February 2022 - 44

CULTURE REPORT
Deep Blue
Calibrachoa
Cha-Cha Series
The Cha-Cha series is the uniform, large-mounded calibrachoa you're
looking for in big basket displays.
BY LAURA MASOR
C
Diva Apricot
ha-Cha calibrachoa was launched
for spring 2021 and quickly
established itself as a colorful
Frosty Lemon
Diva Hot Pink
and novelty choice for large containers,
hanging baskets and mixes. This fullsized
series is 25% more vigorous than
the Cabaret series from Ball FloraPlant,
which has been a flagship for uniformity
and timing to build calibrachoa basket
programs. Now Cha-Cha, with its large,
cascading blooms and trendy, novelty
colors, offers a bigger display for premium
containers or for municipal/commercial
landscape combo basket components.
Not messy or wild, Cha-Cha features the
uniform, controlled vigor you're looking
for in big basket displays. It keeps this
uniformity across all of the colors, which
includes two color-shifting types. Cha-Cha
also has an early flowering time, making it
excellent for early season basket color.
Ball FloraPlant has added to its
MixMasters multi-liner combo collection
with the introduction of two new options.
MixMasters Great Escape is a full-size
mixture of 'Cha-Cha Diva Hot Pink',
award-winning petunia Bee's Knees, and
verbena 'Firehouse Burgundy'. MixMasters
Diva La Vida pumps up the sass with a
combination of 'Cha-Cha Deep Blue' and
'Cha-Cha Diva Hot Pink'.
These are ready-to-finish multi-liners
that benefit from our trialing and selection
process. The best MixMasters mixes
start with color selection and end with
following proper culture guidelines. All
selected colors and components work
well together with varieties that have been
CROP TIME: ROOTED LINER TO FINISH
Container Size
4- to 5-in. (10- to 13-cm) Pots, Quarts
6-in. (15-cm) Pots, Gallons
Tangerine
10- to 12-in. (25- to 30-cm) Tubs, Baskets
44 FEBRUARY 2022 GPNMAG.COM
trialed and approved for optimum growing
performance in containers.
A variety of characteristics also figure
into MixMasters, including unique
textures, common water requirements
and pollinator appeal.
When our resident " Mix Master " Becky
Lacy sets out to create new recipes for the
program, she also consider these factors:
* Regionality: Where will the combo
grow best? Can it work nationally?
* Timing. The varieties must initiate
flowering at the same time.
* Vigor: The recipe as a whole is taken
into consideration, so that one or two
components won't overgrow.
* Seasonality: Mixes are created with
specific seasons in mind; some work
best for early spring, while others
work great in the heat of the summer.
* Longevity at retail: All MixMasters
combos must provide continuous
blooming on retail shelves and on
into the consumer's garden after
purchase.
As mentioned above, Cha-Cha is
relatively easy to produce. Following are
some propagation and finishing guidelines
to build the best-looking baskets for retail.
PROPAGATION/FINISHING
No rooting hormone is required when
sticking cuttings for Cha-Cha calibrachoa.
They can be started in several tray sizes
(50, 72, 84 or 105) with a soil pH of 5.4
to 5.8. Provide an average six to eight
days with mist to encourage rooting.
Provide one pinch during the propagation
Plants Per Pot Weeks
1 ppp
1-2 ppp
3-5 ppp
stage, as Cha-Cha has a higher vigor.
Average propagation time for this series
is three to four weeks.
Some best practices we've found:
Avoid wide fluctuations in soil moisture
at this stage to ensure healthy growth.
We recommend applying a preventative
fungicide drench at 18-21 days after
sticking.
After transplant, maintain light levels
at 5,000-8,000 footcandles. Provide
fertilization at a rate of 225-300 ppm.
Day Temperatures: 71-76° F
(21-24° C)
Night Temperatures: 50-58° F
(10-14° C)
Cooler air temperatures and high light
will reduce or eliminate any need for plant
growth regulators. But if PGR is necessary,
use a B-Nine spray at 2,500-5,000 ppm,
Bonzi drench 3-8 ppm, or Florel spray
(300-500 ppm, applied one to three times
for large baskets to maintain the plant's
habit as needed. Cha-Cha can benefit
from one to two pinches during finishing
to also improve its habit and flowering.
For optimized plant health at finishing,
maintain soil pH at 5.2 to 5.8.
CROP TIME
Crop times for Cha-Cha will be shortest
as the days lengthen in spring. Apply
preventative broad-spectrum fungicide
drench early (seven to 10 days after
transplant) to minimize disease. For
diminishing the chance of root rot, avoid
saturating the media and avoid excessive
feed levels.
We'll be debuting the expanded list of
varieties at California Spring Trials at our
Santa Paula location.
6 to 9 weeks
7 to 11 weeks
8 to 12 weeks
Laura Masor is a breeder for Ball FloraPlant
in Arroyo Grande, California. Visit www.
ballfloraplant.com for full culture details.
http://www.ballfloraplant.com http://www.GPNMAG.COM
February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2022
