Combo Chef: EZ combos

Goldsmith Seeds’ EZ Combos featuring geranium, verbena and calibrachoa is suited for full sun. Place three 4-inch ‘BullsEye Salmon’ geraniums in the center. In each corner place a 4-inch ‘Tuscany Peach’ verbena and fill in with three 4-inch ‘Callie Cream with Eye’ calibrachoa.

Geranium ‘BullsEye Salmon’ has dark-chocolate foliage that retains its richness, even under high-light conditions. Keep day temperatures between 70°-75° and night temperatures between 60°-65°. Provide 3,500-4,500 footcandles to hasten flower development. Supplemental lighting under low-light conditions at 350-450 footcandles enhances root and shoot growth. Alternate moisture levels between wet and moist. Apply Cycocel (or other growth regulator with the active ingredient chlormequat chloride) at 750 ppm when three to five true leaves are present. Do not apply chlormequat chloride after the buds have emerged above the foliage. Other growth regulators may be used, including ancymidol, paclobutrazol or uniconazol.

Verbena ‘Tuscany Peach’ is naturally compact and well-branched. Keep day temperatures at 67° and night temperatures at 70° for three days after transplanting. Then 64°-67° during the day and 68°-70° at night with a 5°-10° negative DIF from 5-9 a.m. Provide 3,500-4,500 footcandles to hasten flower development. Long days may enhance growth. Alternate between moist and wet moisture levels. Allow the growing medium to approach a moist level before re-saturating to wet. Maintain humidity between 40-70 percent.

Calibrachoa ‘Callie Cream with Eye’ cascades over the edge of the container. Maintain day temperatures of 68°-72° and night temperatures of 62°-64°. Provide 4,000-6,000 footcandles to promote compact growth. Alternate between wet and medium moisture levels. Irrigate early in the morning to allow foliage to dry before nightfall. Do not allow plants to wilt. After roots are actively growing, pinch back to three nodes. For larger containers, a second pinch to the third node may be needed two to three weeks later.

Recipe by Goldsmith Seeds: Goldsmith Seeds, (800) 549-0158; www.goldsmithseeds.com.

Production

* ‘BullsEye Salmon’ geranium: Feed with 200 parts per million nitrogen with a calcium-based fertilizer 13-2-13 or 14-4-14; pH 6.2-6.5; and electrical conductivity 1.2-1.5.

* ‘Tuscany Peach’ verbena: Feed with an ammonium-based fertilizer at 100-150 ppm nitrogen under high-light conditions; use a calcium-based product at 100-150 ppm nitrogen under low-light conditions; pH 5.8-6.0; and EC 1.2-1.5.

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* ‘Callie Cream with Eye’ calibrachoa: Feed with a neutral nitrate-based fertilizer at 200-250 ppm nitrogen once new root growth is initiated; pH 5.5-5.8; and EC 1.5-2.0.

- Kelli Rodda