Campanula persicifolia
Bellflower
Common names: Peach-leaved bellflower, Forest bellflower, Garden bellflower
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Pot size
- from 10 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Water need
- Medium
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: Wilson44691 · CC0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The peach-leaved bellflower bears large, widely open bells in delicate blue or white in June and July on slender, upright stems and is one of the most elegant perennials of the farmyard garden. Wild bees and bumblebees climb deep into the bells. It self-seeds gently and returns year after year.
Care instructions
Sow the bellflower from April (week 16) or plant it in a sunny to partially shaded spot with well-drained, humus-rich soil. Water moderately during dry periods; it does not tolerate waterlogging. Cut the stems back immediately after flowering (July week 28) to stimulate a second bloom and keep the plant compact. In spring, strong clumps can be divided.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–Jun
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 10 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 14 to 28 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
loamy, humus-rich, well-drained, lime-loving, nutrient-rich
Peach-leaved bellflower likes free-draining, humus-rich, rather lime-rich soils with a neutral to slightly alkaline reaction. It does not tolerate waterlogging. Anything from dry to fresh is fine, and on acidic garden soils a dose of lime before planting helps.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Mar–Apr
Bellflower is frugal and needs little: in spring a thin layer of ripe compost, worked shallowly around the plant, is enough, with horn shavings only sparingly. Do not feed from August, and in general be restrained, because too many nutrients drive foliage instead of flowers.
Overwintering
Peach-leaved bellflower is fully hardy and comes through the winter in the Central European lowlands without trouble and without protection. Leave the stems standing over winter, as a shelter for insects and frost protection for the evergreen rosette, and cut them back to a hand's breadth above the ground only in spring.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
- Division
Campanula persicifolia can be propagated in three tried and tested ways:
Sowing (March to June): From March, sow the tiny seeds under glass in seed compost, but do not cover them with compost: they need light to germinate. Press them down only lightly and keep the compost evenly moist at about 18 to 20 °C. They usually germinate after 2 to 3 weeks. From May you can also sow directly in the bed. Young plants generally only flower the following year. If you want to keep true-to-type forms (e.g. white-flowered or double cultivars), it is better to choose division or cuttings, since Campanula persicifolia is cross-pollinated and does not come true from seed.
Division (March to April or October): In early spring, before the new shoots appear, lift the whole clump with a garden fork. Divide the root ball into several pieces with a sharp spade or knife; each must have roots and shoot buds. Plant the pieces straight away in their new position and water them regularly for the first few weeks. Dividing every 3 to 4 years keeps the plant vigorous. Division is the quickest and safest method for plants that flower soon.
Basal cuttings (April to May): In spring, as soon as the first green shoots appear, cut strong, not yet flowering shoots 10 to 15 cm long as close as possible above the root base; there should be some firm tissue at the base. Remove the lower leaves, make sure there is at least one node and insert the cuttings into moist, free-draining seed compost. Place them in a bright, warm spot; a plastic or glass cover raises the humidity and speeds up rooting. After about 2 to 4 weeks roots have generally formed, after which you can pot the young plants on or plant them in the bed. Plants obtained this way are genetically identical to the mother plant.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
For your garden
Grow Bellflower yourself
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