Garden bell: 100 species and varieties with descriptions, planting, growing and care with photos

Meadow bell or garden bell - gentle in appearance, but very hardy herbaceous plant that adapts perfectly to any soil. There are many varieties of this culture, but each of them has one distinctive, common feature for all plants from this family - flowers similar to a glass or a bell. Blooms profusely, regardless of weather conditions, from June to September.

Description and features

Garden bell is a herbaceous culture from the Campanula family. It grows in temperate latitudes with a continental climate.There are more than 400 species of this culture. Presented as an annual, biennial or perennial. Often used to decorate flower beds.

The stem can be erect, creeping or branched. The plant is stunted, medium in size or tall (up to 1.55 meters in length). The root system is tap or rhizome. The leaves are arranged in the next order.

The shape is oblong, lanceolate or semicircular, with a serrated, zigzag or even edge. The size of the leaf blades and the length of the petioles gradually decrease towards the top of the shoot. At the base of the stem there are basal leaves. The flower is very similar to a glass or a bell. Inflorescences are racemose or paniculate. The flower is bisexual, regular, on a pedicel. Can be blue, white, blue.

Blooms all summer, pollinated by bees. After pollination, a fruit is formed - a box with tiny seeds inside. Propagated by seed or vegetatively.

Coloring pigment, due to which the bell has a delicate blue color, susceptible to acids. If you plant a flower on acidic soil, it will turn red in an instant. This feature of the plant can be used to determine the acidity of the soil. A freshly cut bell can be sprinkled with earth and see the reaction. If it has changed color to scarlet, then the soil is very acidic.

Growing seedlings from seeds

In the spring you can sow bluebells for seedlings. The seed material is preliminarily kept in the refrigerator, on the shelf with vegetables, for 2 months.

Sowing dates

Seeds are sown in pots with a substrate in March. Closer to summer they are transferred to a flower bed.

Ground requirements

For planting, they take not too heavy soil, consisting of garden (turf) soil, sand, peat, compost (humus). All ingredients are taken in equal parts.

Plant pattern

Seeds are poured onto well-moistened soil at a distance of 1 centimeter from each other, sprinkled with sand. Then it is irrigated with water and covered with transparent glass on top.

Temperature and light conditions

Boxes with seeds are kept in a room with an air temperature of 19-23 degrees Celsius. After 2-3 weeks, the seeds germinate. As soon as shoots appear, the boxes are transferred to the windowsill, closer to sunlight. It is advisable to highlight the seedlings in the evening. Daylight hours should be 10 hours.

Irrigation

Seedlings need to be constantly looked after, from time to time to irrigate the earth with water, make sure that the soil does not dry out. You can loosen the soil by removing hard soil crust.

Dive

The bluebells dive when the seedlings are three weeks old.The plant by this period should have 2-3 true leaves. Seedlings are planted in separate pots or plastic cups. 2 weeks after picking, the plants are fed with a complex fertilizer of low concentration.

Transfer

At the end of spring, when the soil warms up to 10 degrees Celsius, and the air temperature is 15 degrees, seedlings of bluebells are transplanted into a flower bed. The earth is dug up and fertilized before planting. Shallow holes are prepared for seedlings and the plant is transferred to a flower bed using the transshipment method, together with an earthen clod.

Landing in open ground

Bells are a heat-loving and light-loving culture. It is desirable to plant grown seedlings in the garden at the end of spring.

Timing

In the middle (end) of May, when the air warms up to 14-15 degrees Celsius, seeds can be immediately sown in the garden. At the same time, you can plant pre-prepared seedlings. They practice winter planting, in this case, seeds are sown on the bed in October.

Choosing a seat

Love to grow in open, sunny garden areas. Cannot tolerate marshy, heavy, acidic soils.

How to choose and prepare soil

Grow on loamy or sandy, non-acidic soils. Prefer not too heavy and loose soil of neutral acidity. Strongly clay soil is diluted with peat, sand and compost. Sod and minerals are additionally added to poor soil.

Disembarkation rules

It is advisable to prepare the land for planting in advance. The site needs to be thoroughly dug up, weeds removed, loosened, compost and superphosphate added. The acidity of the soil can be reduced by adding a little wood ash. Bluebells are planted away from tall plants. The distance to the neighboring flower should be 15-40 centimeters. After planting, the earth is lightly compacted and watered abundantly.

Care

The bell is an unpretentious culture that requires a minimum of attention. Caring for it is no different from caring for other horticultural crops.

Irrigation

Water occasionally, only in drought and hot weather. Prefers moderate watering. Water is taken settled, not hard, it is better - rainwater.

Loosening and weeding

The land near the bells needs to be constantly loosened, weeds removed. Be sure to break the hard soil crust.

Garter to support

Tall bells need to be tied to a support. Pegs or a net are used as a support.

Feeding

In the spring, during the growth period, the flower culture can be fed with nitrogen supplements. In the soil, you can add a little wood ash, rotted manure. Before flowering, the soil is fertilized with potash and phosphorus substances at the rate of 35 grams per 1 square meter of land.

Cutting

Belling bells will bloom for a long time if faded flower stalks are constantly removed. In autumn, the stems of the plant should be completely cut.

Pests and diseases

Bells rarely get sick. True, in the case of many years of cultivation in the same place, they can get sick with a fungal infection (fusarium, sclerotinia, botrytis). As a preventive measure, plants are sprayed with a fungicide solution (Fundazol) in the spring. Bluebells are often attacked by insects, such as slobbering pennits. They are saved by spraying with garlic solution or insecticide.

Tincture of hot pepper, sand or sawdust mulch protect against slugs.

Staging

The stems of the plant need to be pinched, removing excess side or apical shoots. It is advisable to remove dried leaves and flowers from the bush.

Mulching

The land near the plants can be mulched with sawdust or small pebbles with sand. Mulch helps retain moisture in the soil, preventing weeds from breaking through.

Pinching

Pinch the top of the stem at the very beginning of summer. This procedure stimulates the growth of side shoots, and the stem will not stretch much.

Reproduction

The culture is propagated by seeds or vegetatively, that is, by cuttings, by dividing the rhizome. Each species has its own way of reproduction.

Annuals

Propagated exclusively by seed method. Seeds can be sown in October in a flower bed. During the winter, they will go through a natural stratification, and in the spring they will all rise together. Seeds are usually sown in pots (cups) in March, and in May they are sown directly in the flower bed. Pre-seeding material is kept in the refrigerator, on a shelf with vegetables, for 2 months.

Biennials

Can be propagated by seeds, and in spring - by green cuttings. Young stems are taken on cuttings. They are cut from stem or basal shoots, put in water. The roots of the cuttings grow back after 3-4 weeks.

Perennials

Propagated by seeds and vegetatively. The seed method is suitable for plants with a tap root system. During seed propagation, varietal characteristics are not always preserved.

Bells with branched roots can be propagated by dividing the rhizome. With vegetative propagation, you can get a plant with all hereditary characteristics, similar to the mother culture. This method is practiced for terry species and southern varieties that do not have time to produce seeds in the continental climate.

After flowering

Peduncles are removed after flowering. The plant can remain in the garden bed until October. Then all ground stems are cut off.

Collection and storage of seeds

When the seed pods turn brown, they should be cut off before they open. The collected boxes are dried, after which small black seeds are removed from them. Store seeds until next spring in paper envelopes. True, seeds can be sown in the ground immediately in the fall, before frost.

Preparing for winter

At the end of September, the shoots of all bluebells are cut to the root. Biennials and perennials are additionally insulated with a thick layer of dry foliage or peat mixed with humus. The thickness of the mulch should be 20 centimeters. In winter, the place where the hibernating roots are located should be constantly covered with snow.

Views

Bells are divided into various types. They differ from each other in the height of the stem, the shape of the leaves and the structure of the inflorescences.

Annuals

Originally annual bluebells from southern latitudes. In regions with short summers and cold winters, they are occasionally grown.

Dichotomous

An annual plant with numerous pale purple flowers native to the Western Caucasus. Reaches a height of 14-20 centimeters. The leaves are broad, egg-shaped with a sharp tip.

Kashmiri

Tiny annual, growing up to only 8-9 centimeters in height. Originally from the Pamirs and the Himalayas. The flowers are numerous, not very large, purple in color. Flowering - long.

Longbar

Caucasian annual. The stem is strongly branched, reaches a length of 53 centimeters. This variety has panicled inflorescences consisting of 55-60 swollen purple bells.

Mirror of Venus

Grows up to 16-33 centimeters in height. Blue flowers with a light center are collected in paniculate inflorescences. There are varieties with white flowers.

Regular

Annual plant with drooping pale blue flowers. Blooms from June to August.

Biannual

Plants with a two-year vegetation cycle come from Southwestern Europe and Asia Minor. Used to decorate flower beds. In the first year, the seeds germinate and form a lush rosette of leaves, and in the second year they bloom and bear fruit.

Bearded

This species is native to the Mediterranean. In height reaches 10-33 centimeters. Flowers - goblet-bell-shaped, drooping, pale blue.

Hoffman

It has a strongly branching stem, 33-50 centimeters high. A large number of snow-white or cream drooping flowers open in June and July.

Thyrsoid

Culture with spike-shaped inflorescence, consisting of pale yellow funnel-shaped flowers. Flowering period - July-August.

Big-eared

Native to the Balkans. Reaches a height of 0.7-1.2 meters. Delicate purple flowers are collected in whorls of 6-7 pieces each.

Medium

Tough biennial with crystal, airy flowers of snow-white, deep blue or pinkish color, collected in pyramidal inflorescences. The stem sometimes stretches up to 0.95 meters in height. There are varieties with double flowers and heavily dissected edges.

Hairy hair

European variety of bluebells. The stem and leaves of this plant are densely pubescent. Height - 77-107 centimeters. Flowers - sessile, small, sky-blue, collected in capitate and whorled inflorescences.

Siberian

Biennial culture, 14-50 centimeters high. All parts are covered with hard hairs. Flowers form a panicle, are blue or purple.

Sprawling

Biennial with erect stem, 55-75 cm long. It has pale purple flowers, collected in racemose, loose inflorescences.

Lyrate

Biennial with a straight stem, 50 centimeters high. Delicate lilac tubular flowers up to 2.1 centimeters long are collected in multi-flowered racemes.

Shoveled

Culture comes from the highlands. It has thin stems 14-25 centimeters high. Flowers - dissected, funnel-shaped, soft purple, solitary.

Orphanidea

Grows on Greek rocks. It has silvery-pubescent, elliptical leaves. The flowers are deep purple, collected in few-flowered paniculate inflorescences.

Moesian

Biennial with straight, pubescent stems, 55-70 centimeters high. The inflorescence is an apical head and axillary flower clusters with 16-20 pinkish-lilac bells.

Divergent

Grows in the Crimea. The stem is low (up to 33 centimeters), branches strongly, has a spherical shape. Flowers - pale lilac, collected in a racemose panicle.

Pyramidal

Tall, Mediterranean biennial, 1.45 meters long. Large spike-shaped racemes consist of numerous snow-white or lilac flowers.

Formanek

Short creeping plant 45 centimeters high. It has numerous, wide, goblet white flowers at the ends of flower racemes.

Sartori

Biennial comes from the mountainous regions of Greece. Stems - creeping, strongly pubescent, 10-20 centimeters long. Flowers - snow-white or pink, numerous, small, located in the axils of the stem leaves.

Alpine

A low biennial (up to 16 centimeters) with an upright stem. The flowers are blue-violet, collected in several pieces in a loose inflorescence.

Perennials

Perennial bluebells are undersized, medium in height and tall. They differ in the shape and color of flowers.

Short

Bells, the height of which is below 30 centimeters, are undersized. These flowers can decorate a border, flower bed or balcony. Low growing varieties are ideal for planting in a pot or small container.

Carpathian

Low perennial (up to 30 centimeters) with tiny single flowers of snow-white, sky-blue or purple, located at the very top of strongly branched shoots.

Leaves are ovate with pointed tips, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top.

Gargan

A profusely blooming, small culture (up to 16 centimeters) with fragile, creeping stems and rising tops, topped with blue-gray (blue) star-shaped flowers.

Spiral leaf

Low perennial (up to 16 centimeters) with creeping stems. Flowers - drooping, collected in small inflorescences. The color of the petals is snow-white, deep blue, sky blue. Leaves - small and elongated at the stem, semicircular and three-toothed along the edges - at the bottom at the base.

Shamiso

A tiny perennial native to the Far East. It has single purple-blue flowers 4 centimeters long and 2.9 centimeters in diameter. The corolla is furry along the edges. There are snow-white varieties.

Hairy-fertile

Tiny perennial (up to 16 centimeters) with ascending thin stems. It has apical single flowers of a bluish color (up to 3.45 centimeters in length).

Saxifrage

Perennial 42 cm tall with dark purple bell flowers. Leaves - slightly pubescent, serrated at the edges. Grows in rocky areas.

Daisy-leaved

Short culture (up to 33 centimeters), growing on the rocks. It has large blue flowers on the tops of numerous thin stems.

Oshe

Meets on the rocks of the Caucasus. Forms small compact bushes strewn with large, dark violet flowers.

Poynichkovy

Perennial native to the Adriatic mountains. Forms a central rosette with diverging thin and low stems. Flowers - large, bluish in color, collected in one-sided panicles.

Radde

Caucasian perennial with thin branched stems. In the axils of the upper leaves are medium-sized pale lilac flowers.

Ciliated

Short plant with a stem, 7-16 centimeters high. There is only one flower per stem. The petals have a purple color, more saturated at the limbs of the corolla. As it blooms, the color changes, the flower becomes bluish-blue at the end.

Darkish

Hybrid, comes from dark and alpine bluebell. Flowers - large, dark blue, have a wide corolla.

Uemura

Perennial native to Sakhalin. The stem is straight, simple and slightly branched up to 16 centimeters in length. Flowers - dark blue, with a dissected corolla.

Birch-leaved

Turkish perennial. The leaves are smooth, glossy, similar to birch. Stems are thin, erect. The flower has a narrow corolla of a snow-white or pinkish hue.

Surky

Native to the Alps and highlands. It has a thin creeping stem 12 centimeters long. Flowers are solitary, snow-white or pale blue. Blooms almost 90 days.

Kemularia

Caucasian perennial growing on limestone rocks. It has straight, slightly pubescent, branched stems up to 22 centimeters long. Blueish flowers of medium size are collected in paniculate inflorescences.

Single flower

Perennial with a single and straight stem, up to 22 centimeters high. Flowers - drooping, funnel-shaped, bluish-blue.

Ortana

Perennial native to the Western Caucasus. Stems - up to 22 centimeters in length, thin, sometimes recumbent, branched. Flowers - numerous, pale purple.

Borderline

Low rocky perennial. Large goblet-shaped flowers are formed on thin drooping stems. Scarlet buds open to pale pink.

Reiner

Perennial native to the south of the Alps. The stems are straight and short, with one or two flowers of pale blue or snow-white color.

Dark

Perennial comes from the Carpathian Mountains. Forms dense green carpet thickets, strewn with large, simple, dark purple flowers.

Three prong

Perennial with a lush rosette of lanceolate basal leaves. Flowers - solitary, dark purple, 3-4 cm in diameter.

Spoon-leaved

A small plant (up to 16 centimeters) with tiny light or purple drooping flowers, collected in loose, rare inflorescences. Stem - creeping, forms a dense turf.

Medium height

Bellflowers, from 35 to 60 (80) in height, are considered medium-sized. Low plants are often used to decorate city flower beds, garden plots.

Takeshima

Native to Korea and Iran. Reaches a length of 64 centimeters. It has numerous creeping, creeping and ascending stems. The flowers are simple and double, the color of the petals is snow-white, pale blue, pinkish. Flowers - drooping, leaves - heart-shaped, petiolate, with a wavy edge.

Komarova

Branching stems rise to a height of 46 centimeters. Flowers - large, numerous, bright purple, up to 3 centimeters long, have sharp, turned away petals.

Point

Perennial (up to 55 centimeters in length) with drooping light lilac or off-white flowers with dots on the petals. Leaves - oblong, lanceolate, with a sharp tip.

Sarastro

A variety of dotted bell with bright purple flowers up to 6.9 centimeters long. Reaches 63 centimeters in height, the bush can have a diameter of 0.45 meters.

Polymorphic

Perennial with thin stems and delicate bluish or snow-white bell flowers. Grows in mountainous areas.

Moravian

A graceful culture with long thin stems and pale blue bell flowers looking up.

Spanish

Perennial forms a lush rosette, consisting of thin stems and small leaves. At the end of the shoots, drooping, pale blue large flowers are formed.

Karnika

Perennial native to the Alps. It has a thin stem and raised large, sapphire-colored flowers.

Round-leaved

Perennial up to 65 centimeters high. The basal leaves are round, and the stem leaves are lanceolate. At the end of the stem there are paniculate inflorescences with small blue flowers.

Kholmovoy

Perennial native to the meadows of the Caucasus. It has thin, straight stems. The flowers are bluish, up to 2 centimeters in diameter, collected in one-sided racemose inflorescences.

Sarmatian

Belongs to the Caucasian variety. It has a stem up to 43 centimeters long. The flowers are numerous, bluish, with a delicate honey aroma.

Grosseka

Perennial with erect stem, 55-75 cm high. The plant is pubescent with hard hairs. It grows up to four blue-violet flowers at the ends of the stems.

Tatar

Alpine perennial. A small-flowered plant with numerous thin stems and delicate sapphire flowers on the tops.

Rhomboidal

Perennial with straight succulent stems and narrow paniculate inflorescences. The flowers are turned up, lush, snow-white.

Flake

Perennial with long and thin stems. Leaves - oblong, thin, sharp. Pale blue flowers are collected in oblong inflorescences.

Wonderful

Perennial crop with thin stems crowned with small sapphire flowers.

Marhesetti

Perennial with erect, branched stem and large, violet-colored flowers.

Perforated

Perennial growing on Mediterranean rocks. Forms a low lush bush strewn with star-shaped, pale blue bells.

Galdberry

Medium height, densely pubescent perennial (up to 75 centimeters long). Flowers - large, drooping, collected in one-sided racemose inflorescences. The color of the petals is snow-white or pale lilac.

Pale Ocher

Perennial native to the Caucasus. It has large flowers of a pale ocher hue, collected in racemose inflorescences.

Tall

Bells with a height of 0.6 (0.8) to 1.55 meters are tall. Planted in flowerbeds along with calendula, sapling, asters, evening primrose. Suitable for creating mono compositions and in group plantings.

Used in rock gardens, rockeries, mixborders.

Broadleaf

Upright stem reaches a height of 1.2 meters. Perennial with large brushes of snow-white, heavenly, lilac color. The flowers are funnel-shaped, up to 6 centimeters in length, with recurved petals, collected in a narrow spiky raceme.

Peachleaf

A graceful plant with an upright stem, 0.45-0.95 meters high. The leaves are smooth, serrated at the edges, similar to peach leaves. The flowers are large, wide, up to 5 centimeters long, collected in a panicle. They can be snow-white, blue, lilac, crowned or terry in shape.

Milkyflower

The stem is high (from 0.65 to 1.5 meters), highly branched. It has a tap root, grows well on heavy, clay soils. A plant with a wide pyramidal inflorescence consisting of numerous milky white, lilac or purple flowers.

Crowded

Perennial with straight, slightly branched stems, 65 centimeters high. The bell has multi-tiered, lush, prefabricated numerous inflorescences of snow-white, lilac, purple. Basal leaves - oblong, petiolate, stem - sessile, lanceolate.

Noble large-flowered

Tall perennial with straight or branching stem. Large flowers of dark blue color are collected in a long spike-shaped brush.

Rapunzel

Perennial up to 0.95 meters high. The stem is simple, erect. Inflorescence - racemose, long, one-sided.

The color of the petals is pale blue, blue-violet, pale white.

Bologna

Perennial 75-105 centimeters high. Small pale lilac flowers are collected in a long spike-shaped brush.

Nettle leaf

Bellflower with numerous, erect, branched stems covered with hard hairs. The leaves are also pubescent, similar to nettle leaves. The flowers are snow-white, bluish, violet color. They are located in the axils of the leaves and are collected in a racemose inflorescence, up to 46 centimeters long.

Equivalent

Forms a lush bush with numerous snow-white or sapphire-colored flowers at the ends of the shoots. Leaves are rounded, sometimes pubescent. The flowers are large, up to 3.9 centimeters in diameter.

Popular varieties

Based on numerous types of bluebells, interesting varieties have been obtained that are grown as garden and indoor plants.

White Star

Variety bred on the basis of the Carpathian bluebell. Flowers - single, snow-white color.

Alba

This variety originated from the Carpathian bluebell. Flowers - funnel-bell-shaped, snow-white. The snow-white variety, bred on the basis of a spiral-leaved bell (creeping stems with numerous flowers on top), is named in the same way.

Riversleigh

Bred on the basis of the Carpathian bell variety with blue flowers.

Centon Joy

Popular variety of Carpathian bluebell with sapphire hue with single flowers. On a highly branched stem, a huge number of bright flowers grow on top of green foliage.

Blaumeise

Variety with numerous blue bell flowers. Derived from the Carpathian variety.

Karpatenkrone

Carpathian variety of bluebells with a huge number of purple flowers.

Clip

A tiny plant, up to 22 centimeters high. The variety was bred on the basis of the Carpathian variety.

Major

A variety bred on the basis of the Gargan bluebell. It has sapphire-colored flowers.

H. Paine

Derived from the gargan bluebell variety. It has lavender flowers with a white eye.

Loder

The variety originated from the spiral-leaved bell. This variety has double flowers of pale blue.

Miss Wilmott

Derived from the spiral-leaved variety of bluebells. Flowers - blue.

Beautyful Trust

Derived from the Takeshima bell variety. It has large snow-white flowers of arachnid shape.

Wedding Belz

The variety is based on the Takeshima bell. The flowers are bell-shaped, white and double.

Rubra

A dotted variety of bluebell with bright lilac flowers covered with small dots.

Albic Nana

Derived from the dotted bell variety. It has white flowers with numerous dots on the petals.

Pink Octupus

Hybrid, 60 centimeters high. The flowers are pinkish with narrow, linear petals similar to a pink octopus.

Kent Belle

Hybrid, up to 75 centimeters high. Forms thin peduncles with wide, lilac flowers.

Brantwood

The variety is obtained on the basis of a broad-leaved bell. It has funnel-shaped purple flowers, located at the top of an erect stem.

Makranta

A variety of broad-leaved bluebell with an upright, long stem. Flowers - violet shade, large.

Bernice

The variety is obtained from peach-leaved bluebell. Blue double flowers are collected in several pieces in a racemose, loose inflorescence.

Thetam Beauty

The tall variety belongs to the peach-leaved variety. It has pale blue large flowers collected in loose inflorescences.

Exmaus

Tall plant derived from peach-leaved bluebell. It has dull blue double flowers.

Snowdrift

Belongs to the peach-leaved variety. It looks like a large-flowered lily of the valley. Forms tall stems with paniculate inflorescences, consisting of snow-white bells.

New Giant Highbreeds

Belongs to the peach-leaved variety. The height of the erect stem is up to 75 centimeters. At the top, a paniculate inflorescence of large, snow-white or deep blue flowers is formed.

Cerulea

Milky bell variety. Tall plant with a pyramidal inflorescence, consisting of a large number of flowers of a bluish hue.

Prichard Veraieti

Belongs to the milky branch variety. The stem can reach 150 centimeters. At the top is an inflorescence of numerous, lavender-colored flowers.

Celestine

The variety is bred on the basis of the Carpathian bluebell. This crop has sky blue single flowers.

Isabelle

Popular variety of Carpathian bluebell with sky-colored flowers.

Alba Nana

The variety is bred on the basis of a dotted bell. Flowers - snow-white, drooping, located on thin, long stems.

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