Best Tips for Calibrachoas (Million Bells) - How to Keep Calibrachoas Looking Great 

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I find that my calibrachoa do better with morning sun and afternoon shade…they grow tons better for me with those conditions

Many thanks for this info, confirms what I found out the hard way - I killed every Cali I bought in a matter of days, it seemed, simply by OVERWATERING. This year, I was determined to keep one alive and healthy, a gorgeous yellow/orange/red mix I just couldnt resist, despite my previous "bad luck" with them. I've been watering VERY lightly every morning (just a wigwag of water with weak fertilizer) over the top of the entire basket, and after a month, it's flourishing, with tons of new flowers! It's happy, and so am I! 😊

Those sure are beautiful. I'll look for them

I get them every year and love them! Thanks for the video!

I have had wonderful success growing calibrachoa is my hay trough type window boxes. With the coco mat, they are never over watered.

excellent information especially the mini-petunia. Well done. Standing among all those blooms was a stunning choice.

Im learning so much! Thank you so much for all your information. ❤

In Michigan, I had good luck with them last year using your fertilizer. Hope they're just as good this year (knock wood!) because I purchased 5 hanging baskets and more to plant in pots.

Thank you for sharing ❤

I love these beautiful tiny flowers. We water once in the morning and water in late evening. We hav very good luck either way these cuties. We constantly feed. (Deluged) one of my favorites. No dead heading, easy care. 4 years now growing. You have Very beautiful baskets.

The Proven winner and monrovia brand calibrachoas do quite well for me. Love their colors.

Thanks for the vid! Ur awesome!

I just found your channel-I will now feed my Cali's much more frequently. I bought a hanging one and immediately transplanted it into a big pot so I will water consistently and feed them more than my other pots! Thanks!

Mine did great last summer. I did use your BYN fertilizer. Love them ! I actually had to trim them back once !!

Now my new favorite! I had one plant this season and fell in love with it. Now I want more!!

I care for about 700 Calibrachoas each year and have maybe 3 or 4 die. I agree that watering the correct amount is probably the #1 thing to watch, I don't fertilize but the planters are huge and I start off with the correct Ph soil.

I thought was me. Thanks for Cali care info

Love your store and love love love your dogs!!! Great video- I thought it was just me :o(

High Light, Lower pH And Careful Watering Are Keys To Success When some basic guidelines are followed, growing calibrachoa is easy; the guidelines are the same for all series. The key factors to focus on are providing high light levels, avoiding overwatering and providing good air circulation. The genus calibrachoa comes from the rocky hillsides of Brazil for the most part, so that is a good indication of the growing conditions the plants prefer. They need EXCELLENT drainage, love sun and do best when the air is moving. Calibrachoa need full sun, at least 8 hours a day, and are generally drought-tolerant and quite heat-tolerant. The plants can grow leggy and produce fewer flowers if planted in the shade. There are many calibrachoa hybrids today that tolerate partial sun, however. Optimal pH is between 5.5 and 5.8. At higher pH (above 6.0), the plant loses its ability to pick up iron from the soil, so the first signs of high pH are yellowing and chlorosis. If this goes on too long, plants will lose vigor, have reduced branching and begin to decline. The key is maintaining pH below 6.0 to 6.5. Additional foliar iron can be applied if the problem is caught early enough, but unless you fix the soil pH, you’ll be fighting the problem all through the season. Use a balanced fertilizer with no more than 25 to 30 percent ammoniacal nitrogen. Reduce ammonium levels if you are starting to get too much stretch. Most calibrachoa benefit from elevated levels of iron in their fertilizer (1 to 2 ppm). Growing Temperature: 55°F to 65°F (13°C to 18°C)! As long as they hardened off, most calibrachoa can tolerate a mild frost +/- 28ºF. Light Levels: Always High (+ 5,000 ftc) to promote compact growth and to accelerate natural branching capabilities. Water Requirements: Average, but if in doubt, allow plants to dry slightly (do not dry to wilting stage). Remember these are native to cliffs and rocky slopes and require excellent drainage. Be very careful of overwatering, especially under cold, low-light conditions. Begin allowing the media to dry between irrigations once the roots have formed through the new mix. It is imperative not to overwater plants once they have established themselves in the new media. Pests and diseases are onset from overwatering.

So helpful! And thanks for the alternative!

Thank you for doing this video. I just purchased 3 calibrachoa and didn't find a video on how to care for them on your channel yesterday. I didn't like any videos on other channels because I like how you thoroughly explain about plants and was so excited to see this video you just posted. Unfortunately I can't get your fertilizer because I live in Colorado. 🫤

First year I’ve put them in a hanging basket. 2 baskets and one looks beautiful and the other dies. The dead one got too much water but I watered them the same. One gets all day sun and the dead one got more afternoon shade. I do like the fact that I don’t have to deadhead!!

2 years, mine got attacked by some pests each time, but last year I constantly sprayed insecticidal soap mixed with neem oil and removed stems which just has too many of these tiny mites and eventually the pests were gone. I bought another one this year, hopefully I don’t have the same problem as last year as this is just my favourite flower for hanging baskets.

Thank you! Admittedly I am not good with watering consistently. I will try harder but the first thing I need to do is the weekly fertilizing! My grandma taught me that when I was a little girl but kind of went to the wayside because I invest in new miracle gro potting soil annually…guess I need to rethink that since my containers have been looking sad the last few years. Thanks for the types on calibrachoa because they never do well for me and are always a bit of a let down. I’m going to have to look at the moisture meter tool as well.

I am a seasoned gardener and have had great success with most everything EXCEPT Calibrichoas! Thanks for your suggestions!

I love these videos. I live in Japan currently (military) and it is hard to know what exactly i am buying. Google translate is not always precise i find. So your videos are helping a ton because i can see exactly what is what. Figuring out soil and fertilizer is another whole ordeal. Lol petunias have grown wonderful here but I am hoping to get them bigger this year.

Yes, mine are almost gone. I hope this video helps

I live in KC Mo I LOVE milions bells. Easiest plants ! I have 6 hanging baskets

These do so well for me in East Tn. I prefer them over regular petunias and some have even overwintered for me

Gosh, thank you! I thought it was me, lol! Skipped the morning water and that was it😭

I love calibrachoa s, I even got to grow them from seed one spring. They did great. But now I can’t find seeds anywhere, so sad. But yea, no problems growing them. They have even wilted a bit when they got too dry but after watering they perked up just great. Not sure why you think they are fussy. I feed them once a week.

Yes having trouble with mine that's why i'm watching this video to understand how to care for

My mom passed away and her calibrachoa came back after winter. While we renovated her house (prior to moving back in) they just sat for a year straight. Entire season of no watering and when I finally came back they were overflowing out of her huge garden pot that next summer. The ones she had only got afternoon/harsh 8b sun and I trimmed a little of the dried bits & watered it well about once a week and it flushed out even more (no fertilizer) That’s the only reason I bought them again this year-Apparently even though they aren’t supposed to be a perennial for us in zone 8- I live in GA and that same cali has come back every year (3rd year now).

The Home Depot guy lied to me about how “maintenance free” and “beginner friendly” these plants are. I can’t keep the damn things alive.

How do you over winter them,or propagate

I stumbled on your videos today and am now a subscriber. I'm not exactly a novice gardener - I've been dabbling for around 10 years and have parleyed my self-acquired knowledge into a small gardening business. I found the videos on Calibrachoa to be especially helpful as it is one of my favorites as well as that of many of my customers. Yet it remains one of my many gardening frontiers that I've yet to conquer (but I'm getting close). I do have a question about pests that seem to infest Calibrachoas - aphids: I've noticed that Calibrachoa seem to be magnets for small pests and particularly aphids. I have a neighbor who puts her plants out and then gives no attention to them other than watering. Every year her plants get infested with aphids that, once done with hers, decide to migrate over to my healthy, delicious plants - and they sure seem to like the Calibrachoas in particular. This year I've been trying a new approach to combat this problem and that is to add a bit of Neem oil once every week to my fertilizing regimen. At first I tried the method that involves spraying the plant but I find that to be too cumbersome - besides which I've recently discovered that getting the Neem oil into the plant via the root system not only seems to be the easier method but is just as effective as well. What I've also learned is that it's best to use Neem prophylactically (as a preventative) - so starting earlier in the season is a great way to get a jump on the situation BEFORE the aphid infestation occurs. An ounce of prevention - so to speak. I've also found that weekly application of the Neem oil is also critical since it's not a hard-core pesticide which means that regular/weekly low-dose application is necessary. So here's my question: Am I on the right track with regard to caring for my calibrachoas? Many thanks.

Mine where beautiful we had a lot of rain yesterday and today they are a hot mess....

The only time I had trouble was when I repotted one into a larger hanging basket. Bad idea. It did not like that and all the yellow ones in the basket died and the rest never recovered. 😥

Hello! I always thought calibrachoas and petunias were “cousins”. Same family different genera. So not completely different plants?

Two years in a my calibrachoa dies in the middle. Its still blooming but theiddle of the plant is horrible. I followed your advice after this happening last year. What could I be doing wrong?? 😭

I had great success ONE year. Problem child plant😂 followed same care the next year, nope! Struggled.

Please show us how to use the water meter. Should it read moist or wet.

Help. I want to reuse my containers from previous years. How do I property clean them so my new plants are happy in my older pots.

I have brown/dead growth on the underside. Should I cut them back by a third? I repotted today into a larger pot. They were root bound in the nursery pot.

Found a beautiful basket on clearance at Walmart, nice greener but not alot of blooms will they rebloom? Scared to fertilize since it’s been watered after the storm last night

I killed mine with in 2 weeks =(...and Im going to assume it may have been from over watering, but not by me by nature...just so happened to rain for a few days in a row after buying while also getting sun. So I thought that would actually be good for flowers bc you natures free water but apparently I should have probably brought them in from the rain.

What are recommendations if I planted them in the ground?

I love & buy million bells every year in May. By this time (August) they look terrible. I live in West Virginia where it gets in the hot 90’s every day. They are in all sun. I water each night after the sun goes down. The stems get so brittle they snap off & flowers are practically gone. I wish I could show you a picture

What is the best time of the day to fertilize?

How do I keep my Calibrachoa hanging basket blooming all summer? I buy them and after say 6 weeks they stop blooming. I fertilize them and use the blooming fertilize at least once a week and they still stop blooming. The baskets are 12 inche.

Mine get really leggy midsummer. Any advice?

The first time I bought this plant was about 20 years ago. It was very hardy, grew and blossomed like crazy. I loved it. They are not the same anymore. The blossoms are larger, and the plant does not get as big as it used to. I got so frustrated with it, that I refuse to buy it anymore. It's sad.

So what level on the moisture meter is the minimal to water again?

I had a lot of trouble! Unfortunately I won’t buy these flowers again😢

The only issue I had with Calibrachoas was overwintering. They must be too tender of a perennial and won't survive a long winter even indoors.

Will they handle reporting?

I am so upset. My friend bought me a calibrachoas. I didn't realize they were so delicate. Now I have a basket of all dead flowers. How can I revive my plant?

I never have any trouble with growing and maintaining every color but yellow. For some reason, I cannot keep the yellow million bells growing.???

I heard cali’s attract hummingbirds….is that correct?

What is the right pH level for the soil?

I have lots of problems with them next year no more

Beat your neighbour 😂😂😂 How competitive are you guys? 😂😂😂

My mom gave me those flower as a gift and because of my school I just forgot to take care of it right now I have all the the route otherwise the plant already dead but I put the roots in glass of water to see how I can get it back to life again what should I do in this situation by the way I don’t want to lose this flower because it’s really important😢

I bought a on clearance million bells hanging basket. I cut everything back, fed it, now starting to turn yellow, still flowering though

CAN YOU PLANT THESE OUT SIDE

I bought 5 calibrachoa hanging baskets about a month ago that were beautiful and very full. Almost immediately, they began to look a little less healthy and it seems they were eaten alive by aphids. At least I think they are aphids and appear as tiny black spots. I've sprayed with Neem oil and also released lady bugs around them and nothing. Help! Also, the leaves are beginning to look very small, not like when I brought them home. Otherwise, they are "healthy"😉. Right now it seems I am fighting a losing battle but I hate to give up just yet. Is it a lost cause?

What about if it`s rain for a few days, should I bring them in????????

why don't you ship to New Mexico?

Where is the volume ??!!

I have mine in cocoa baskets! They're dying. Is that possibly my problem? What drains out immediately.

Got 2 hangings that were great. They got just a little dry and lost most of their flowers. They just don't look great

Can i cut them back to " start over"???

What is dead head?

" Stick the moisture meter and it will tell you where the plant is".....what!?!?!...so its a plant finder?? Confused 😕

I completely disagree. I have large planters in front of my apartment complex that I water only once a week. I let them dry out between watering's and sometimes it's in the am or pm. They always produce beautifully. I live in NW Ohio

I have (had) 4 very crabby ones... lasted 2 weeks... then I missed ONE day of watering and they just fled the pot. They were gorgeous while they lasted. Ugh..waste of money!

Argh! The plant that loves to torture me.