Real Series: Cabaret Calibrachoa

Ryan Hall

With only a few decades under its belt, calibrachoa has experienced intensive breeding efforts. Not just for more fantastic colors or broader retail appeal; breeders have also tackled some key production issues, including later-than-ideal flowering. To that end, the Ball FloraPlant team labored to give growers an excellent option for their calibrachoa programs. The Cabaret Calibrachoa series is most notable for its extreme uniformity across the series. Every new color that’s added or upgraded to Cabaret must match the rest of the series in flower timing, habit uniformity, production timing and culture. This extreme uniformity makes Cabaret a poster child for Ball FloraPlant’s “Real Series” criteria of plants. Here are a few tips to get the most out of Calibrachoa Cabaret in your program.

Crop timing: Rooted liner to finish
Calibrachoas are reasonably fast finishers and will typically grow well alongside other spring annuals, such as petunia, lobelia and verbena. Always take care to group calibrachoa with crops that appreciate similar temperatures, soil and fertilizer requirements. 

Cabaret is a medium-vigor series of calibrachoa, which makes it a very versatile series that can be used in both smaller pots (1 qt.) as well as larger pots (hanging baskets).

Transplanting
Plant calibrachoa liners into a well-drained media. Peat-based and peat/perlite-based media are an excellent option for calibrachoa. Choose a mix that has a lower pH starting point, such as 5.5 to 6.0. Calibrachoas are resilient plants, but one should avoid burying the liners too deep below the soil line. Always start with pre-moistened soil and water in the liners after transplanting. Avoid letting the liners dry out during transplant. 

It’s recommended to apply a preventative broad-spectrum fungicide 7 to 10 days after transplant to avoid root rot.

Pinching
Cabaret has been bred for superior lateral branching and center fill. Typically, if a grower starts with a pinched liner, they won’t need an additional pinch after transplant. Unpinched liners should receive a pinch 1 to 2 weeks after transplant once liners have started to root into the growing medium.

Temperatures
Calibrachoas should be finished in a moderately cool area with day temperatures between 71 to 76F (21 to 24C) and night temperatures between 50 to 58F (10 to 14C). Calibrachoas are tolerant of a broad range of temperatures. However, ideal growth and flowering will occur with an average daily temperature in the 60s.

Light levels & photoperiod
Provide calibrachoa with the maximum light levels available. High light and longer days will give you the best overall habit and flowering. Ideal light levels range from 5,000 to 8,000 f.c. Cabaret has been bred to flower under shorter day conditions and will flower for most growers if day length is above 11 hours.

Fertilizer & pH
Calibrachoas are moderate to heavy feeders and do best with a feed rate of 225 to 300 ppm N. Nitrate-based fertilizers are best used to minimize soft vegetative growth that will adversely affect the overall finished quality of the plant.

Cabaret Calibrachoa has been bred to grow well under a range of pH conditions, but the best overall growth occurs between a pH of 5.5 to 5.8. Growers should avoid letting pH levels rise above 6.5.

PGRs
Cabaret Calibrachoa is naturally compact and typically will need little to no PGRs in larger containers, such as hanging baskets. For smaller container production, the application of PGRs can be beneficial and produce an overall higher quality finished product. B-Nine provides effective control at 2,500 to 5,000 ppm(s) and can be repeated 1 to 2 additional times until the desired rate of control is achieved. Low rate Bonzi (d) 2 to 5 ppm can also be effective at providing additional control. 

Pests & diseases
Proper sanitation and IPM practices are the best way to avoid insect and disease problems with calibrachoa. Growers should actively scout for common calibrachoa pests, such as thrips, aphids and leafminer. Proper drainage and irrigation practices with the addition of a preventative fungicide is the best way to avoid root rot—the most common disease associated with
calibrachoa.

Overall calibrachoa is a great product that’s easy to grow and should be part of any color program. The Cabaret Calibrachoa Real Series from Ball FloraPlant makes a great product even better, providing an excellent grower-friendly solution with extreme uniformity across the series in a range of bold and beautiful colors. Cabaret are a sure bet that growers can count on from the greenhouse bench all the way to their customers’ gardens. GT

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Ryan Hall is a Product Manager for Ball FloraPlant.