Weezing, we've seen C. rotundifolia growing along the shores of Lake Charlevoix in Michigan - it's a sweet little Campanula. All this talk about Campanulas has got me thinking I need to add a few more to our gardens! I planted 6 or 7 C. poscharskyana 'Blue Waterfall' last summer - not the best time of the year to plant around here, but I'm hoping they will become established and tunble over the wall they're planted on top of. I also forgot I've got 'Elizabeth' growing and after seeing your pictures she will definitely find a place somewhere in our gardens :) I still love C. glomerata and haven't had it in years - but it's hard to find in our area. Maybe because it does better in a northern climate?
Let us consider the Campanula...
Yes, that C. Elizabeth is quite a lusty grower! It might be just what we need back in our woodland garden along our lot line...
Those little german Campanulas could be interesting too. They made me run outside to my little baby clumps of some kind of short C. and check them for spring growth. They are green and surviving the cold, too. I think nemotodes got the other clump of them last August.
Today I received my Specialty Perennials seeds including an extra they sent called C. lactiflora 'New Hybrids' (Milky Bellflower) along with the White Bell, and Grandiflora Blue. I think the 'New Hybrids' originates in Asia and is floppy and not too interesting, but might be something for my natural garden, too.
They also sent an Aconitum 'napellus' (Monkshood), which I am interested in trying in my part shade woodland garden...
Some nice pictures of Campanulas from Swallowtail
http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/perennials/campanula.html
And for those who are really committed to campanulas there is even a Timber Press book-- available used from Amazon for $16.00.
http://www.timberpress.com/books/isbn.cfm/0-88192-463-6
I've always wanted to grow Monkshood; they're sooo beautiful. I've been under the impression our summers are too hot for them, so have never tried them. Now that I live in a cooler microclimate I should consider them again. Do keep us updated as to how they do.
Been lurking all along the Campanula discussion and loving it. I recieved a few varieties in trades (clustered bellflower-glomerata?) last year and bought C.persicifolia, blue, white, and Chettle Charm from Bluestone. I've already killed the white (or maybe the drought did it-thought I watered well...?), but I think at least 2 of the blue look good, and Chettle Charm looks good. I've killed C.persicifolia before, and still can't figure out the problem. I did, however, put all 3 varieties in different beds in hopes of increasing the odds of success. I'm ready to just bring on the rambunctious species now, lol. There is such a charm to pendulous bell shaped flowers.
And I got Canterbury bell seed a few days ago. I have grown and had great luck with those in the past and am looking so forward to those big showy wads of bloom next year!
tabasco, good luck with all those seeds. I excited to hear your reports on them.
Neal.
I've been thinking about planting some monkshood also. I collected quite a few seeds this year from the columbines and campanulas, and I'm hoping they do well in the winter sowing experiment. I'm trying toad lily also, since they seem to reseed themselves fairly well. Keeping my fingers crossed!
The Elizabeth is gorgeous. May have to put that on my "I Want" list! I have enough spots to fill that it's more than welcome to reproduce for me.
Stacy, Depending upon your fertility the monks can be just as need of support as the delphs. Great plants though, nice blues, and I know you like those. I have a yellow, a little later than most others, way floppy, but a great color. Maybe they shorten up in full sun,but mine in dappled sun are fully 5' high and non-supportive. Ken
If any of you are buying campanula seeds, you might check my tradelist first. This year's are for trade, and most of last year's are SASE.
Thankfully, Ken, I'm too old to be fertile (lol).
Back to the subject, I'm blessed with very good soil here. I don't mind staking where I need to, but with the good soil and a somewhat protected area, I don't tend to have to stake too often.
Weez - I've winter sowed or traded almost all the seed I have this year, with the exception of what I ordered for direct sowing in the spring. I would love some Elizabeth - maybe next year?
you can see me blushing from Cherry Vale.
ken-- This is a 'G' rated thread.
But just to clarify, are you saying the 'monks' will have to go elsewhere for their needs, and to be safe, and for good 'support', as fertile as we are here, perhaps we'd better stick to the low growing C.s? And you know what we 'like'?! My, my...
We don't want things to get 'wild' in the garden, do we? Or do we?! LOL
lol - sorry, but I just couldn't resist
Ouch, consider me suitably humbled.
Getting back to Campanulas, I just ran across this web page on how to grow them and thought I would add it to this archived thread just for informational purposes:
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/canterbury.htm
I had good luck with Wintersowing them this year too!
Will get some photos soon from my campanulas started last year---almost ready to bloom...
I've always wanted to grow it but always heard/read that it doesn't perform that well down in the deep south, read here hot & humid Alabama, is that why most of the responders to this thread are up north? Well other than the folks from AK, but then there's always an exception and always one in every crowd.....:)....But seriously is that the case? And are there some that are OK grown down this way and if so which ones?.....thanks folks
Paul from Alabama
http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/page19.html
Have a look at PD's campanulas. They mention a couple of them that will grow in heat and humidity and will give you a lead in what to lookf for. And it looks like most are hardy in zone 8/9.
It looks like you will have to choose just the right microclimate in your garden and also the right variety of campanula from the huge range of them.
We have heat and humidity here and mine seem to do OK, but of course nothing like the Alabama h & h.
tabasco......Thanks so much for the info and the URL...PD, always has good info on plant performance down here, I should have thought of that......as far as anything like the heat & humidity here in Alabama, there is one place with heat and humidity like Alabama, it's where you go if you lie to your mother.........:)
Paul from Alabama
Right now I am germinating some 'Carpathian Harebell' which are responding well to a spring version of wintersowing: cold nights and cool or warm sunny days in a plastic clamshell. We'll see...
I have Campanula 'Telham Beauty' started from WS seed. I am in zone 6 with heat and humidity. We're supposed to have 103 heat indices tomorrow. However, we usually don't get that kind of heat until later in the summer. But, we still get this humid heat. So, should C. 'Telham Beauty' be planted in full shade, part shade or mostly sun. I think if I put it in full sun, it would croak.
I also have some C. 'medium' or I think it's called C. Canterbury Bells. I also have a few C. 'White Clips'.
I don't know where to plant these Campanulas: how much shade?
Tobasco: glad you had such good success with the Campanulas. I have admired them for years. I tried to WS them last year, but they didn't make it.
I started C. rotundifolia from seed but did not plant it last year as I was told it was too aggressive.
I like the C. 'Cherry Bells' also C. 'Pantaloons' but won't grow them as they are too aggressive for me. I try to stay away from anything that gets a little aggressive.
Tabasco,
The tall blue flowers in this picture are peach leaf bellflowers. I love them. I also have some in my cutting garden - they make excellent cut flowers. I'm in zone 6b, and they seem to do just fine. I do stake them by putting multiple stakes around them while they are still small, and then making a grid-ish sort of thing with twine. Otherwise, they will get a bit floppy. Good luck, and let us know how your campanulas work out for you!
I took a closeup this morning
And here's a pic of them with some other cut flowers - they bloom the same time as my peonies, snapdragons and larkspur . . .
pgt : beautiful bouquet. WHen you look at flowers like that, it makes all the work worth it!
Lots of beautiful Campanula pictures and good information.
I have grown Monkshood for the past 3 or four years. I have them in full shade and they do fine. HOwever, I do have to stake them.
It sounds like that is what one has to do with the tall Campanulas also.
This is a great thread. I have tried to do research on the C's and have not found a lot of information.
Just discovered this thread.
Nice campanulas,I tried to grow the Panteloon type but not the right conditions here.
I have urtificolas that are out of controle and have to be deadheaded everyday ,plus dug out at the edges to keep the clump under controle. They migrate into lilies and poppies.
ge,
those are so pretty! Might have to add some of those to my cutting garden. Do they last long in a vase?
I believe so if you pick when budded. I cant remember cutting them but they grow in a spot thats difacult to get to.
and what are those reddish flowers peaking out behind them? they are lovely, and I don't recognize them.
We call them Perennial snapdragons. They come up everywhere here.Inherited the skeleton of a garden 4 years ago when we moved here.
Ge, would you be wiling to make trade? I can mail you some peach leaved bellflowers or johnson's blue geraniums for some of those perennial snaps. What do you say?
I would love to have some of the p. snapdragons too. I can quickly give you a list of what I have to offer. I just haven't put it in Dave's Garden yet. I have Crepe Myrtle, Butterfly Bush, Balloon Flower and Russian Sage and a wild verbena(gorgeous).
I love the Campanulas too. So many pretty pictures and flowers.
It's kind of hard to believe these C. can be invasive. I have one C. carpatica "Blue Chips" that I purchased this spring from a garden center. I hope it makes it. That's my only Campanula that is in the garden. I have a few on my deck that I am "nursing" hoping to get them out in the garden.
Should I plant them now as they are big enough to plant, or should I wait until closer to fall? Our weather is absolutely atrocious! So hot and humid too early for this kind of heat. I worry the plants won't make it that have not already become established.
ge1836, looks like Adenophora lilifolia, which I also have and yes they are a bit rampet, from seeding and underground stolons. They are closely related to campanulas, they have grown for me in part shade to full sun. Love campanulas!!!!! If intrested in a mail order, give Bluestone Pernnials a try, I personally have ordered from them for years, usuallt they are starts but great prices. They have a pretty large selection of campanulas and ALOT of other goodies,(lol). I have grown so many campanulas and just love them, a newbie this year is C. latifolia, have been wanting for years and did this spring, ordered from ?, oops Can't remember at the moment (got so many things this year from mail-order,(lol). Is a 3ft, lilac blue, clusters of flowers at the top and I hope they spread, a bunch,lol. Other newbies this year are c. portanslagiana and c. poscharskyana, Have grown: carpaticas, cochleariifolia, glomeratas, persicifloia, and rotundifolia. Ooops, I almost forgot c. americana a bienial at 5-6ft, I'd love to get seeds of this variety again!!!! There are probably a few I'm forgetting, (moved a few times,lol). Another great place for seed is Thompsen Morgan Seeds, they used to have so many diff. varieties and still do but many have been discontinued ( the unusuals).
So, warrior, what are your top three picks?
I am really sorry to turn everybody down for seed collecting and plant trades.
I am not a young chick anymore and the labor to do these tasks is just not in me.
I also have dealt with Bluestone for 4 years. I love their plants and now that they are giving up the peanuts in the mailings its even better.
I have been wanting some tallish blue to violet bells, but can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I know I saw them once in a WFF catalog, so maybe I will take a look at their website...Thanks for the reminder. I started a lot of perennials from T&M seeds too, and know the allure of dreaming with a seed catalog.
Watch the colors online,many misrepresent what the plant really looks like in bloom.
My favorite campanula is "cup and saucer" or Campanula medium. It's quite tall (over 2 feet) and a beautiful clear pink. It's a biennial, but I like it so much that I plant a crop from seed every year in my "trial garden" and move it to the perennial garden the 2nd year. Not all the plants from seed packet are "cup and saucer." Some are just plain bells. The only place I can find the seeds is Chiltern Seeds in England.
LAS
Thompson and Morgan has seed for the Canterbury bells (C. medium) in a color mix.
C. rapunculoides is terrible here. Once it gets away from you, there's no turning back - very difficult to get rid of without doing a lot of digging and sifting.
C. speciosa is a nice variety. It seems a little sturdier than some of the others. For me, it's more blue than some of the others that lean toward violet or purple.
Cindy, I looked up the C.speciosa. It is gorgeous. How tall does yours get?
Mine gets morning shade and afternoon sun so it may get a bit taller by "reaching" but, in bloom, 3 to 3 1/2 ft tall. And because it's not a cultivar, I can collect seed to start more and know they'll be the same. Nice thing about most tall Campanulas is that, if you dead-head, they'll keep blooming on down the stalk.
Cindy: Do you remember where you got your C. speciosa? Do they re-seed? Are yours multiplying? When I did research, I did not find a source for this seed. Be sure and collect some.
ge: don't worry about sending plants etc. We'll just enjoy your pictures!
I have researched C. rotundifolia and C. punctata and find they can spread too much too. It seems Campanulas can go either way: good and evil! I have learned I will have to do research before getting Campanulas.
I have my very first bloom on the one and only Campanula I have that I purchased from a garden cntr. this spring. It is Campanula carpatica 'Blue Chips'. I can't seem to grow them from seed.
Well it seems like I've had the C. speciosa around for at least 10 years and have the source somewhere but it's not on my pc. Will have to do some digging on that. I did a search for seed as well but nothing's coming up. T&M listed it as a perennial in danger of disappearing more than 20 years ago so maybe they're right. As for self-seeding, it doesn't seem to do much but then I do cut off the flower stalk when it's done just for the sake of tidiness. It's in bloom right now so I'll save some seed this year. d-mail your address and I'll send in the fall.
Your discussion of C.speciosa sent me a-googling for some more info on the various campanulae. I found a plethora of info so I want to post here some of the excellent details and research and sources available online for the record:
From the Royal Horticultural Society: A long list of various Campanulas available at nurseries and garden centers with detailed growing instructions for each variety:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/search?cx=partner-pub-6402928726328738%3Ampzwff-w8oa&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=campanula&
sa=SEARCH#924
(Campanula must be wildly popular in the UK)
Chiltern Seeds UK very long list of Campanula seeds available online: http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/list.php?type=search&value=campanula
A not-as-long list of various campanula seed available from Hudson the Seedsman USA: http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/SeedlistCA.htm
Todd Boland's DG article on Alpine Campanula: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/501/
Jackie Cross' DG article on Scottish Bluebells (Campanula rotundifolia) http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1615/
From the NARGS site: An excellent article explaining C. basics along with lots of detail about the various Campanulae: http://www.nargs.org/nargswiki/tiki-index.php?page=campanula
And another from NARGS: an article discussing the Campanulae subset 'Campanula': http://www.nargs.org/nargswiki/tiki-index.php?page=Campanula (including photography by DGs Todd Boland.) And by the way, NARGS has an excellent seed exchange for members.
From the Chicago Botanic Garden: A performance appraisal of Hardy Bellflowers: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/downloads/planteval_notes/no31_bellflower.pdf
Now I have loads of information about C. and hopefully it will help me sort out why some of my C. fail to thrive and others do OK. (For one thing, I see that some of the 'alpine' types like a little lime in their soil and I've been adding quite the opposite. Duh.)
My camera's on the fritz or I would show some of the new C. I purchased on close-out at the perennial nursery. Armed with my new growing instructions I'm expecting these to take off!
Happy C. gardening!
t.
This message was edited Jul 9, 2011 11:09 AM