Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Pericallis – a must have annual
Suntory is a world wide family of companies involved in a lot of areas including flower breeding. I shared last week about a beautiful new pericallis they developed in their Senetti series called ‘White Red Heart’. It’s a lovely annual.
Pericallis are plants you’ll instantly know but their name doesn’t really roll off the tongue! They remind me of daisies but come in many colors and are annuals.
Pericallis are compact plants that thrive in cool conditions and flower abundantly in spring through early summer. They are easy-care flowers that look terrific in containers or flower borders and grow 8 to 12 inches tall. A pretty focal point in containers with some grasses at the back!
The Senetti series offers a wide variety of colors including, but not limited to, an eye-catching blue named ‘Blue Halo’. There’s ‘Rose Glow’, ‘Magic Merlot’, ‘Magic Salmon’ and the ‘White’ I’ve mentioned.
Pericallis thrives in cool weather and makes a great companion for other early-birds such as pansy and sweet alyssum. Perfect for spring containers.
The plants are also attractive to butterflies and deer resistant.
Water them whenever the soil feels dry to the touch. Hot summer weather will stop the flower show, so you’ll want to replace them with heat-loving annuals after they fade. Other flowers Suntory has developed include Million Bells which are a stunning series of calibrachoa, a must for most hanging baskets, and a petunia series called Surfinia.
Exactly two years ago I first introduced you to Pericallis, click here for a look at other cultivars of this beautiful annual.