Pointed bell, planting and care. Bellflower: varieties, types, cultivation Bellflower pyramidal mix growing from seeds

Since ancient times, bell flowers, growing freely in the wild conditions of nature, have attracted everyone's attention, as a result, breeders came up with the idea to use this beautiful, modest and touching plant to decorate gardens and suburban areas. In addition, bells are perennial flowers, so growing them is not only beautiful, but also practical.

In Russia, local residents loved such plants so much that they came up with various affectionate names such as doves, bells, bells, chebotki, and chenilles.

Legends were made about gentle bells, and according to one of the legends, these flowers appeared in those days when people began to ride on three horses to the cheerful ringing of bells.

Where these chimes sounded, bells grew, which also made a quiet ringing, but it could only be heard the night before on the night of Ivan Kupala.

Beneficial properties of perennial bells

After a certain period of time, villagers began to plant bells in their front gardens, but they used these flowers not only as decoration, but also to treat certain ailments. It was believed that these modest flowers helped cope with ulcers, sore throats, erysipelas, mastitis and epilepsy.

In addition, there are many types of bells, and among them there are edible and honey-bearing plants, the roots and leaves of which can be used in cooking for pickling, stewing, preparing soups, salads.

How to grow bluebells in the garden. General rules for planting and care.

You need to choose a place for planting that is sunny or lightly shaded. Any soil that is well drained will do.

Drained soil is soil brought to normal water balance. This is most often achieved by constructing active or passive removal of excess moisture. Active removal is used, for example, on modern football fields. Passive - sandy or rocky layer in the soil.

You cannot plant garden bells:

• to areas where water stagnates;
• in lowlands with loamy or clayey soil;
• places that are flooded with water.

In any other places you can grow bells and they will feel great. If the groundwater is located close to the surface, you can make a tall, raised flower bed and provide good drainage.

How to plant perennial garden bellflower.

The soil for planting should be loose, with sufficient nutrients. To do this, you need to add peat, humus, and turf soil to heavy soils (loam or clay soil).

Bluebells reproduce best by bushes. You can also grow your own bellflower seedlings from seeds.

The time when to plant garden bells is very convenient. This can be done twice per season in autumn and spring. Namely:

• perennial bells for rock gardens (these include Carpathian bell, spoon-leaved, wall, Pozharsky, Gargan) are propagated by dividing bushes and nests in the spring;
• these same low-growing bells for the rock garden are planted by cuttings for propagation in an unheated greenhouse at the beginning of summer;
• Flowerbed bells, which are grown as biennials, are planted with seeds in May - June, and seedlings are planted in a permanent place in the fall. Growing bells from seeds is a very simple task, even a novice gardener can do it.

Flowers are planted in holes, which are watered abundantly before planting. Lay the bush, straighten the roots and sprinkle with earth. Planting flowers in the fall must be done so that they take root before the onset of frost.

Feeding perennial bluebells

In order for flowers to delight us with their blooming, they must be fertilized and the necessary fertilizing applied.

• In the spring, you need to add nitrogen or any nitrogen-containing fertilizers to the soil that promote the growth of green mass of plants.
• In summer, complex and phosphorus fertilizers are used for garden flowers.
• In the fall, add potassium, it will increase the plants' resistance to frost.

Perennial bells planting and care

The main care for flowers is in summer. They need to be periodically loosened, weeds removed, and fertilized, especially before flowering.

Propagation of perennial garden bells

1. Growing from seeds. Most species of these flowers can be propagated by seeds; they repeat the properties of the parent plants. Only some varieties, for example terry ones, may differ from their parents. In this case, they are propagated vegetatively.

The bell seeds are very small, so they are laid out on the soil and sprinkled with a thin layer of sand.

When to plant bluebells with seeds? In the 2nd half of October or May, the seeds are sown in the ground. Through seedlings at home, flower seeds are planted for seedlings, starting in March.

The first shoots appear approximately 2 weeks after planting. When 3 true leaves appear, the seedlings dive after 10 cm. The flowers are transplanted into flower beds and flower beds in early June. Garden bells bloom within a year.

2. Propagation by cuttings. Young shoots are cut into cuttings and planted in an unheated greenhouse.

Bells are perennial flowers - popular varieties and species.

Bell flowers have long been cultivated, but some gardeners prefer to decorate their gardens with wild species, as they see zest and grace in them.

In most cases, cultivated varieties specially bred by breeders are planted in private gardens.

Now there are more than four hundred different varieties of such plants, and the flowers on many of them have long ceased to have the traditional blue or bluish color. So, in gardens you can find bells of violet, light lilac, soft pink, ocher-yellow, fawn and white corolla colors. Naturally, all varieties differ from each other not only in color, but also in the timing of flowering, as well as in the size of the leaves.

That is why every gardener has a great opportunity to choose the most suitable varieties of bells for decorating gardens, rockeries, borders, and vertical flower arrangements.

Bluebell Carpathian

The most popular type. The Carpathian bell is actively used to create alpine slides and rockeries. In nature, it grows in the mountains, so it looks great among the stones, very quickly forming a large fluffy ball of flowers from small seedlings.

Bell-shaped or star-shaped flowers are white or blue. Plant height 25 cm. Flowering lasts from June to September. Refers to perennial flowers that bloom all summer. It is worth noting that this is an unpretentious plant. In spring it is necessary to protect the plant from slugs. During drought, water regularly.

Bell dotted

It gets its name from the crimson speckles on the white petal visible from inside the flower. The peculiarity of the flower’s shape is that it resembles a blown barrel and tapers to petal blades. Incredibly beautiful. It will be a wonderful decoration for your suburban area.

The flower consists of 5 connected petals, forming a bell-like corolla. The bell also has 10 green cloves at the flower stem. 5 of them are raised up, and the rest are lowered down.

Hanging flowers reach 4 centimeters and are collected in lush inflorescences. The lower leaves are on cuttings. The upper ones do not have this part, so they are classified as sessile. They have very hard fluff, which is very noticeable when you touch it.

Varieties of this bell are bred in different colors:

• pink
• blue
• burgundy
• white
• deep blue

The popularity of the dotted bell is increased due to its diversity.

1. For example, the Otello variety is rich in color pigments. That's why even its sheets are painted. They are characterized by a brown color. 'Kent Bell' has very large bright blue flowers and a stem that grows over 70cm.
2. Recently, the “Cherry Bells” variety with milky petal tips, a pink base and many speckles of red throughout the flower has been in great demand. He is short, only about half a meter. Breeders promise to soon release terry variations of this variety.
3. Many gardeners like the double dotted bell, the so-called double bell. In this form, additional petals are formed from the stamens.

Terry as a characteristic feature of this bell is not very persistently preserved. Its availability may vary due to climate, weather and growing conditions. And the age of the plant and very hot weather contribute to the preservation of terry. Young plants are least likely to produce double flowers.

Of course, some of the varieties of this bell are capricious. But among them there are sure to be many persistent plants that can decorate any garden, no matter where it is. Growing bellflower is not the most carefree activity. After all, this flower needs scrupulous care.

Bellflower peach leaf.

Belongs to border perennials. Planting and care of peach-leaf bellflower is possible in garden beds and flower beds. Plant height 75 cm. Flower color - white or blue. The flowers are cup-shaped, large. A very popular plant among gardeners.

Planting peach bell on sandy, clay or loamy soils is possible with drainage and a large amount of humus. The flower is not afraid of shade; it loves soil with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction.

You should not add a lot of fertilizers, as this will negatively affect the durability of plants in winter and lead to their rapid aging.

The peach-leaf bell is propagated by seeds. They are sown in small greenhouses starting in mid-spring. You should not collect peach bell seeds yourself - they do not inherit parental characteristics. In July, the seedlings are harvested, and in August they are planted in a permanent place. For the winter, the plant is covered with peat or a 15-20 cm layer of dry leaves. With proper care, the bell may bloom next year. If you delay planting or picking, the buds will appear only in the third year.

Peach-leaved species are not long-lived plants, although they are perennial bluebells. Planting and care during propagation by division make it possible to inherit parental characteristics. The transplant is done at the beginning or end of summer, and the roots should be covered with clods of earth. Cuttings are also often used and are done in sand. For effective flowering, you need to periodically feed the bell. Growing will be effective if fertilizers are applied correctly. In spring, nitrogen is used, and before flowering, various complex mineral fertilizers are used. In addition, faded shoots are pruned so that the blooming bells will delight the eye longer.

Flowering is long, from June to August. Removing spent flowers prolongs flowering.

You can use bells of different colors and types not only in group plantings, but also in single plantings, and such compositions will not seem boring at all.

Campanula (lat. Campanula) is a genus of the most common herbaceous plants from the Campanula family.

The family includes more than four hundred species growing in temperate climates.

The bell grows in the Caucasus, Siberia, Asia, Europe, and also in North America. The bulk of natural forms are grown with great success by people in gardens, as they are decorative, winter-hardy and quite undemanding in care.

Garden varieties of bells developed through selective breeding have countless inflorescences and a wide color spectrum. However, they are more difficult to care for, since they make more demands on the conditions in which they grow.

However, if you do not pay attention to a little capriciousness, among most bells you can find plants that will suit any landscape and climate zone.

Varieties of bells

Countless bells are divided into groups according to different characteristics. In terms of life expectancy, perennial and biennial bells, as well as a number of species are considered annual.

Since there are over 300 species of this plant in the world, Let's divide it into three large groups and talk about the habitat, namely forest, meadow and mountain bells.

Did you know? In England, there is a belief that bells were worn on the chests of monks, and therefore they bring prosperity to the house. Thus, the flower is considered sacred.

Shade-loving and shade-tolerant forest species include:

• - lover of shade, reaches a height of 1 m. The name was given in accordance with the shape of the leaves. The flowers of this species are quite large, broadly bell-shaped, racemose inflorescences and reach 4 cm in diameter.

  There are also species that have double-shaped flowers. Flowering time can be defined as June-July.

• - just like the nettle-leaved bell, it is shade-loving. It is about 1.5 m in height. It has straight leafy stems, as well as single flowers with basal leaves that are in a rosette. They are usually white or dark blue. Peak flowering occurs in July.

• - sun lover, but also shade-tolerant. The stems exceed 1 m in length. If we talk about what types of bells there are, then this species is distinguished by a variety of garden forms. Usually these are blue flowers with raceme inflorescences. The flowering period is from June to early autumn.

• - just like the peach-leaved bell, it is shade-tolerant and unpretentious. Height can vary up to 0.8 m. The flowers are usually bright blue, in large spherical inflorescences. The flowering period is all summer. Garden forms of this plant are distinguished by double flowers.

There are many grassland species that require areas with direct sunlight as close to the natural landscape as possible. The most interesting are the Crimean and middle bells.

• - a taxon that grows only in Crimea. It can reach a height of 15 cm to as much as 50 cm. It has straight, thick stems and loose inflorescences of lilac flowers that grow on long stalks.

• - one of the most popular species of this family. A pyramidal bush less than 1 m in height. The most distinctive feature is the pink flowers. The “Cup and Saucer” variety is considered decorative, the flowers of which are associated with a tea pair.

Mountain bells are considered the most popular in the family, because crops such as rock gardens, rock gardens and rockeries have been popular for a very long time. Usually flowers grow at the foot of the Alpine mountains or on gravelly and rocky slopes.

This species can be divided into rocky and meadow. The most decorative are: Scheichzer's bell, thyrsus bell, birch-leaved bell, and Gargan bell.

• mainly grows in alpine meadows. This is a rhizomatous perennial, the stems of which rise and reach a height of up to 30 cm. One or more flowers have a light purple color. It usually blooms all summer.

• - meadow biennial, up to 50 cm high. It has a thickened and straight stem. The leaves form a rosette, usually broadly linear and drooping. Cream and yellow flowers form a dense, spike-shaped inflorescence. Flowering occurs in mid-summer.

• - grows in rocky cracks and reaches a height of up to 15 cm. Flower buds are reddish in color, and already opened flowers become snow-white. Flowering occurs at the end of May and lasts more than a month.

• belongs to the rock species and can be grown in the dark. The bell forms a neat bush 15 cm high. The blue-blue star-shaped flowers open only in early summer.

Did you know?Many different folk beliefs are associated with these flowers. According to one of them, the ringing of bells can be heard only once a year, namely on the magical night before Ivan Kupala, and then you can admire the blooms all summer.

These types are all varied and good in their own way. They should be planted on your site.

How to grow bells on your site

For ornamental plant species, which are quite common in gardening, growing, caring for and planting bells does not present any great difficulties, since this crop is generally unpretentious and can adapt to different living conditions.

However, preservation of the decorative form during the growing season and the size of the buds, long-term flowering and continuous growth are possible only with the optimal creation of conditions under which all the features of agricultural technology for various species will be taken into account.

Watering and fertilizing the soil

A large number of plants prefer open and illuminated places, but some that grow in the forest belt develop better if they are in the shade. Even light-loving varieties of bluebells tolerate partial shade well, and also grow better in such conditions than in completely open sun.

Important! Bluebells do not like water to accumulate in the soil. In this case, they may die.

For example, The bell of the Campanula species is dry-loving, but if it is hot and dry, it needs to be watered regularly. Forest species of this plant especially suffer from lack of moisture.

As for fertilizer, then most bells do not need feeding, but it is still advisable to apply a little fertilizer with microelements at least once in the spring, even before the shoots appear.

Such fertilizers can be purchased at any gardening store or department store. It is also necessary to pay attention to the composition.

Nitrogen should make up a larger percentage of the total mass of phosphorus and potassium. You can find out about this on the packaging.

Mulching and weeding the soil

Caring for bells such as mulching should be done after direct planting of the plant in a layer of about 5 cm. The procedure is also carried out in the fall to prevent freezing.

In order to stimulate the intensity of flowering, flowers that have faded are removed. The bell does not require any additional pruning.

Weeding is carried out in several stages:

Flower transplant

The bell should be transplanted in autumn or spring. In early spring, after the snow has melted, you can safely replant the bellflower, which has a powerful root system.

If the bell's root system is undeveloped, it is better to replant the plant when the soil warms up, namely in May. In the fall, it is better to replant the bell at the beginning of September, so that the plant has time to take root before the onset of frost.

When wondering how to plant bells with a compact, shallow root system, gardeners give the answer that it is best to plant (replant) the plant during flowering or during any other growing season.

Bells need to be replanted with a small ball of earth so as not to injure the root system of the plant.

Important!The hole in which you are going to transplant the bell must be well watered, otherwise the plant may die!

Bellflower propagation

In gardening practice, a wide range of techniques is known that is used to propagate the bell family. You need to take into account some features, and then success will be guaranteed to you.

It should be taken into account that most bluebells grow in the mountains. They are difficult to cultivate on the plain, therefore, breeding and reproduction is possible only in extreme cases. An example is Campanela.

Bellflowers can be propagated by dividing the bush, seeds, or cuttings. At the same time, growing bells from seeds is considered the most popular method.

The type of reproduction depends on various factors and biological characteristics of the plant and life form. For example, one-year-olds reproduce only by seeds, and two-year-olds - by both seeds and cuttings.

Seeds

When propagated by seed, the collection of bell fruits begins when they become brown and until the pores open. After the fruit drying procedure, the seeds must be sprinkled through open pores.

The bell seeds are very small, so they can be mixed with chalk, after rubbing it into fine shavings, or with washed sand. Bluebell seeds must be sown directly into the ground or seedlings must be grown in advance in order to be planted in a flower garden with the arrival of warm days.

Cuttings

Many species are propagated by cuttings. From February to May, cuttings are cut and three cuttings are planted per cell. The formation of roots in the bell is possible within 21 days. The cuttings are taken in the spring.

For more successful rooting, it is necessary to use a fog spray installation.

The same forced solution is the use of film in order to create high humidity, since bells are very demanding on humidity levels during growth.

For decorative bells, which are common in gardens, growing and caring for them does not present any particular difficulties, since they are generally unpretentious and can adapt to various living conditions. However, the large size of the buds, the preservation of decorativeness throughout the entire growing season, long-term and continuous flowering are possible only if optimal conditions for the crop are created and the peculiarities of agricultural technology of various types are necessarily taken into account.

Most cultivated species prefer open, well-lit places, but some, naturally growing in the forest belt, develop better in partial shade and even shade. At the same time, even light-loving varieties tolerate partial shade well and in such conditions bloom longer than in the open sun.

When choosing a place to plant bells, you need to take into account that the crop does not tolerate stagnation of rain or melt water; low areas with heavy clay or loamy soil are not suitable for it. The soil should be drained, loose, well fertilized, with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. Certain species of rocky origin require poor soil with a slightly alkaline reaction, in which case it is preliminarily limed. To improve the structure of clay soils and loams, sand, weathered peat and a small amount of mineral fertilizers are added to them; leaf humus, turf soil or rotted compost are added to insufficiently nutritious sandy soils. It is not recommended to use fresh peat and manure, as this can provoke fungal diseases.

Planting and replanting of bushes is carried out in spring or autumn; this is done very carefully, with a large lump of earth, since there are numerous thin adventitious roots that can be easily damaged. For better survival, abundant watering after transplantation is required; prepared holes are also recommended to be watered beforehand. For varieties with powerful tap roots (crowded, broad-leaved, etc.), the optimal planting time is early spring, and for crops with less developed roots, May is preferable, when the soil has already warmed up sufficiently. The timing of autumn planting should be chosen so that the bushes have time to take root before the onset of frost; it is best to carry out such work from the end of August to the beginning of September. There are species with a compact superficial root system that can be replanted even in a flowering state.

Among the care activities, bells require regular weeding and loosening, especially necessary in the first half of summer, before flowering, moderate watering in dry weather and regular fertilizing. At the beginning of the season, nitrogen is added, which promotes the growth of vegetative mass and early flowering, then, in the summer, complex or phosphorus fertilizers, and in the fall, potassium, which increases the winter hardiness of the crop. For species that prefer neutral and alkaline soil reactions, it is useful to add ash, which further reduces acidity. For fertilizing, you can use rotted manure or mineral fertilizers.

To increase the duration of flowering, it is recommended to regularly remove dried flowers. Only those from which they plan to obtain seeds are left, which are collected after browning, but before opening the capsules, in order to avoid self-seeding. In tall bells, faded shoots are completely cut off.

Most garden species are winter-hardy and do not need shelter; only a few, originating from the southern regions of Europe and Asia, are lightly sprinkled with dry leaves, peat or spruce branches. At the end of autumn, the stems of all species are cut off at the root.

Reproduction and cultivation of bells from seeds

The crop can be propagated by seeds and vegetatively; the methods of propagation of each specific species largely depend on its biological characteristics.

Propagation of bells by growing from seeds is the most universal method, the only one possible, and is also successfully used for biennials and perennials. There are only a few exceptions, including double varieties, in which the seedlings may not repeat the characteristics of the parent plants, or the seeds may not set at all.

Sowing is done directly into the ground in the fall, usually in the second half of October, or in the spring, in May, or for seedlings - in March in boxes. When growing bells from seeds, use light, loose, breathable soil consisting of sand, turf or leaf soil and weathered peat. Organic fertilizers are not added.

The seeds of the bells are very small, so they are laid out directly on the surface of the soil, if necessary, only lightly sprinkled with sand. Seedlings germinate in two weeks; during autumn planting, 10-14 days after the ground thaws. Note that for many species, seeds germinate better after stratification; in this case, winter sowing is preferable.

After the appearance of three true leaves, the seedlings dive at a distance of 10x10 cm. Young plants are planted in the garden in a permanent place in early June. The seedlings bloom the next year. Almost all cultivated varieties self-sow.

Vegetative propagation methods are used for biennials and perennials. At the same time, perennial bells with a taproot or carpal root system are considered vegetatively immobile and are grown only from seeds. A number of species with short rhizomes belong to the category of vegetatively inactive; they can be divided and cuttings. Finally, the last group of plants, called vegetatively mobile, has long creeping rhizomes, and therefore can reproduce not only by seeds, division or cuttings, but also by root suckers, as well as segments of rhizomes.

The division of bushes can be carried out in the third - fifth, and for some species even in the second year of the growing season. To do this, large bushes are dug up at the beginning of May or at the end of summer, the above-ground part is cut off, divided with a sharp knife or shovel so that each division has a sufficient number of roots and several points of regeneration, and immediately planted in a permanent place, not forgetting to water it abundantly. .

When propagating by cuttings of rhizomes, the latter are dug up, divided into segments so that each has several renewal buds, and planted in the ground, making sure that the buds are at soil level.

The root suckers are separated from the mother bush and planted separately immediately in a permanent place.

Green cuttings are harvested from young growing basal or stem shoots, rooted using fog spray installations, in amateur floriculture - a simpler option, microgreenhouses.

For almost every cultivated species of bells, planting and care has a number of features that you need to know in order to provide them with optimal conditions for development. Let's look at the agricultural technology of some of the most common varieties in our gardens.

Carpathian bell: growing from seeds

Carpathian bell. Growing this low-growing species works well in sunny or semi-shaded areas and loose, drained soils of a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction with a moderate amount of nutrients. Too fertilized soil leads to reduced winter hardiness and rapid aging of bushes.

The advantages of culture include ease and ease of care. The Carpathian bell is drought-resistant and requires watering only in hot weather. The feeding regime is standard; nitrogen is applied in the spring, and complex mineral fertilizers are applied during flowering. The plant needs regular loosening and weeding. Flowering is abundant, lasting from June to September; to stimulate it, faded shoots are shortened by about a third; in October, the entire above-ground part is completely cut off.

The disadvantage of the culture is its fragility; bushes grow in one place for no more than two or three years, after which they usually freeze out, since renewal buds are brought to the surface. To preserve the flower, it needs to be divided every two to three years, preferably in early spring, by cuttings or regularly re-sowed. Reproduction of the Carpathian bell by growing from seeds makes it possible to obtain a lot of planting material at once; its technique does not differ from the standard one described above.

Peach bell: growing from seeds

The peach-leaf bell belongs to the group of medium-sized species. The culture is very tolerant of lighting conditions and can grow both in the open sun and in the dense shade of trees, which is its undoubted advantage. It is also unpretentious to the composition of the soil; it develops well not only on sandy, but also on clay soils. The watering and fertilizing regime is the same as for the previous species.

Mandatory agricultural practices include loosening, since the crop does not tolerate stagnant water. Flowering time is more than 30 days starting from mid-June; to prolong it, it is necessary to regularly pinch off wilted flowers.

Growing bellflower is not particularly difficult, but the plant is short-lived, usually disappearing after two to three years, so it is recommended to renew it regularly. It is preferable to divide the bushes in early spring and replant them with a large lump of earth. The crop is easy to take cuttings; green and semi-lignified cuttings are taken from the middle part of the trunk and rooted in the sand. It is also possible to use root cuttings. The species is easily propagated by seeds, which are planted directly into the ground in May or into seedlings in March. The seedlings bloom within a year. It must be remembered that when grown from seeds, peach-leaved bells with double inflorescences, as well as varietal plants, do not inherit parental characteristics, so only natural forms can be propagated this way.

Growing bellflower

The dotted bell is a very decorative medium-sized (50-70 cm) plant. In nature, it lives in forests and bushes, so the agricultural technology for growing point bells is somewhat different from most other garden species. It is quite moisture-loving, requires regular moderate watering, and grows well in partial shade.

Natural forms grow strongly and can fill a fairly large area. To limit the growth of a bush, you can use, for example, a plastic flowerpot. Varietal plants are much less aggressive. The plant blooms in May-June, after which it loses its decorative effect and goes into a dormant state. Easily propagated by dividing clumps, root layering, natural forms - by seeds. Planting is done in early spring or after flowering, but this resilient species takes root well at any time of the year.

Bluebell crowded and its cultivation

The crowded bell is a low-growing (10-60 cm) perennial that is very unpretentious and unusually tenacious. It develops better in sunny areas, but tolerates partial shade well and requires loose, well-drained, nutrient-poor soil. It blooms for a long time, from July to September.

Growing crowded bellflower is not difficult, it is drought-resistant, has a compact, low-growing bush, only needs loosening and weeding, timely removal of faded shoots and regular renewal every three to four years. Numerous varieties are propagated exclusively vegetatively, by dividing the bush in early spring or by summer cuttings. It is better to use greenhouses for rooting cuttings. Only natural forms are propagated by seeds.