One of my favorite green business operations I follow on Facebook is Rivers Greenhouse and Garden in Brandon, Mississippi. They have a wholesale greenhouse operation and a retail garden center a couple of miles away. They are the most picturesque destination out in the country if you ever find yourself near Jackson, Mississippi. They recently posted a photo of a few flats of Superbells Prism Pink Lemonade calibrachoa. Their Facebook audience started showing a lot of interest for a plant that is new, making its debut this year. This should serve as notice to you: When you see it buy it, buy a bunch for your friends, as this will be one hot commodity.
Amusingly, around that same time, one of mine that I planted as part of my trials last year really started showing out. Yes, I know I got lucky on a bunch of stuff returning this year, but a lot of that was due to the labor of moving all of my containers to the garage for five days during the December arctic blast.
But back to my event that sequenced with Rivers Greenhouse and Garden promotion.
My Superbells Prism Pink Lemonade was blooming like a beautiful bouquet, if you will, with Superbells Grape Punch calibrachoa. Since I planted those last summer, I had forgotten I even made that partnership. So there they are, blooming in an incredibly magical lighting, making me look like a genius, when an Eastern tiger swallowtail decided the lemonade was on the meal plan.
I wondered how this could be, while asking myself, "Can you capture that with the camera, Norman?" The funny thing is that the butterfly gave me opportunities time and again. He would feed, soar in the trees and go back to the same spot. I have every plant a swallowtail could want from the standpoint of nectar in March, but on this day the Superbells Prism Pink Lemonade reigned champion.
It reigned champion at my house by last summer too, and not only in my trials, but also in the University of Georgia Trials in Athens. It was a Classic City Award Winner. UGA’s Dr. John Ruter describes the Classic City winners this way:
"We take pride in the Trials at the University of Georgia. We don’t trial for the sake of trialing or to make us look good or to give us something to do — we trial in the steadfast belief that someone, breeders, growers, retailers and consumers will pay attention," he says. "Quality is not limited to fertility standards and spacing; quality is also what consumers, from landscapers to buyers, see when they have a little money to spend.
“So, in the steadfast belief that what we do does make a difference, here are the Classic City Award Winners, the very best plants in the trial gardens, based on year-round performance, and/or eye-catching beauty. Of the over 2,000 plants in the garden, being a Classic City Award winner is equivalent to the Oscar or Tony rolled up as one.”
That says it all — and Superbells Prism Pink Lemonade calibrachoa, with its dynamic changing coloration, is deserving of the trophy. The blooms, which open lemon yellow and transition to vibrant pink with both colors being continuously present, is almost beyond description. Blooming all season — in my case returning from last year and now feeding swallowtails in March — is nothing short of incredible.
Superbells Prism Pink Lemonade, like other calibrachoas, do best in containers. As I have suggested time and again, they can be partnered with Supertunias petunias and Superbena verbenas. Because I planted all mine last year, they have been the biggest calibrachoas I have ever had in February and March. The freeze a couple of weeks ago that took out all azalea and loropetalum blooms in my area hurt neither them, nor the Superbenas or Supertunias.
Because they have been in such a lush state of growth and bloom for over eight weeks, the heat of summer is sure to tire them out despite my careful water and fertilization. I will need to cut back, maybe stick in a fresh plant or two, like you do. Even the new ones will need trimming to carry through fall.
Superbells calibrachoas like Prism Pink Lemonade are champions for the garden. Buy them when you see them.
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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker 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 complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)
