How to Grow Bellflower (Campanula)

Bellflowers come in a variety of sizes. The smaller ones - only 6 to 9 inches high - can grow in the rockery of your garden or as a ground cover. The taller kinds - up to 3 feet high - fit well in the border with perennials that have a more mounded form, providing contrast. Bellflowers bloom in mid to late spring; they're shaped like bells and come in white or shades of lavender-blue.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Bypass Pruners
• Fertilizers
• Garden Hoses
• Garden Spades
• Plants

Choosing Bellflower

1. Shop for bellflowers in 4-inch to 1-gallon containers.
2. Shop in midspring when bellflowers are in bloom, or wait until fall when many nurseries have sales.
3. Choose Carpathian bellflower (Campanula carpatica), fairy's thimble (C. cochlearifolia) or Dalmatian bellflower (C. portenschlagiana) for a low-growing plant.
4. Choose peach leafed bluebell (C. persicifolia) for a tall bellflower; it grows to 3 feet.
5. Look for sturdy stems on the taller varieties.
6. Look for healthy plants by checking those in containers for new growth in spring.

Planting Bellflower

7. Plant bellflowers in spring or fall in a well-drained, sunny spot in the garden. In hotter climates, choose a location that gets morning sun.
8. Add some organic fertilizer to the planting hole.
9. Water well after planting.
10. Add a 2- or 3-inch layer of organic compost so that the new plant doesn't dry out.

Caring for Bellflower

11. Apply an organic fertilizer to the perennial bed in early spring.
12. Cut the flowering stem of taller varieties off to a point just above where you see new growth; use bypass pruners. This will encourage the plant to keep flowering.
13. Stake taller varieties, especially if they're in the shade.
14. Cut back the tall flower stems to the base of the plant in spring.

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