Upcoming Calibrachoas

Calibrachoa ‘Cabaret Good Night Kiss’—new this year

As you make your spring plans, keep Calibrachoa in mind as a dependable way of moving high-value color quickly during those prime months. These plants hit all the high points: vibrant colors, thick coverage, easy installation, simple maintenance, and long life. Consider this fact: the color coverage is so heavy that it’s a rare person who can recall a Calibrachoa leaf from memory.

In addition, there are always new Calibrachoa varieties on the horizon, so you can count on them for attention-getting colors and patterns. Let’s review this season’s new offerings—at the same time we will touch on some popular favorites and the best sizes for each.

‘Cabaret Diva Orange’—colors shift across the blossoms

‘CABARET DIVA ORANGE’

‘Cabaret Diva Orange’ leads our list because it is one of those rare Calibrachoa varieties where the colors shift across the various blossoms. Notice that some flowers are full orange and some are full yellow, but some are a mix of the two. Pansies do this trick all the time, but it’s not commonly seen in Calibrachoa cultivars, especially to this degree.

Candy colored ‘Chameleon Tart Deco’

‘CHAMELEON TART DECO’

‘Chameleon Tart Deco’ is a candy-colored Calibrachoa, bright with hot pinks and a vibrant yellow center. Notice that the throat, on the other hand, is lined with a dark shade of burgundy. This cultivar also has some color variability among the flowers, though it’s not as strong as that of ‘Diva Orange’.

‘Cabaret Good Night Kiss’ has a yellow star to enjoy close up

‘CABARET GOOD NIGHT KISS’

From a distance ‘Cabaret Good Night Kiss’ looks like a typical burgundy with a dark eye. Approach it closely, and you begin to see the slender yellow star in the center. This is a good example of a flower design that truly benefits from high traffic areas or places where people walk by closely. It’s those little reveals that make these complex designs more enjoyable.

‘Can Can Bumble Bee Blue’ with its deeply yellow throat outlined in dark blue

‘CAN CAN BUMBLE BEE BLUE’

We see a similar theme in Can Can Bumble Bee, only here the yellow center is larger and bee-shaped, hence the name. ‘Can-Can Bumble Bee Blue’ is new, a blue with a darker blue eye. It joins a returning eye-catching favorite, ‘Can Can Bumble Bee Pink’. 

‘Cabaret Red’—solids make a powerful statement with their size and presence

THE POPULAR STUFF

At Diefenbacher Greenhouses we carry all the important series in Calibrachoa, including the Cabarets, MiniFamous, MixMaster, and Superbells. Each line has its strengths and weaknesses so we’ve pulled together what we consider to be the best cultivars. Our goal is to make a cohesive line across all the colors Calibrachoa has to offer, mixing in some doubles as well. 

House mixes growing out

HANGING BASKETS

Half of our Calibrachoas are sold as baskets, often mixed, because customers and visitors like the instant and impressive splash of colors. Some designs pop like party confetti, while the solids make a powerful statement with their size and presence. Especially popular are the monochrome mixes that bring dappled shades together into a subtle blend. We haven’t noticed a strong trend toward any one style, so we recommend a broad range of types.

Many of our mixes are built using in-house recipes based on our experience with local tastes over the decades. We blend interesting colors together and grow them out properly without lumpiness. Regular buyers will recognize many mixes as longtime favorites.

‘Cabaret White’ shows the light yellow throat common to nearly all Calibrachoas

COMPONENTS

The other half of our Calibrachoas go into various gardens that sit above the ground: troughs, planters, baskets, balls, boxes, or urns—wherever they can be started with sterile soil or soil mix. Calibrachoas excel at this type of work because they grow quickly in place with light, flouncy colors. We offer nearly all of our varieties in 4.5-inch containers and the most popular ones in 8-inch pots for even faster results in large craft, municipal, or corporate projects.

We consider ‘MiniFamous Orange’ to be the very best Callie

CARE AND CULTURE

To extend the lifespan of Calibrachoas, be sure to include bi-weekly feedings and regular water. All that flower power requires energy that has to be pulled out of sterile soil, so you are the plants’ only source of sustenance. If they go through a period of wilt, they never fully recover their former vigor.

The need for consistency is not just true of hanging baskets. If you plant Calibrachoa into troughs, planters, fiber baskets, or hanging balls—in short, anywhere interesting or special—you need a Calibrachoa specifically bred to do that kind of work. For example, Cabarets do the job well because the colors move as a team.

Calibrachoa is a house specialty at Diefenbacher Greenhouses, requiring a style of growing that we have honed for well over a decade. We feel this is a product that area professionals can use to effectively promote their color services to home, business, or community clients.