Campanula, Milky Bellflower 'Pritchards Variety'

Having read high praise for this cultivar from a variety of sources, I obtained my plant from a usually reliable supplier and planted it ...Read Morelast September. When it came into bloom a few weeks ago, I was disappointed by the washy/pale lavender flower color---from what I'd read and from the pictures I'd seen, I'd expected the color to be deeper/more saturated. (In all fairness, it is more saturated than the skim-milk-blue of the species.) Grown in full sun, the stems are lax/floppy and only about 18 inches tall, though I understand that it takes 2-5 years for the plant to reach its mature height. I'm reserving judgement till after another year or two.

According to the (British) Royal Horticultural Society, which has given its prestigious AGM (Award of Garden Merit) to 'Prichard's Variety' (note correct spelling), its mature height is shorter than the species, at 0.5-1.0 meters (20-40 inches).

The leaves are matt rather than shiny/glossy, and are on the light side of green, not blue-green.

I take issue with the information above on propagating 'Prichard's Variety'. This cultivar does not come true from seed, and seed-grown offspring of 'Prichard's Variety' are NOT 'Prichard's Variety'. They vary in flower color from light violet-blue to white. I have read than many of the plants labeled 'Prichard's Variety' in commerce are actually seed grown. True 'Prichard's Variety' is grown from cuttings taken in the spring before flower buds form, and has a much darker/more saturated flower color than the species---on the RHS color chart, it's 90B violet blue. I have read that it may be a hybrid.

I suspect my plant may be one of the seed-grown impostors.

Campanula lactiflora has a reputation for self-sowing to weedlike excess if not cut back or deadheaded. I've also read that plants are taprooted and like delphiniums may never fully recover from division or transplanting. This cultivar should be propagated from basal cuttings in early spring.

Armitage gives its hardiness range as Z5-7 in eastern North America. Like most campanulas, it does not perform well in climates with hot humid summers where night temperatures often remain above 70F, like that of the southeastern US.

June 2014 update: I moved this in early spring, when it had only a few inches of top growth. The roots are white, thick and fleshy, radish-like and about 6" long, radiating like the fingers of a hand. They came out intact, with no soil attached and no fibrous roots to speak of. The plant has grown well after the move without missing a beat.

July 1 2014: The stems are still lax and well under 2 feet tall, though growing in full sun and rich soil. It does have many stems and looks happy and healthy. If I let go my expectations of "dark blue" flowers, I can admire the light violet flowers, which have just begun.

This has been my hands down favourite for the last several years. I love the clear, skywashed periwinkle blue flowers, which absolutely g...Read Morelow on overcast and rainy days. It is a welcome bright note (and the foliage is lovely too, tending toward the chartreuse end of green, rather than a heavy, dark colour) here in the rainy Pacific Northwest.

I have this plant growing in some shade in my old rose garden. It thrives there and is a wonderful compaion to the roses

More stiff, erect than the species.