Dainty bell-shaped or star-shaped flowers characterize Campanula (bellflower), a collection of flowering plants. The petals of Campanula flowers are five-lobed and range in length from 0.8 to 1 inch (2 to 2.5 cm). Purple, blue, pink, or white bellflowers are also available. Campanula flowers bloom from late spring through the summer, whether they’re annuals, evergreen perennials, or herbaceous plants.
In a sunny garden, growing campanula flowers is a breeze. Depending on the variety, campanula flowers may be perennial, annual, or biennial. They grow in well-drained soil and are stunning. In addition to adding color to a patio, container garden, or entryway, you can also grow the lovely blue, purple, white, or pink campanula blooms in pots. For a colorful waterfall effect, growing the creeping campanula flowering stems in hanging baskets or cascading down walls is also an option.
This article provides a detailed overview of some of the most stunning campanula blooms for your garden. In addition, there are some great advice on how to care for bellflowers, so their bell- and star-shaped blooms flourish through spring and late summer.
About Campanula Flowers
Due to its bell-like flowers that grow in clusters at the ends of or along slender stems, campanulas (bellflowers) come in a variety of colors including purple, pink, blue, and white. While some species of campanula blooms may grow up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall, most are low-growing. Varieties of dwarf and alpine bellflowers can grow as short as 2 inches (5 cm).
In Europe, Asia, and North America, over 500 species of campanula plants are native to subtropical and temperate areas. In shady nooks of damp meadows, open woods, and beside riverbanks, you’ll frequently find campanula flowers. Campanula plants grow in USDA zones 4 through 8 and are hardy plants. Nonetheless, in zone 3, some of the hardiest bellflowers survive subzero temperatures.
Campanula plants’ bell-shaped blooms are a popular feature. Although the most frequent colors are purple and blue, certain types of bellflowers have white or pink blooms. Long-lasting blooms characterize bellflowers. Deadheading spent blooms, on the other hand, may help you extend the bloom period.
In gentle breezes, the bell-shaped flowers typically droop over. Some blooms have a star-shaped, cup appearance because they have an open end. Other bellflowers, such as tiny purple urns hanging in clusters, appear to be of a different variety. In a garden landscape, Campanula (bellflowers) has a variety of uses. Ground cover, border plants, edging plants, or cut flowers are all examples of clump-forming blooms that thrive in partial sun to full sun.
Campanula cup and saucer flowers, for example, are ideal for cottage gardens. As an understory plant, purple star-shaped bellflowers are perfect for dappled shade. Tall white bellflowers, on the other hand, are ideal for growing in mixed flower beds or containers.
Varieties of Campanula Flowers (Bellflower) – with Pictures and Identification
The stunning colors and designs of campanula flowers are highlighted in the following varieties:
Campanula (Bellflower) ‘Pink Octopus’
Campanula bellflower blooms flutter down from upright stems and are long and spindly soft-pink. With bright pink petals covered in tiny red dots, these spreading perennial campanula blooms are dubbed “Japanese lantern buds.” On upright stems, the nodding spider-like pink blooms bloom profusely. The height of this campanula flower ranges from 10 to 15 inches (25 to 37 cm).
Campanula (Bellflower) ‘Birch Hybrid’
The bellflower Campanula has beautiful violet-blue flowers with a dramatic bell shape. The purple blooms are plentiful on trailing stems, with rounded scalloped green leaves surrounding them. In hanging baskets, trailing along a wall, or in rock gardens, the creeping campanula violet blooms are stunning.
Campanula (Bellflower) ‘Sarastro’
Campanula ‘Sarastro’ is a big, dark purple bell-shaped bloom with five-lobed petals. The dark green, ovate leaves contrast with the bellflowers that dangle on arching stems. Over the summer, this clump-forming perennial campanula plant blooms. The large blooming bellflower Sarastro stands at 24 inches (60 cm) tall and broad.
Campanula lactiflora ‘Border Blues’ (Bellflower)
The campanula flowers of Campanula lactiflora are eye-catching purple blooms with a distinctive star pattern. The upright, stiff stems are covered in dark purple blooms that have an open shape. The dark green lance-shaped serrated leaves contrast with the purple flower color. This cultivar grows up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall and thrives in zones 5 through 7.
Campanula (Bellflower) ‘Blue Ocean’
The deep lilac star-shaped flowers with a bell-like form of Campanula ‘Blue Ocean’ are ideal for adding to beds. A compact, attractive rounded clump of upright purple flowering perennial plants grows in a vertical position. A contrasting white throat and white stamens adorn each delicate five-lobed light purple flower.
Campanula rapunculoides (Creeping Bellflower)
The creeping bellflower, also known as Campanula rapunculoides, is a plant. The dangling purple bellflowers that grow along one side of a stem are used to identify the flowering perennial. The bell-shaped blooms, which are 0.8″ to 1.6″ (2 – 4 cm) long, appear on nodding spikelike flowering stalks. From mid-summer through September, this late-blooming bellflower plant blooms.
Campanula persicifolia (Peach-Leaved Bellflower)
The Campanula persicifolia has white cup-shaped delicate flowers that bloom along slender stems, and it’s also known as the Peach-Leaved Bellflower. Five pointed lobes and a large, open form characterize the white fused petals. This herbaceous perennial bellflower plant can grow to be 3 feet (1 meter) tall.
Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian Bellflower)
The Serbian bellflower, Campanula poscharskyana, is a lovely trailing blooming plant with star-shaped white to purple flowers. Lavender-purple blooms cascade down walls, reaching from hanging baskets, or sprouting as ground cover. The creeping shoots may stretch up to ten inches (25 cm).
How to Grow Bellflower Plants
The campanula plant requires well-draining, moderately fertile soil to grow flowers. In full sun to partial shade, the lovely bell-shaped purple or blue blooms thrive. Use an all-purpose, balanced fertilizer in the spring to encourage blooming and water the plant only during hot, dry weather. Campanula blooms will last from late spring to the first frost under optimum conditions. You may also prolong the blooming period by deadheading spent flowers.
Bellflower plants can be grown in your garden easily. Creeping campanula plants have become invasive in certain regions as a result of their prolific seeding tendency and fast-growing, spreading roots. Blue and purple campanula blooms, on the other hand, are popular among gardeners for their beauty in a summer garden.
Where To Plant Bellflowers
Campanula blooms in your garden on sandy soil in a sunny location where the soil is well-drained. Loose, loamy soil that drains well is required for the planting site. Bellflowers may be grown in rock gardens, raised flower beds, hanging baskets, pots, and underplanting shrubs.
The species and variety of plants you choose to grow campanula depend on your area. Borderlines along driveways, back-of-bed flowers, and foundation plantings are all good places to grow upright bellflower plants. Trailing or creeping campanula blossoms, on the other hand, look their best when the stems have enough space to sway and sway from a hanging basket.
How to Plant Campanula Flowers in Pots
Container-grown Campanula is ideal. Long stems with purple, blue, lilac, pink, and white star- or bell-shaped blooms create stunningly beautiful floral displays. The lush green foliage that overflows the sides of pots contrasts with the pink, purple, and lilac hues. Select a pot with drainage holes to grow campanula flowers in. To enhance drainage, use a looser potting soil and peat moss amended with perlite. Since the flowers need moist soil when in bloom, adding peat moss assists to retain moisture.
How to Care for Potted Campanula (Bellflowers)
Place potted bellflowers in partial shade or full sun to ensure they are cared for properly. Water only when the top soil is dry. Try to keep your indoor potted campanula plants away from a south-facing window for as much as possible. Without becoming soggy, water the bellflower plants sufficiently.
Several times each year, remove spent flowers to encourage blooming. Campanula plants need moist, but well-drained soil to bloom all summer. When cultivating potted campanula plants indoors, follow these helpful guidelines:
- Always water the soil, not the leaves or flowers, with room-temperature water.
- Campanula blooms thrive in warm, humid conditions.
- To ensure adequate soil moisture, only water the potting mix when the top 1″ to 2″ (2.5 – 5 cm) is dry.
- In the autumn and winter, reduce watering.
- Watering is best when it’s deep rather than shallow.
- Campanula plants are drought-tolerant indoor plants that take a long time to establish.
Propagating Campanula Flowers
Campanula flowers may be propagated in two ways: by dividing and planting seeds. To enjoy the flowers year after year, many campanula species require seed reproduction. Other types of bellflowers, which will grow as perennials in the garden, are self-seeding.
How to propagate campanula plants using seeds: After the blooms have faded, collect the hard seed capsules (campanula fruit). Store them in a cold, dry location afterwards. Break open the seed heads in the middle of winter and soak the tiny seeds in a paper bag for six to eight weeks in the refrigerator.
In late winter, spread the tiny seeds over a tray of moist, starting mix. Lastly, between 68°F and 71°F (20°C and 21°C) place the tray in a warm, bright area. It should take two to six weeks for the seeds to germinate. When the seedlings are 4″ (10 cm) tall, sow them in the garden or in a container. Instead, in the autumn, you may simply toss the collected seeds around in your yard.
How to propagate campanula flowers through division: Dig around the bellflower clump in the spring, gently pulling up the entire plant. Next, split the roots of the plant into two or three parts. Next, thoroughly water the sections after they have been removed from the pot.
How to Care for Campanula (Bellflowers) in the Garden
In a sunny garden, growing campanula bellflowers is simple. Nonetheless, you may assist the lovely purple and lilac blooms to thrive without swallowing up your garden if you take care and attention.
Where to Plant Flowering Campanula Plants
In full sun or light shade, and on well-draining soil, plant campanula flowers. In shaded environments, bellflowers will thrive; nonetheless, the plant may not create as many blooms. Furthermore, fungal diseases are more common in full shade and humid conditions.
How to Water Campanula Flowers
When the soil is regularly wet, Campanula blooms flourish. When the top layer of soil dries, water the campanula flowers. You may have to water the ground once or twice a week during hot, dry weather. Flowers may wilt and the plant may die if the soil is allowed to completely dry out.
Mulching around the root zone may help keep the soil moist by preventing evaporation. You’re also helping to keep the bellflowers weed-free at the same time. Leave a 2″ (5.5 cm) strip of mulch around the main stem, with a 3″ (7.5 cm) layer on top.
Growing Campanula Bellflowers — Temperature and Humidity Requirements
Campanula flowers are hardy plants that may be winter hardy in USDA zone 3 and 4. They thrive in warm days and cold nights. In overly hot or humid climates, some types of cold-hardy campanula plants don’t perform well. Powdery mildew affects the leaves of these plants. It’s critical to shield the blossoms from the scorching midday sun in hot places. Campanulas prefer warm nights and warmer days, and grow best in climates with cool evenings.
Fertilizer for Growing Campanula Flowers
Fertilization is recommended twice a year, once in the spring and once in the summer. Use a 10-10-10 NPK balanced fertilizer. In addition, to provide essential nutrients for flowering, you can add a layer of organic compost or rotting manure.
How to Prune Campanula
To promote prolific blooming throughout the summer, Campanula plants only require minimal care. To limit the growth and spread of trailing campanula stems, you can also trim their length. Also, the plant might not spread into other parts of your front or backyard if you remove spreading stems.
To encourage more flowers to appear, pinch off the tip of new shoots and the first few leaves. You may cut the plants back further if necessary. Remove spent flowers from the campanulas’ stems throughout the blooming season, which begins in late spring and ends in late fall. You can also trim any scraggly, damaged, or misplaced stems.
Pests and Diseases Affecting Campanula Flowers
Aphids, thrips, spider mites, and whiteflies are all pests that can infect campanula bellflower plants if they are not handled properly. These unwanted plant pests are usually dislodged by blasting the garden hose. To exterminate the insects, you can use an insecticidal soap solution or neem spray.
Irrigation methods, either too much or too little water, are responsible for the majority of campanula flower diseases. Soggy soil causes root rot when bellflowers are overwatered. Plant leaves will acquire rusty-colored or black bruises as a result of this. Infected leaves should be removed and the leaves destroyed (not composted). A fuzzy white coating can appear on the leaves due to powdery mildew. Maximizing air circulation and avoiding washing water onto the leaves are the best ways to avoid this plant infection.
Hardy plants that are resistant to insects, pests, and diseases make up the majority of campanula flowers. Nonetheless, maintaining good growing circumstances is the greatest way to avoid plant injuries. Therefore, maintain moist, well-drained soil and ensure that there is adequate air circulation between the plants. Provide enough sunlight and keep the soil aerated.
Why is My Campanula Plant Dying?
The primary cause of your campanula’s flowers dying is underwatering. Leaves become soft or brown when there is too much moisture in the soil. Hold off watering and raise the intensity of the light if this is the case. You will, however, have to dig up and examine for indications of root rot if your plant does not recover.
How to Get Rid of Creeping Bellflowers
Campanula plants that have become invasive may need to be removed in certain cases. Dig up the plant 8 inches (20 cm) deep and wide, for example, to get rid of bellflowers. After that, all roots components must be removed. Covering the clumps with newspaper and a thick layer of soil and mulch is another way to eliminate campanula flowers. By depriving the plant of light, this assists in killing it off.