Balloon flower is a clump-forming perennial flower, a member of the easy-to-grow bellflower family of plants. They are so named because puffy, balloon-like buds swell up to produce the 2- to 3-inch star-shaped flowers.

Balloon flower is a very easy to grow perennial, but tall plants may need staking to keep them from flopping. Blooming all summer long, it is an excellent plant for border gardens or rock gardens, and it freely self-seeds in the garden. The species plant has intense blue-violet flowers, but there are also cultivars with white and pink blooms.

The Balloon Flower also goes by the name Platycodon or the Chinese bellflower.

This plant is an herb and perennial with a short flowering period. The flowers are typically a shade of blue or white or pale pink.

These spread slowly and tend to be compact, so you’ll want to mark their position to avoid removing them as a weed. Balloon flowers are clump-forming plants that rarely exceed 0.8 metres (2.5 feet) in height.

The inflated flower buds open to form flaring bell-shaped flowers with five lobes. These lavender-blue to white flowers have a thick rubbery texture and are 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3 inches) across.

Seeds are produced in a five-valved seedpod that opens at the top, and the plant features oval unstalked leaves that become narrow higher on the stems.