First Didiscus Lacy Blue Bloom - July 2026

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Yesterday, I posted a photo of a Phlox Cherry Caramel bloom and talked about how that was the first bloom on one of the non-dahlia cut flowers that I have been trying to grow this year.  Today, I'm posting a photo of my second cut-flower (non-dahlia) that has bloomed: a single Didiscus Lacy Blue.  I ordered a rack of plugs of Didiscus from Garden Club (Farmer Bailey) that arrived earlier than they should have (my mistake, not theirs) and I ended up first potting-them-up into larger pots and then, eventually planting them in the ground.  All eight plants went into the Island Bed in the front yard.  I wasn't sure how attractive they were going to be to the (dang) rabbits, so I encircled them in some chicken wire cages to protect them from being nibbled/gnawed.

This post is going up in July, but these photos are from late June - about two weeks ago.  

I had my first bloom open up on one of the Didiscus plants.   They're about the size Silver Dollar and are a pale purple/borderline blue color.  I didn't pinch these plants, so I figured cutting this one deeply was going to both set the plant back a little bit, but also be the best for it in terms of making it a little bit more bush-y and give me more blooms later in the season when the dahlias are popping off. 

Below are a couple of photos - showing the bloom and the undercarriage.  Both of which...are pretty interesting.  

First Didiscus Lacy Blue Bloom
Didiscus Lacy Blue Bloom - pale purple borderline blue.

Underside of Didiscus Lacy Blue Bloom
Didiscus Lacy Blue Bloom undercarriage/underside - pale purple borderline blue.

First Didiscus Lacy Blue Bloom
Didiscus Lacy Blue Bloom - pale purple borderline blue.

My goal was to grow some additional accent/filler flowers to augment the dahlia arrangements that I've been making the past few years.  These Didiscus Lacy Blues are my boldest bet in that regards and go towards checking the box on my 2026 to-do list item #8 where I said that I needed to:  "Experiment with other cut flowers. Plant them in the ground (in the garden beds) and add some variety to my arrangements."

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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