Blazing Fire, known as Bidens ferufolia, Bur Marigold, and Threadleaf Tickseed, is an annual flowering plant native to the southern United States and northern Mexico. Danziger's Timeless collection of Bidens plants offers superior branching, a long bloom time, and little need for PGRs. This plant has a mounded habit of 8-14" tall and wide, with variegated orange, red, and yellow flowers from early spring into summer. Flourishing in partial or full sun with minimal water, Blazing Fire attracts pollinators and excels in mixed containers and landscape beds. Create a striking display of color in the garden by growing Blazing Fire alongside Blazing Glory and Golden Empire.
Blazing Fire Selling Tips
Sell Blazing Fire to customers looking for a low-maintenance annual for a hanging basket, container, or landscape bed. Customers love the bright, cheerful blooms, long flowering season, and attractive growth habit of this classic cottage garden plant. Blazing Fire offers many benefits, including attracting pollinators, flourishing in full sun with minimal water, and filling hanging baskets, window boxes, containers, combinations, or borders with cheerful flowers from early spring into summer. Try growing Bidens alongside Angelonia, Geranium, and Petunia for a beautiful show of color and texture in the landscape.
Coach Your Customer
1. Space plants 8-14" apart in well-drained soil in full or partial sun.
2. Water once a week or more often in dry weather.
3. In zones 8-11, overwinter Bidens as short-lived evergreen perennials. In colder regions, remove spent plants after frost to prevent disease the following year.
General Growing Tips For Your Rooted Cutting Liner
For best results with Blazing Fire, grow one rooted plug per 4-inch or three per 10-inch container. Use well-drained soil with a pH of 5.8-6.2, EC of 1.0-1.2 mS/cm, and low feed (100-200 ppm N). Provide average daily temperatures of 65-68 degrees and grow in cool temperatures for best quality and color. This plant is day-neutral, and pinching is optional, though beneficial. Apply a fungicide after transplant and use paclobutrazol and daminozide to control growth. Watch for aphids, thrips, botrytis, pythium, and rhizoctonia.
Flowering
Orange, red, and yellow flowers bloom from early spring into summer.
Pinching
We recommend pinching Blazing Fire once, 5-10 days after transplant.
Spacing
Space containers for adequate airflow and sunlight penetration around the base and foliage of each plant. We recommend 2' centers on baskets. Adjust for your greenhouse and container sizes as needed.
Height Control
With high light intensity, PGRs may not be necessary. If they are, apply a daminozide spray at 1,500-2,500 as needed and a paclobutrazol drench at 1 ppm when the plant is 85% of its finished size.
Pests
Scout for aphids and thrips as part of your Integrated Pest Management program.
Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects that cause damage by sucking sap from plant tissue. They reproduce quickly and are particularly attracted to young growth. Curling and yellowed leaves, stunted growth, and stickiness on leaves are signs of an infestation. These insects also spread diseases and reproduce rapidly. Use biological controls or horticultural oils to discourage and kill aphids.
Thrips are tiny insects that eat plant tissue and can transmit viruses. Watch for silvery-white streaks or black spots on foliage and distorted growth. Use natural predators (like predatory mites), insecticidal soap, neem oil, and sticky traps to control infestations and prevent spread.
Disease
Watch for Botrytis, Pythium, and Rhizoctonia. Practice preventative measures in your commercial greenhouse, including watering at the base of each plant, allowing the soil to dry between waterings, providing adequate airflow, and spacing plants to allow sunlight and air to reach the soil level.
Botrytis is a common fungal disease that causes brown spots on stems, leaves, and flowers. Remove and destroy affected plants, maintain appropriate humidity levels, and apply fungicides with boscalid, fenhexamid, or iprodione to control the spread. Water plants in the morning and allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings.
Pythium and Rhizoctonia are fungal diseases that cause stunted growth, yellowed leaves, and plant death by eating away at the plant's roots. Use well-draining planting media and provide good airflow and spacing in your greenhouse. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings and apply fungicides with active ingredients abamectin, spinosad, or imidacloprid to combat these diseases.
Planting Blazing Fire Liners
We recommend planting one rooted plug per 4-inch container or three per 10-inch basket. Use well-drained soil and completely bury the ellepot centered or evenly spaced in the container.
Rooted Cuttings
Cuttings vary in size between different plant families. These rooted starter plants will arrive ready to be transplanted in to your final container. If they are to be used in a landscape application, you will need to establish them in a 4 inch pot or an 1801 before planting outside.
Bidens Blazing Fire Quick Reference Guide
4 Inch crop time | 6-8 Weeks |
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10 Inch crop time | 7-9 Weeks |
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Bloom Period | Spring, Summer |
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Color | Orange, Yellow, Red |
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Habit | Mounding |
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Height | 6-14 inches |
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Light | Full Sun, Partial Sun |
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Minimum Temp | 55 |
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Perennial Zone | Zones 9-11 |
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Water Needs | Moderate |
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Patented Plant | Yes |
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