Bellflower or Campanula

The name of the bellflower genus comes from the Latin campanula. The genus is fairly large and extensive, including about 300 species that grow in the temperate zones of the Mediterranean, the Northern Hemisphere and the mountainous regions of the tropics. The garden bellflower is one of the best trailing (ampelous) plants that bloom in summer. The light-green shoots of the bellflower hang very attractively from pots. In summer they are covered with a scattering of numerous small flowers. Spent flowers are best removed immediately so that the others do not perish and continue to please the eye for a long time.

Varieties of the plant

Campanula fragilis (brittle bellflower) – one of gardeners' most beloved plants, a wonderful trailing plant. Native to Sicily. It has drooping, fluffy, prostrate stems. The leaves of the bellflower are heart-shaped, green, with short petioles. Blue flowers cover the whole plant. The brittle bellflower grows in the spring and summer periods. Campanula fragilis and its interesting garden forms propagate well from seed, which should be sown at the beginning of the year (January-February). Seedlings are pricked out into flats or pots. Then the young plant is transplanted into pots 9 cm high. Soil mixture: three parts compost (or greenhouse humus), one part sand and leaf soil.

Campanula isophylla Moretti (equal-leaved bellflower) – a herbaceous, perennial plant with pendent or thin long creeping shoots, native to Italy. The leaves are light green, 3-7 cm long, alternate, toothed at the edge, rounded-heart-shaped, numerous, located on long petioles. The equal-leaved bellflower has light-blue, bell-shaped flowers arranged in short corymb-like panicles, 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter. The fruits are rounded in the form of a capsule. In horticulture several hybrids have been grown since 1868: «Mayi» – a plant with purple flowers, colloquially called «groom and bride»; «Alba» – a plant with white flowers. Campanula fragilis blooms from June to September.

Care tips

Bellflowers are not very demanding plants. They require good lighting, abundant watering and cool conditions throughout the growing period. Shoots should be pruned after flowering. In winter it is better to keep them in a cool place and water moderately.

1. Location: in summer it is beneficial to place outdoors, avoid direct sunlight. If it is not possible to take the plant outside, it should be provided with a supply of fresh air.
2. Temperature: 16-25°C – the optimal temperature range in summer, 12-15°C – in winter.
3. Lighting: bright light, avoid direct sunlight.
4. Watering: in summer water abundantly and regularly. In winter watering should be limited. The soil should dry out on the surface after watering.
5. Air humidity: should be moderate.
6. Feeding: from spring until autumn, fertilize every 2 weeks.
7. Propagation: by cuttings (February-March) or by seeds. Bellflower cuttings are rooted in a soil mixture of sand and peat and are lightly misted.