PlantFiles: Balloon Flower, Chinese Bellflower, Japanese Bellflower
Platycodon grandiflorus 'Mariesii'

This now being the 4th summer with the blue balloon, I have learned that the falling over is quite natural and I have given up staking or caging. After it falls over there will soon be additional blooms standing straight up with even more blooms. Just took awhile to let it do it's own thing to see just what that might be.

A carefree plant that is very late to come up in the spring, so it's great to mix in with spring-flowering bulbs... these babies will just start to show their heads as the tulip foliage is fading. They're picky about root disturbance so it's best to leave them along once planted (unless you move them while dormant). My neighbor and I both have some of these, and they're pretty and heavy flowering. Intriguingly, the height for individual plants can vary dramatically--some are only 12-18" high, while other plants just a couple of feet away are 3 feet high. We haven't yet figured out what accounts for the difference...

I bought this a three pack of this plant the autumn before last. They are now 48" tall (twice the height they are supposed to grow) and flopping over. I don't think it is a simple case of mislabeling, because one plant arrived in bad shape, didn't survive the winter, and they sent me a free replacement the next spring. The replacement is now just as tall as the other plants. Next year I plan to pinch them back in late spring in an attempt to prevent the need for staking.

I love this plant. Last year it started blooming in late spring/early summer, and produced tons of flowers. Late in the summer (August), it seemed to be done, so I cut it back to the ground, and within a few weeks, it had started growing back, reaching approximately half the height of the original growth, and it had lots more flowers right into fall. I like how the flower looks like a balloon at first, and then "pops" into a lovely flower, closing to a balloon again at night. Very hardy in the hot NC summer.

Very pretty, shorter variety that I did not need to stake. Be careful with pruning/deadheading. Only remove spent bloom, NOT the entire stalk -- you will remove newly growing buds and greatly decrease flowering time. Avoid moving plant around, its roots do best when left undisturbed. Also, not a good choice around annuals for this reason. VERY long lived once established and low-maintenance. Late emergence in spring, so be sure to mark it well before cutting back. Pretty yellow color for fall foliage.