[Magdalen] Million Bells.

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

Though I'm sure there were a million bells rung for this past week's
Feast of the Holy Nativity, this note isn't about them, but rather
the calibrachoa hybrids.
 
My new annual "Jung" seed catalog from back in Wisconsin now lists  quite
a number of cultivars of these for sale.
 
This group of "miniature petunias" has quietly produced a big impact
on summer floral displays ("annuals") over the past three or so years
at least in the USA.
 
They are related to the petunias, but have a different number of  
chromosomes.
Their blossoms, are served up on attractive mounds and cascades which  makes
them great for window boxes and other containers.  Unlike ordinary  
petunias,
they do not need dead-heading as they are self-pruning.  They don't as  yet
come in the variety of colors of ordinary petunias, but, I suspect in time  
that
will change.
 
We have been planting increased numbers of calibrachoas over the past
three or so years, which fits in with the time or release by the  Japanese
company that hybridized them from South American sources.  Ours  get
mostly sun, but there is some shade.
 
With the mild autumn and winter so far, the plants are still evergreen,  
though
they are not currently blooming.  It's been down to about 25 F so  far.
 
Next year we'll plant even more of them.
 
There was a similar sensation when impatiens arrived on the scene  about
1969.  I planted a lot of impatiens on a hunch they would do well  in the 
shade
which was characteristic of my garden in the Upper Midwest.  They  were
spectacular, and people would stop and ask about them.
 
Time marches on, and so does gardening.
 
David Strang - Already thinking about spring.