A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Balloon Flowers

Help! I was cleaning up my rocks but cutting off the tops of all the dead plants so it would look better through the winter. When I went to cut back the dead stuff from my balloon flowers, I ended up pulling it out of the ground by the roots. Did I kill it off or do you think it will come back next spring? It's been there for a couple of years and it getting to the point where it is nice and big and flowering beautifully. Please give me good news!
Amy

Loosen the soil around the area where you pulled the plant out from and mix a bit a potash or bone meal into the loosend soil. Do not give it any nitrogen based fert. Then carefully lower the roots back into the hole and slowly replace the soil. Pat down the area, and water it well.
You still stand a good chance at the plant survining. Don't forget to mulch over the roots well as they will need all the help that they can get.


Mike

Oopsie, I don't have it anymore. It sounds like I will just have to replant it next year. The bad thing about balloon flowers is that it takes them so long to come in the spring. I will have to keep my eye on the other one and see when it starts to come back. If nothing shows up from the area I pulled the purple one from, I will just get a new one. Live and learn

They don't self sow?? WOW!! I would have thought they would sow new ones from their seeds every year?!! Are they hard to start from seed?? I just put some seed for these in my lily bed (I think it was ). Do they not flower the first year??

They will self sow, but a lot of the time the flowers from the seeds will revert back to the original white color. Which does look pretty surrounding the purple plant.

That is good to know about them self sowing. I didn't even think about that. I really like the BF, especially the purple. I am going to be planting a bunch more next year. They are a lot of work to keep them deadheaded once they get going.
It just dawned on me that it was the white one and not the purple!!! Almost all of my flowers are purple or yellow with a few other colors thrown in.