- care tips
- Which location is suitable?
- The right planting distance
- What soil does the plant need?
- What is the best planting time?
- When is flowering time?
- Cut the bellflower correctly
- Water bellflower
- Fertilize the bellflower properly
- hibernate
- Propagating bluebells
- Bellflower in the pot
- Is bluebell poisonous?
- Are Campanula suitable for houseplants?
- Is every bluebell hardy?
- Which bluebells are suitable for ground cover?
- Beautiful varieties
As a prime example of habitats rich in flowers, the bellflower will not let its gardener down. The cosmopolitan among perennials adorns beds, rock gardens, balconies and windowsills all summer long. If you still have questions about cultivation on your soul, discover the answers here.
Bluebells are best propagated from seed
Table of Contents
Show all- care tips
- Which location is suitable?
- The right planting distance
- What soil does the plant need?
- What is the best planting time?
- When is flowering time?
- Cut the bellflower correctly
- Water bellflower
- Fertilize the bellflower properly
- hibernate
- Propagating bluebells
- Bellflower in the pot
- Is bluebell poisonous?
- Are Campanula suitable for houseplants?
- Is every bluebell hardy?
- Which bluebells are suitable for ground cover?
- Beautiful varieties
- Keep the bluebell constantly moist without causing waterlogging
- Fertilize organically every 2-3 weeks during the flowering period with compost, horn shavings or nettle brew
- Trim wilted blooms to encourage a pretty rebloom
- Cut back close to the ground in autumn or, even better, in spring before fresh shoots appear
- Carpet bellflower: planting distance 20 cm (16-18 pieces per square meter)
- Carpathian bellflower: planting distance 25 cm (16 pieces per square meter)
- Ball bellflower: planting distance 35 cm (8 pieces per square meter)
- Large-flowered bellflower: planting distance 40 cm (6-8 pieces per square meter)
- Tall bellflower umbels: planting distance 70-90 cm (3-6 pieces per square meter)
- Deeply relaxed and humorous
- Nutritious and fresh-moist to moderately dry
- Neutral to chalky
- Leave the drawn-in foliage until spring as a natural winter protection
- Pile up Campanula with leaves, brushwood or straw before the first frost
- When there is a frost, water on mild winter days
- Fill a seed tray or small pots with peat sand, coconut fibers or seed soil
- Mix the very fine seeds with some bird sand and sow
- As a light germinator, only press the seeds or sieve a maximum of 0.5 cm with sand or vermiculite
- Moisten with a fine shower and place in the indoor greenhouse in a partially shaded location
- If the top 1-2 cm of the substrate dries up, it is poured
- Fertilize liquid every 2 weeks from May to July
- Trim wilted flowers for rebloom
- Carpathian bellflower (Campanula carpatica): hardy to - 40 degrees
- Knotted Bellflower (Campanula glomerata): hardy to - 45 degrees
- Peach-leaved bellflower (Campanula persicifolia): hardy to -35 degrees
- Blue clips: sky blue Carpathian bellflower for the rock garden, hardy and robust; Growth height 20-25 cm
- Sarastro: dark violet flowering Campanula punctata with flowers up to 10 cm in size; Growth height 70-100 cm
- Alba: clustered bellflower with pure white flowers in dense panicles on strong stems; Growth height 40-50 cm
- Blue Bloomers: semi-double flowers in bright violet-blue from June to August; Growth height 90-100 cm
- Birch Hybrid: magnificent carpet bellflower, the ideal ground cover with a long flowering period; Growth height 10-15 cm
care tips
In order to be able to enjoy the filigree carpet of flowers all summer long, no complex care is required. If you pay attention to the following measures, Campanula will bloom in beds and pots for what feels like an eternity:
In exposed locations, the perennial receives protection in the form of leaves, straw or needle brushwood despite its winter hardiness. Bellflowers in a pot or window box (€16.99) move to a frost-free, cool and dark winter quarters before the first frost. During dormancy, only water Campanula enough to keep the root ball from drying out. Fertilizer is not applied at this stage.
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Which location is suitable?
The bellflower feels in good hands in a semi-shady location, protected as much as possible from the blazing midday sun. This premise applies universally to the broad perennial family. If you coordinate the location down to the last detail with the preferred type and variety, the flower will achieve its optimum. The dwarf ballflower, which is suitable for the rock garden, does its best in full sun to sunny places, while the forest bellflowers prefer to stay in a cool, shady place.
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The right planting distance
The perfect planting distance should conform to the species of bluebell chosen. The following overview shows recommended distances in the bed for some of the most popular Campanula. If you place the perennial in the window box, reduce the specified values by approx. 5-6 cm.
What soil does the plant need?
The demands on the light and temperature conditions may differ; with regard to the soil conditions, Campanula are largely in agreement. This is how the ideal earth should be structured:
Cultivated in balcony boxes, hanging baskets (€11.99) or pots, the bellflower likes to spread its roots in loose compost-based potting soil, enriched with a little sand, expanded clay (€19.73) or lava granules.
What is the best planting time?
The merry month of May is the best time to plant a bellflower in a perennial border, rock garden or on the edge of a wood. From the middle of the month, the danger of delayed ground frosts is over, so that the young plants that you have brought up yourself or bought ready-made can grow unhindered.
When is flowering time?
The main flowering period for bluebells is from June to August. Of course, with a little gardening attention, you can extend the flowering period by several weeks into autumn. You can achieve this feat by regularly cleaning out wilted flowers or cutting the perennial by half after the first flowering phase.
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Cut the bellflower correctly
If you regularly cut off withered flowers, the bellflower will respond with a vital rebloom. Cut the withered leaves to just above the ground either in autumn or in early spring. If the bellflower acts as a ground cover, you can cut it back in early spring using a lawnmower set to the maximum cutting height.
Attractive campanula, such as the bellflower, are also suitable for long-lasting cut flowers. Ideally, cut off the stems early in the morning after the perennial has been watered.
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Water bellflower
The bellflower prefers a balanced water regime. Do not let the root ball dry out or drown in waterlogging. Avoid overhead watering to avoid spoiling the beauty of the fragile flowers. Poured directly onto the ground with the spout of the watering can, Campanula are happy to take the water.
Fertilize the bellflower properly
Since Campanula are among the weakly consuming perennials, fertilization is of secondary importance for professional care. If you give the bed a portion of compost or horn shavings every 2-3 weeks during the flowering period, the requirements are perfectly met. In the balcony box or pot, an organic liquid fertilizer completely covers the requirement every 14 days. Please note that fertilizer is no longer applied from August to allow the bluebell to prepare for winter.
hibernate
The multi-layered Campanula genus has some pithy species ready for the perennial border that are completely hardy. However, not all bluebells have this attribute. To be on the safe side when in doubt, the following precautions are recommended for safe winter storage:
In balcony boxes or pots there is always a risk that the root ball will freeze behind the thin wall of the container. Therefore, carry bellflowers in tubs to frost-free, dark winter quarters. In this case, the withered foliage has to give way, as it increases susceptibility to disease.
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Propagating bluebells
Very few Campanula are suitable for classic propagation methods, such as division or cuttings. In contrast, the sowing of seeds is pleasantly uncomplicated. From the end of February, follow these steps:
At a temperature of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, the germination time takes 7 to 21 days. Keep the seed constantly slightly moist and ventilate the mini greenhouse daily. From a growth height of 3-5 cm, the seedlings are transplanted into individual pots.
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Bellflower in the pot
In the pot, the bellflower sets the scene with floral splendor on the sunny to partially shaded balcony. If you plant Campanula in loose potting soil, with a drainage made of potsherds over the water drain in the bottom of the pot, the plant is undemanding. How to properly care for the pretty perennial:
Although numerous Campanula species are hardy, they do not survive the cold season outdoors in pots. So that the root ball does not freeze, move the bellflower to a frost-free, dark winter quarters in autumn. Before doing so, cut off all parts of the plant close to the ground to take the wind out of the sails of diseases and pests.
Is bluebell poisonous?
The degree of venom content of Campanula is still a matter of controversy. Until there is clear knowledge about the toxicity, we recommend a vigilant handling of bluebells. Keep children and pets away from the flowers. All planting and care work should be carried out with gloves. Clippings are only disposed of on the compost heap if neither grazing cattle nor horses can get there.
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Are Campanula suitable for houseplants?
Thanks to its creeping growth with lush tendrils up to 20 cm in length, the evergreen star bellflower (Campanula isophylla) is a wonderful indoor plant for hanging baskets. The cushion bellflower (Campanula portenschlagiana) with blue or white starry flowers is also popular for indoor culture. Other breeds, on the other hand, are not always suitable for the home windowsill. Therefore, when you buy it, ask specifically whether your favorite bellflower will not give up immediately when the room temperature is cozy and warm.
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Is every bluebell hardy?
The diverse Campanula genus comes up with species and varieties that thrive in almost every place on earth. You shouldn't expect any frost hardiness from Mediterranean bluebells, while other specimens can even stand up to frost. Popular hardy species include:
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Which bluebells are suitable for ground cover?
Keep an eye out for Campanula, which cover the ground in a carpet of flowers with creeping growth, there are a diverse selection of species and cultivars to choose from. A selection of the most beautiful ground covers in a nutshell:
Hanging-cushioned bellflower (Campanula portenschlagiana)
The magnificent species covers the sunny rock garden and the meager dry stone wall with a lush bloom within a short time. The tendrils, which are up to 70 cm long, are covered with violet-blue, large bell-shaped flowers from June to August and a second bloom in September.
Small umbel bellflower (Campanula lactiflora)
Wherever you want to plant a cushion of flowers in sunny to partially shaded locations, this pretty groundcover is the right choice. With white or blue starry flowers, this runner-forming Campanula species is recommended as a contrasting underplanting to majestic roses or as a wreath of your most beautiful perennial border as a distinctive border planting.
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