Mini Petunias Vs. Million Bells

Why The Confusion

• Calibrachoa is not a commonly known plant yet in America, and has not achieved a common name. Due to this, people do not necessarily know that the two names mean the same thing and confusion arises.

  The calibrachoa hybrid called "million bells" is a hybrid developed by Suntory Ltd., a Japanese corporation. Suntory bred some natural calibrachoa and gave the resulting hybrid the name "million bells."

Features

• The calibrachoa grows to be approximately 1.5 to 2 feet wide and 6 to 10 inches tall with a tendency to grow in a trailing way. It grows flowers all through the summer months.

  In general, the features of the calibrachoa mostly look like a petunia, only on a smaller scale. Also like pentunias, the calibrachoa attracts hummingbirds. However, its foliage is finer than a petunia's foliage.

  The range of colors that the calibrachoa’s flowers come in includes orange, violet, bronze, blue, red, white, pink and peach. Both single- and multiple-color calibrachoa plants are available.

Benefits

• The calibrachoa does not produce seeds, and is rain resistant. Also, it does not need to be deadheaded, which is when a gardener removes dying or dead flowers from a plant. The fact that it attracts hummingbirds makes it useful for adding life to a garden or yard and exciting for aspiring birdwatchers.

Growing Conditions

• A tender perennial that gardeners treat like an annual. the calibrachoa prefers soil that ranges from a pH of 5.5 to 6.5, meaning that it prefers acidic soil. It likes full sun so long as the weather is not very hot. If planted in an area where hot weather will occur it should be planted where it will be in shade in the afternoon.

  This plant also likes soil that is moist. The top inch of soil should be allowed dry between the times it is watered.