Fairy Snow White Balloon Flower
Platycodon grandiflorus 'Fairy Snow White'
Plant Height: 8 inches
Flower Height: 12 inches
Spacing: 15 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 3a
Description:
An interesting clump forming perennial so named because the buds puff up like balloons before they open; this dwarf variety has a low spreading growth habit and displays pure white flowers in mid summer; excellent for low border and container planting
Ornamental Features
Fairy Snow White Balloon Flower has masses of beautiful spikes of white bell-shaped flowers with creamy white eyes and creamy white veins rising above the foliage in mid summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its narrow leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season.
Landscape Attributes
Fairy Snow White Balloon Flower is an herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.
This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Fairy Snow White Balloon Flower is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting
Planting & Growing
Fairy Snow White Balloon Flower will grow to be about 8 inches tall at maturity extending to 12 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 15 inches apart. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!
This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Fairy Snow White Balloon Flower is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
