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loisthegardener_nc7b

Replace Balloon Flower With What?

I hope to get rid of the balloon flowers next year, as I'm tired of removing dead flowers only to see more dead flowers the next day.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a replacement flower? I would love something that is at least 3 ft tall, blooms at about the same time as baloon flower, and grows well in a slightly dry and rather crowded sunny garden with phlox and echinacea.

Comments (7)

  • girlgroupgirl
    12 years ago

    Do you still need it to be blue? If you need blue, would a speedwell work OK? The flowers last longer and they have a contrasting shaped bloom...
    If not, how about a soft yellow like moonbeam coreopsis, it just keeps on ticking. Or if you prefer an orange, milkweed is nice and depending on the echinacea it can contrast well with the color of the cone.
    For a white, I really love Kalimeris. Little japanese aster that just blooms it's head on and off....

  • natal
    12 years ago

    GGG, thanks for mentioning Kalimeris. Never heard of it, but when I Googled sounds like it's something I'd love to have.

  • trovesoftrilliums
    12 years ago

    Some of the taller campanulas, adenophora and monkshood (poisonous though) come to mind but they might require just as much deadheading.

    I have blue tall lobelia in a fairly dry spot.
    Would an annual verbena bonariensis fit in?

  • loisthegardener_nc7b
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I didn't think speedwell would get tall enough. Whatever I plant has to be visible behind the lavender I edged with.

    I've not had much luck with the moonbeam coriopsis in the past. It just melts away for some reason.

    Love the ladybells, already have some, but they only bloom for a month or so and are done by the time the phlox blooms.

    I don't mind white flowers, but the phlox and hydrangea are already white so I figured I needed another color. I have always been drawn to springy colors like pink and blue, but lately have been warming up to scarlet (as opposed to crimson which I really love but can't seem to find much of).

    The campanulas that I tried have not grown tall enough; they never grow more than 2 feet for me.

    I wintersowed and planted agastache (the blue bottle brush type), salvea azurea, foxglove, echinacea, and mcKana's Giant columbine in this plot, but either the dryness or the crowdedness have prevented them from getting much bigger than they were when I planted them out. None of them grew taller than 6 inches this summer.

    If it helps, here is the garden in question (a little dry and tired looking, sorry). Pay no attention to that crazy garden lady in the big hat who is taking pictures.

    {{gwi:421178}}

  • pat4750
    12 years ago

    Could you consider a grass? Like Little Bluestem 'The Blues'. It gets about 3 to 3.5 ft tall, is bright, light blue in summer and in the fall turns a coppery color that lasts for several months. It doesn't need frequent division, and would really like the sun and dry conditions. The only knock on it would be that it might flop if it's shaded too much by its companions. From the angle of your picture, it doesn't look like it'd be shaded.
    Pat

  • DYH
    12 years ago

    I looked through my photos, based on bloom time here in zone 7b for my balloon flowers, phlox, etc....

    rose campion (magenta, white, or pink/white blooms)

    perennial blue flax (love this one and the foliage stays nice, blue flowers open in the morning, drop by afternoon and open again the next day)

    Seeds sown in fall, bloom, then collect seeds and sow summer annuals:
    California poppies (pull when finished, collect seeds, and sow zinnias)
    Larkspur (handle same as poppies)
    Nigella (handle same as poppies)

    Other perennials:

    achillea 'Pomegranate' (other colors may bloom at same time)

    perennial geranium 'Brookside' or 'Rozanne'

    salvia farcinaea 'Victoria' or 'Blue Bedder' or 'Evolution' (tender, may be annual in your zone)

    Cameron

  • loisthegardener_nc7b
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Those are some great ideas, thank you very much. Of course after I posted I also discovered dwarf Russian sage which might work too. I am going to research your ideas and hopefully have a much more colorful garden next year. Thanks!

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