Balloon Flower Seeds

Common Names
Balloon Flower, Chinese Bellflower

Botanical Name
Platycodon grandiflorus

Plant Family
Campanulaceae

Native Range
East Asia

Life Cycle
Perennial

Hardiness Zone
5-9

Habit
The Balloon Flower typically reaches heights of about 2 feet tall and expands to approximately 1 foot wide. As its common name would suggest, this fascinating plant boasts unique flower buds that charmingly swell up to resemble balloons. Each of its five delicate petals remains beautifully fused together at the tips while the flower bud gently swells and gestates, eagerly awaiting the moment when it is ready to burst open into its full, resplendent violet-blue-coloured glory. After the petals wilt, a new gestation begins as its large ovules swell with ripened seed. 

Sun/Soil
Prefers moist, well-drained soil and a spot in part shade or full sun.

Germination/Sowing
Seeds germinate easily and can be direct sown in fall or spring, or started in flats in the spring and then transplanted. 

Growing/Care
Plants can be cut back in fall time. Does best grown in similar conditions to veggie garden, with good soil and regular water. 

Harvesting
The roots can be dug in the fall of the second or third year.

Culinary Uses
The root is commonly eaten as a vegetable is Asia.

Medicinal Uses
A common herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Balloon Flower is little known in the West. The fleshy roots have been used for thousands of years in Asia as a treatment for respiratory disorders, especially those that are inflammatory, damp and phlegmy in nature. It has also been shown to lower cholesterol levels, inhibit the histamine response, and balance blood sugar. 

Themes
Apothecary Garden, Low Maintenance, Deer Resistant, Attracts Pollinators, Cut Flowers.