Calibrachoa: From Start to Finish to Sold

(Interview starts at 7:30.) Our guest today is James Doukas, who knows a lot about calibrachoa. As well he should because he’s grown hundreds of thousands of them during his career as a professional grower and now helps growers in the eastern regions of North America produce the best crops possible in his role with Ball FloraPlant and Selecta One. In this episode, James takes us from start to finish with this popular annual plant, covering propagation and root health, pitfalls to avoid, planning ahead for pH issues, avoiding aphids, taking your crop across the goal line to sell quickly at retail and much, much more. We talk about a few of his favorite varieties and also did deep into the nuances of growing balanced multispecies baskets and combos that include calibrachoa. From start to Finish to Sold, you’re in for a calibrachoa lesson with James! 

Resources: 

Ball FloraPlant 2019 Catalog: https://www.ballseed.com/Virtual/2019_BFP/index.aspx 

Selecta One 2019 Catalog: https://www.ballseed.com/Virtual/2019_Selecta/index.aspx  

Ball FloraPlant Tech Talk on Cabaret Calibrachoa Baskets: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07dXEL7upLU&list=PLCj41LTtDwjPQ0uIFNKLDEFKOOJJlKRFh&index=18&t=0s  

NC State Research on Powdery Mildew on Calibrachoa Crops: https://plantpathology.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/04/powdery-mildew-on-calibrachoa-million-bells/ 

Greening up Calibrachoa and Petunia from Michigan State University: https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/greening_up_calibrachoa_petunia  

Cornell University on Crop Schedules with Less Heat: http://www.greenhouse.cornell.edu/crops/factsheets/SchedulingHeat.pdf 

Media Moisture Scales – STEM Episode 21: The Language of Watering: https://stempodcast.podbean.com/e/the-language-of-watering/ 

 

Contact Links: 

Email Guest James Doukas: jdoukas@ballhort.com  

Email Host Bill Calkins: bcalkins@ballhort.com 

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