Namaskar Desi Gardeners. In nature, there are several spherical and ball shaped flowers that bring a very interesting and different look in the garden. Most of these plants are quite easy to grow.
Ball shaped flowers look best when these are planted in a row or a several of them have flowered in an area. They come in so many shades – red, blue, violets, yellow, pink – you name it. These spherical flowerheads are usually the result of inflorescence, that is, multiple flowers compressed so that it looks like one flower.
Plants with Beautiful Ball Shaped Flowers
Allium / Ornamental Onions
The Allium is also called the ornamental onion. Botanically speaking, it is closely related to onion and garlic. The allium plants grow tall sticks upon which large ball shaped flowers blossom. The blooms stands high above the foliage and can grow up to several feet depending on the type.
Alliums come in gorgeous shades of purple, white, pink, red and blue. The flowerhead smells faintly of garlic which also keeps the mosquitoes at bay. These are perennials and a popular choice amongst gardeners.
Hydrangea
The Hydrangea is another one that is commonly grown for its beautiful oval and ball shaped flowerhead. With a lot of new hybrid varieties, hydrangea is getting easier to grow. The blooms form stunning flowerheads that can be up to a feet in diameter.
Hydrangea grows well in shade and full sun. The flowers comes in in blue, purple, pink, white and red. Ph of the soil plays a crucial role in the shade of the bloom.
Football lily / Blood Lily
Football or blood lily is a hardy perennial that grows even in neglect. As the summer comes in India, it sends up its stalk that produces a gorgeous spherical flowerhead. The flower stays for about two weeks depending on the weather.
Football lilies are one of the best ball shaped flowers you can grow in your garden. These bulbous plants grow new bulblets every year. The blooms come in red and orange.
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Lycoris radiata / Red Spider Lily
Red spider lilies originated from Nepal and China. However it has naturalized itself almost all over the world as it has become a gardener’s favourite.
A hardy plant, Red Spider lilies grow in late summer and monsoon. Grow several of these plants in a bed and it will look wonderful when it flowers.
Geranium
Geraniums are a bunch of beautiful blossoms that clump together to look like ball shaped flowers. These plants be annuals or perennials depending upon the variant.
Geraniums need sun to perform best but they are not tolerant of the hot summer of India. They do best in hilly areas of North-eastern India where summers are not harsh.
Geraniums are profusely flowering plants if its requirements are met.
Ixora
Ixora is one the easiest perennial plants to grow in India. Best of all, it has beautiful tiny blooms that look like ball shaped flowers and will grow almost all throughout the year in an Indian garden. It loves the full sun and heat.
If you are planning to grow Ixora in a pot, ask for the dwarf variety in the nursery. Desi Ixoras grow best when planted inn the ground. Hard prune every year and it will grow dense and thick and reward you with a burst of colour. These plants come in red, peach, yellow, orange and white.
Pentas
Native to Africa, Pentas is grown as annuals while some variants could be grown as perennials. Similar to Ixora, the Pentas will flower all throughout the year. Pentas grows as a shrub and if you live in areas where it snows in winter, these plants need to be sheltered.
Pentas comes in red, pink, purple and white.
Dahlia
Dahlias need no introduction. The gorgeous ball shaped flowers of the dahlia are a winter garden’s foremost attraction. Dahlias are annuals and these are winter plants in India. However, after the season is over, store the tubers for the next year.
Dahlias come in hundreds of shades. These are the biggest spherical flowers you can get for your garden.
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PomPom Chrysanthemum
Another winter’s favourite, chrysanthemum bloom along side with dahlias. These come in hundreds of colours and cultivars. There are some varieties of chrysanthemum that have perfect ball shaped flowers. Go for the pom-poms. These will come in flowers that are small to big, dahlia sized flowers.
Agapanthus
Also called Lily of the Nile, agapanthus is a native of Africa that has naturalized in many parts of the world. It does excellent in the warm climatic regions of India. It is also an excellent choice for places that have water scarcity as it a tough drought tolerant plant.
Agapanthus has beautiful ball shaped flowers in blue, purple and white. A perennial, it is an easy to grow plant. This plant is also known for its medicinal properties and is used in treatment for heart disorders, cough, nervous issue and and for several other ailments.
Craspedia/ Billy Buttons
Crasedia are small to medium sized, bright yellow flowerheads. It belongs to the Aster flower family and are native to Australia and New Zealand.
Craspedia is a low maintenance perennial. It can grow even in poor soil but it does not like acidic soil. It looks best when a large number of plants are planted together.
Calliandra / Powder Puff
Calliandras are hardy perennials that grow well in big pots or in the ground. The plant holds beautiful fluffy and round flowerheads. In a single plant, you can have even hundreds of such flowers and it is a pretty sight.
Calliandra needs a good amount of feeding and watering for the best flowering. It does best in the full sun of the summers but will flower almost all throughout the year. It is also quite pest resistant.
Powder puffs comes in red, white and pink.
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Drumstick primrose/ Primula
Native to the Indian subcontinent, it is very pretty plant. It grows in the Himalayas and has delicate petals in graceful shades of mauve, blue and white.
The Drumstick Primula, even as a plant, is a pretty sight. It is easy to grow and is one of the most beautiful flowerheads you can ever have in your garden.
Porcelain flower/ Hoya Carnosa
Hoya Carnosa is a pretty flowerhead in waxy white with a beautiful scent of chocolate-vanilla. They can also be kept as a houseplant, perhaps the only flowerhead that does well inside.
However Hoya plants can be tricky to bloom. Once the right care is given, the beautiful porcelain flowers will stay up yo a week or more.
Common snowball bush/ Viburnum
A low maintenance bush, the Common Snowball Viburnum can grow up to a large dense plant up to 12 feet tall. It likes full sun and does not require much care. Best of the the huge white ball shaped flowers light up the garden.
There are many variants of the snowball bush to choose from. Some are also grown for their scent.
Inca Marigold
Marigolds are the most common flowerheads that we see every day. Most marigold plants are grown as annuals but some of the plant varieties can be perennials.
Some marigold varieties, like the Inca, have really large ball shaped flowers. These will usually come in yellow and orange. Marigold is easy to grow from seeds. It is also one of the easiest plants to find in a nursery.
Gomphrena / Button flower
Gomphrenas are very hardy plants and once the flowers come, they stay for days. These plants can survive in drought like conditions. The flowers of the Gomphrena are small but are very brightly coloured in purple. Gomphrena will grow about one to two feet tall. Grow these plants as a bed or border and it will brighten up the area with hundreds of blooms.
