Platycodon Grandiflorus Album

This white form of balloon flower produces plump, inflated buds that resemble tiny paper lanterns before opening into broad, five-pointed white stars. The crisp blooms rise above a neat clump of blue-green leaves from midsummer into early autumn and make excellent cut flowers. Platycodon grandiflorus is a hardy, long-lived East Asian perennial that improves steadily once settled, but its fleshy taproot strongly resents disturbance. Compact enough for borders and large rock gardens, it is best marked carefully because the new shoots appear unusually late each spring.