Do you leave the pods until spring then open them for the seeds or can you open them in fall and store the seeds?
Wait until the pods turn brown. Take the entire pod inside and slice through it lengthwise. The seed should fall out. Make sure the seeds are dry. Store them in a paper envelope placed in a glass jar in the 'frig.
Recently my balloon flowers, which have been blooming beautifully, are turning from white to purple. Does anyone know why?
This is a common occurrence. Purple is caused by the antioxidant pigment chemical called anthocyanin. This happens to be a very unstable chemical that can lay dormant in a co-dominant genetic fashion. Often times it can be brought about by temperature changes. This is nothing to worry about. Also, over time, the plants may cross-breed. This will cause natural color change over a few generations as well. Enjoy watching the process of natural selection at work!
Here is an article for more information on the flower: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/balloon-flower/growing-balloon-flowers.htm
Ballon flower platycodon had purple leaves last year. Just started coming up out of dormancy
I cut it down as soon as the purple leaves got worse and put the leaves in the bin.
I'm not sure what you are asking. Like hibiscus, balloon flower is typically late to emerge in spring. If your question is that the leaves turned purple last year and it wasn't due to cold weather, it may have had Botrytis, gray mold or another fungal infection. Inspect the leaves as they emerge and if you see disfigured leaves, send a detailed description or a picture and we'll try to ID the problem. I wouldn't treat the plant with an anti-fungal unless you see early evidence of leaf disease.
My husband accidentally sprayed my balloon plants with 24D They look awful! Can I cut them back to save them or are they gone forever?
Cutting them back may help, but there is a great chance that they are dead. This is unfortunate, but that is what the chemical was designed to do.
24D will kill nearly all broad leafed plants. You can take the wait and see approach, but this may call for a trip to the garden center!
When the fliwers die, do i need to pick it off the plant?
Balloon flowers benefit from deadheading. This process removes the spent blossoms before they begin producing seed, encouraging the plant to produce more flowers.
Since balloon flowers bloom all summer long, they also benefit from severe deadheading and cutting back at mid-season, which encourages them to remain full and productive.
e than they were last year. What is the reason for this? Is there anything I can do or add to the plant to make the color go back to what it was? As I said, this plant has come back for three years. I had another one about 10 feet away and it didn’t come back this year. I was wondering what the reason for that was too.
Does that mean there’s nothing I can do to get the color more bright blue the way it was when I bought it? I have heard adding egg shells to hydrangeas can change their color, is there anything that I can add to my balloon flower?
Your plant is likely a hybrid and the colors are reverting or showing traits of one or more of the parent plants.
Once flowered does one leave the old head on or is it better to snip it off? I'm sure a novices question but honestly want to do it correctly ... thanks in anticipation
We've all been told that dead-heading prolongs blooming. This is true of balloon flower. I cut off spent blooms a couple times a week but I know others who don't. I find it relaxing; others find it a chore. I think the plant looks better without all those seed pods and dead-heading prevents prolific self-sowing. Ultimately, you are the gardener and what works best for you is fine. If you dead-head, do so very carefully as often the next bloom is very close to the stem of the expired bloom. Cut the flower off close to the flower stem. Do not cut the flower stems until late in the season when the leaves begin to die off. A totally different approach is to not deadhead but to cut the entire plant back by half after the first flush of bloom is over. As with catmint, this may trigger another flush of bloom.