also visit every single flower and color. I thought it was funny that they even spent a little more time with flowers that had lost their appeal. I wonder if an older Superbells Tangerine Punch would age into a Hummingbird Cabernet.
There have been many other surprises with the Superbells, one of which is that I planted almost all of mine in the first week of October. I planted a few extras here and there in April, but my October surprise is different. If you are reading this, it will be 10 months behind me. In my Zone 8a garden, they were a lot tougher than I could ever have dreamed of. I really believe that autumn planting will become my program.
Perhaps the swallowtail butterfly’s frequent visits came as no major surprise. It was mostly eastern tiger swallowtails and spice swallowtails that made the daily nectar visits, but our main season is yet to come. It stands to reason that when hummingbirds eat, so do the larger butterflies.
The Garden Guy grows eight strains that have now become 42 Superbells selections. I absolutely love the seven punch choices while my son uses Coralina and Dreamsicle a lot. However, you can find any color including doubles, stars, and compact table tops. Then there are wild mixes like Holy Moly, Holy Smokes and Holy Cow.
Proven Winners introduced calibrachoas to the garden world almost 25 years ago. Over time, we truly see the Superbells Calibrachoa as one of the best buys on the planet for your garden dollar. They will really bloom by frost with a little work.
They grow to be roughly 12 inches tall by 24 inches wide and packed with an extra long season of enormous flowering potential. While I’ve been very lucky to grow them in raised beds with lots of organic material, their best performance is always in containers. From what we’ve seen this year, you need to know that hanging baskets or containers make a great addition to your butterfly hummingbird habitat.
This is the time to use the best potting soil, nothing heavy with garden loam soil. Since the Superbells Calibrachoas are such productive bloomers, it counts on us as gardeners to feed them. During the warm growing season, most of us water daily, which leaches out the nutrients. You can use controlled release granules as per your recipe recommendation, but don’t be afraid to use a dilute water-soluble fertilizer at least once a week, as is the case with many commercial landscapers. I did that until July.
Get to know your plants and at the right moment, in late July or early August, they may tell you to trim them a little. Since I planted in the fall, my wife Jan only makes regular visits here and there to remove a little. This pruning will pay off enormously in autumn for an extended flowering period.
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(Norman Winter, gardener, garden spokesperson, and author of Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South and Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden. Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)
(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives free plants for review from the companies he serves.)
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Copyright 2021 Tribune Content Agency.
