Eye Caramba, Photo courtesy Ball Horticulture
A common dilemma among some gardeners is trying to figure out what plants go with which ones and what colors look good together, especially combos for pots.
Besides a container of colorful flowers and interesting textures, you want the plants to play nice together and require the same light and water requirements. When we buy hanging baskets and combo pots in the garden centers, those concerns are usually reduced.
Ball Horticulture Co., has developed Mix Masters, a program that takes the guesswork out of combining plants in containers. Marketed as Drop ’N Bloom in Home Depot and Ready Refill at Lowes, Ball premixes the combos so all you have to do is plop them in the pot.
Playdate. Photo courtesy Ball Horticulture
“One of the themes driving (our) breeding efforts is reaching the modern gardener,” said Katie Rotella, a marketing communicator at Ball Horticultural Co.
“And we’ve found that today’s gardener is oftentimes a decorator, not necessarily a digger.
“So, by bringing pre-mixes to the industry, we’re reaching new gardeners who love to add flowers to their outdoor living spaces, but may shop by color, and not really by specific plant variety,” she said.
This year, Ball sent me three combos to trial and they all did really well. These combos will not be available until next year.
Playdate has Cabaret Deep Yellow, Rose and Purple calibrachoas, sometimes called million bells.
Sweet Escape has Sun Spun Yellow petunia, Aztec Burgundy Wink verbena and Cabaret Light Pink calibrachoa.
Eye Caramba has Flash Mob Bluerific petunia, Aztec Violet Wink verbena and Cabaret White petunia, which is my favorite.
Sweet Escape. Photo courtesy Ball Horticulture
Most of the plants have been trialed throughout the country, so their success is all but assured.
“These new programs at Home Depot and Lowe’s put much of the growing into the hands of the consumer, however that initial roadblock of ‘what works with what’ is removed, since the combos are proven to perform,” Rotella said.