No town will have more of a cause to join the celebration for Truffula Pink gomphrena as the Annual of the Year than Columbus, Georgia. The award selected by Proven Winners says a lot, considering they are the home of all of the Supers: Supertunia petunias, Superbells calibrachoas and Superbena verbenas.
The last few years in Columbus, Truffula Pink has been like queen of the court in Old Town, an incredible designer community in North Columbus. From historical-looking homes with dreamy cottage gardens to artsy horse trough containers, Truffula Pink has been there, showing off her hot pink blooms.
Then there is The Landings, the premier shopping or lifestyle center in town, where everyone goes to shop, dine and of course, see the flowers creating a resort-like atmosphere. Be prepared, on more than one occasion clients have had to dodge hummingbirds and butterflies as they walked into a store.
Pollinators were something most of us could have only imagined. Oh, we expected the occasional visitor, but never did we dream of it being a butterfly champ where swallowtails come in four at a time, zebra longwings three at a time and the bright orange Gulf fritillaries challenging each other for a spot at the Truffula Cafe. Believe me, if you are creating a butterfly garden, Truffula Pink gomphrena has to have a spot.
Truffula Pink is known botanically as Gomphrena pulchella and is native to South America. As a globe amaranth, its name is associated not only with beauty but love and immortality due to its ability to be cut for the vase and dried in perpetuity. You must watch Laura LeBoutillier, the internet star of "Garden Answer," to not only see her stands of Truffula Pink gomphrena in the garden, but to watch her talents as she creates an incredible wreath with the flowers.
Truffula Pink needs full sun and fertile, well-drained soil to really perform to its capability. Letting these great plants sit in wet, soggy soil will be a crime. You will want to space your plants 12 to 18 inches apart and apply a good layer of mulch after planting. It is a great plant for mass planting. Expect your Truffula Pink to get about 2 feet tall and bloom until frost.
The Garden Guy has had them in containers as the thriller plant partnered with Whirlwind Blue scaevola, Superbells Double Blue calibrachoa and Goldilocks creeping Jenny. In the landscape I have had it in several combinations, some with Illusion Emerald Lace ornamental sweet potatoes, others with Luscious Royale Cosmo lantana and some with Sunstar pentas. It is one of the toughest, most carefree plants you will ever grow.
This last season I used it with the new Meant to Bee Queen Nectarine and Royal Raspberry agastaches, or hummingbird mints, that are making their debut this year. In Mrs. Sylvette’s cottage garden in Old Town she grew dozens of Truffula Pink gomphrenas with Luscious Royale Cosmo lantanas and yellow Coreopsis verticillatas. The entire front yard was lined with the flowers, to the delight of the throngs of us that line her street to see the flowers throughout the growing season.
At The Garden Guy’s house, I am happy to report mine are returning this spring, even after the shocking December arctic blast. This has happened a couple of other years even though I am in zone 8a (9-11 are their recommended perennial zones). Truffula Pink has won 50 awards and most likely in your state if they have a plant trial program. But don’t forget that this annual, as National Plant of the Year, is worth every penny spent.
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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.)
