Name: Gomphrena Pink Zazzle (aka: Gomphrena hybrid USPPAF)
Type of Plant: This is an annual plant in colder climates that’s fairly new to the scene. The bright pink flowers are round and huge, but the plant is not.
Why I love this: This is a sprawling plant, growing about 8 to 12 inches high and wide in the Northeast. The foliage is fuzzy and attractive. The flowers are large and showy but only open a few at a time. Because of this, the plant isn’t massive on its own but works best, I think, as a “mixer” to add to low-garden plantings or containers. I especially like how Pink Zazzle combines with grasses.
A Word to the Wise: I found that like other Gomphrenas, this one loves the heat. So it really gets going in mid-summer, not earlier in June. Be sure not to plant it outside too early in the season. I used my usual one part time-release fertilizer and two parts organic fertilizer, scattered over the surface of the garden or mixed into a container before planting.
Look for this plant where Proven Winners are sold!
The heaviness of the leaves and flowers contrast beautifully with fine grasses. This plant would also be stunning with anything that has purple foliage.
I bought this plant after seeing it in your garden tour. It was the end of the season and I almost got it to winter over in the house. It was showing a little new growth, but it has now turned completely brown. I will buy it again!! Love it!!
If you had it alive for awhile indoors you did well, Joanne!
i live in Michigan and had this plant last year. I called the same nursery back and they are not carrying it again. I called another nursery in the state and they told me the distributor went out of business. Can someone please advise. I want this plant again and will have to winter it over for the following year since they are so hard to get. I tried a mail order in the state and they were the ones who told me they are out of business. Help!!
Lisa,
I don’t know of a grower of this plant right now. Growers tell me that it’s hard to grow and ship because the stems are very brittle.
The stems are incredibly delicate. I lost half the plant just putting it in the ground! The remaining half is good at the moment – but we’re having a warm January in North Florida. I’m very interested to see if it survives the light frosts we get. Reading y’all’s posts, I now know it won’t make it thru a hard freeze. The label claims it can survive 8 – 11, so you just never know about Jacksonville. I
Check at your local Lowe’s. I bought one yesterday!
I bought one of these at Home Depot yesterday.
Monica – remember that every Home Depot buys plants from different growers and just because your local store had them doesn’t mean that everyone will find them in every HD.
I bought this plant and keep it on my pool deck in NW Florida. The flowers have faded, but don’t drop on their own, nor are they easy to remove. How should the plant be trimmed or spent blooms be removed?
Just snip them off below the faded flowers with a pair of scissors.
I have a beautiful zazzle that I bought as a hanging plant. I live in NW Florida and if I bring it inside during days that we have a light freeze, do you think it will live until spring?
Beth – what have you got to lose? Put it in a very sunny window, however. And be on the lookout for whitefly. You might want to transplant it to a pot with a saucer under it so that you can water it well without getting your house wet, however. Good luck!
Hello. I had gomphrea pink zazzle a few years ago and have not found it since. I can not even locate it for sale online. Do you have any suggestions for where I can purchase a plant?
Thanks in advance.
Nancy Azzolini
NapoABC@aol.com
Nancy,
You and me both! It’s a plant that disappeared from the marketplace two years after it was just gaining popularity. I asked someone in the industry and she said “It was a genetic owned by EuroAmerican Propagators of Bonsall CA and when they went out of business due to bankruptcy that patent remained with the assets of the property.”
You can buy the pink zazzle at Home Depot in Beaumont, Texas.. First time I saw them & thought, wow, want one for my front porch. Earlier posts says this plant likes the heat, should do very well here because it’s really hot here, temps in the high 90s with indexes around 112!
Home depot in Houston TX has them this week
just bought two at home depot today in south central Florida
Good evening. My plants beautiful hot pink flowers are browning with no new flower growth… is there anything I can do?
Tamy,
Cut brown flowers off just below the flower, make sure the plant is in at least 5 hours of sun a day, and fertilize with a synthetic fertilizer (MaxSea, Miracle Gro, etc) according to directions.
I have read the comments which were helpful but I don’t see anything about how much water it needs to thrive in S. Florida. Thanks
Bunny,
Since it’s a Gomphrena it’s a plant that likes to dry a bit between waterings. So a deep soaking when the soil is dry, and then wait until you see that the soil is dry again before watering. Not a plant that wants water every day.