Balloon Flower Platycodon grandiflorus

LATIN NAME: Platycodon grandiflorus

COMMON NAME: Balloon Flower

LATIN NAME: Platycodon grandiflorus

COMMON NAME: Balloon Flower

The balloon flower swells its closed, balloon-like buds before the wide, blue bells open, and the whole plant stands in the neat, upright clumps. The upright, clump-forming, perennial plant carries the oval, toothed, blue-green leaves and the wide, open, bell-shaped, blue, purple or white flowers with the pointed petal tips through the mid-summer, one of the fine, bold sights of the border, each flower opening from the curious, balloon-like bud. The plant has a long record in the old practice of the warm East, and it is a fine, historic presence of the border. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The balloon flower is a curious subject of the plant science, and the balloon-like buds keep showing up in the work on the upright perennials. The way the closed, balloon-like buds swell and then open into the wide, bell-shaped flowers has been examined closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the upright perennials, the long-lived border plants and the members of the bellflower family. The oval leaves and the clump-forming habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the balloon flower is a regular subject of the work on the balloon buds of the cool world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The balloon flower is a fine, bold plant of the border and the study collection. The wide, open, bell-shaped, blue, purple or white flowers with the pointed petal tips open through the mid-summer, one of the fine, bold sights of the border, each flower opening from the curious, balloon-like bud, and the plant has a long record in the old practice of the warm East. It is one of the fine choices for the border, the cut-flower patch and the study collection, and it has been written up in the botanical and the horticultural papers for the balloon buds and the long record of use. It is a fine, bold plant of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained garden.

Give the young plants the deep, well-drained bed, and the balloon buds will come in the second season.

Give the young plants the deep, well-drained bed, and the balloon buds will come in the second season.

To grow the balloon flower from seed, sow the small, dark seeds on the surface of the tray of fine, gritty soil, without covering them, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings thread up within a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the deep, well-drained ground, the balloon buds will open through the mid-summer.

Uses: Culinary/Medicinal

Interesting profuse blue flowers resemble balloons just before opening. Important herb of the Orient: cough remedy is prepared from the roots; wholesome young foliage added to salads.