Campanula medium L. is the most famous species, which is widely used in floriculture. Originally from South Western Europe. Introduced into culture in the 16th century. Currently not found in the wild. In landscaping it is used for flower beds, edgings, single and group plantings on the lawn, and container floriculture.
The middle bell is used as a biennial, the plant height is 50-100 cm. In southern countries it blooms in the year of sowing. In the conditions of Belarus and middle zone Russia in the year of sowing forms a thick root cylindrical and a leaf rosette, and in the second year a flowering shoot with sessile ovate-lanceolate leaves. Large flowers up to 7 cm in diameter, soft and dark blue, blue, burgundy, purple, pink or white collected in a multi-flowered raceme or paniculate inflorescence. Blooms from June to August. All this time, the bush is strewn with simple, double or semi-double flowers. The seeds are small (4500 pieces in 1 g), gray-brown, ripen in August – September. Gives self-seeding. Usually in the second year the plant completes life cycle, forming seeds. Sometimes some plants develop young shoots from the root collar in the second year, which bloom in the third year, but only if the winter is mild. Flowering in this case is not so abundant.
Many garden forms of the middle bell have been created: large-flowered (Campanula medium var. Grandiflora); terry (Campanula medium fl. pleno) – the corolla consists of 2 or 3 rows of fused petals; crowned (Campanula medium var. calycanthema) – the corolla has one row of petals, the calyx and corolla are painted the same color; variegated (Campanula medium var. wiegandii) - with red-yellow-green leaves and blue or light blue flowers.
Prefers light soil with high nutrients, sufficiently moistened, with neutral acidity. In places where water stagnates, plants winter period they're sweating it out. For digging, 3 kg of rotted manure and 40 g of ash are added per 1 m2. Rosettes of leaves formed by the autumn of the first year at the end of September - beginning of October are cut off near the ground and covered with a small layer (10-12 cm) of peat or foliage. Next spring plants are fed nitrogen fertilizers(urea, ammonium nitrate at the rate of 20-30 g/m2), and during the period “budding - beginning of flowering” a complex mineral fertilizer(nitrophoska, fertika Universal-2, etc.) in the amount of 30-40 g/m3.
Care consists of timely weeding and loosening, providing watering in dry and hot weather. Wilted flowers should be removed.
Seeds for seedlings are sown in late April - May in seedling boxes or mini-greenhouses. The soil is made up of turf, leaf soil and sand (6:3:1), kneaded well so that there are no lumps. The seeds are not buried; they are laid out superficially and lightly pressed onto the soil. The crops are covered with film. At a soil temperature of 18-22°C, seedlings appear in 20-30 days. 15-20 days after germination, the middle bell is planted in the ground, placing it according to a 15x15 cm pattern. Until the plants are fully established, they must be shaded and regular watering provided. On permanent place bushes are transplanted from big lump soil at the end of August - beginning of September at a distance of 30-45 cm from each other. In the absence of rain, watering is necessary.
The medium bell looks very beautiful and impressive in bouquets, maintaining its decorative effect in water for up to 10 days.
Candidate of agricultural sciences sciences
Ivanovich A.A.
The bells are very beautiful flowers. They plant themselves on my site. Regular. Almost weedy.
But I don’t have large bells of various colors.
Why not plant them?
Let them grow. There's a lot of space.
I bought seeds. These are the ones in the photo on the right.
And as always, I’ll start with theory.
DESCRIPTION
Medium bell - C. medium L.
Homeland - Southwestern Europe, Asia.
A biennial plant in cultivation, sometimes grown as a perennial due to natural renewal. It is distinguished by an erect, stiff-haired stem 50-100 cm tall.
The flowers are goblet-bell-ringed, blue, light blue, white or pink, simple or double, up to 7 cm long, collected in a pyramidal inflorescence. Blooms from June to September. Fruits in August-September. The seeds are small, gray-brown. There are 4500 seeds in 1 g. In culture since 1578.
Bell Cup and saucer two years old. If you grow it through seedlings, it will bloom in the year of sowing, but if you sow it directly in open ground, you will be able to admire the flowering only in the next year.
PECULIARITIES
- Location
The plant is light-loving, cold-resistant and moisture-loving.
Prefers deep-cultivated, rich soil in a sunny location.
The bell can't stand it acidic soils and stagnation of water. On damp areas In winter, the plants damp out.
For 1 sq. m clay soils add 15 kg of humus or compost for digging; loamy ones - 19 kg of humus or compost. - Usage
The flowering of this bell is very rich, the plants are completely covered with large bells, which makes a completely irresistible impression.
Planted singly or in groups against the backdrop of a lawn, in prefabricated flower beds or on ridges, and used as a cut flower. It also looks very impressive in bouquets.
Cut flowers are stored in water for 10 - 12 days. - Difficulties
In addition to the fact that for excellent flowering, bells need good soil, bells are demanding on growing conditions.
They sprout in the dark. Seeds do not germinate in light.
And one more condition. Winter shelter. The bell requires shelter for the winter. Rosettes of leaves that form by the autumn of the first year need to be covered with dry peat or fallen dry leaves; covering material is also well suited for this.
GROWING FROM SEEDS
You can, of course, plant the seeds directly into the ground. But then the flowers will appear only next year.
Moreover, the bell is especially sensitive to failure to meet deadlines for work. If the rosettes of basal leaves are underdeveloped, the plants may not bloom in the second year, but there is no need to throw them away - flowering will occur in the third year.
In order for the bluebell to pamper us with flowers in the first year, we need to grow it using seedlings.
Sowing the seeds of the middle bell for seedlings in March - early April, for flowering in the summer of the same year. Optimal temperature soil for seed germination: + 20 0C. 
The prepared soil in the seedling box is watered before sowing. The bell seeds are lightly sprinkled with fine river sand on top, then the container with the seeds must be placed in a plastic bag to create a greenhouse, and be sure to shade the crops. This is the difficulty - the bell does not germinate in the light.
Bellflower crops are often sprayed and kept under black film or covering material all the time.
Shoots appear in about two weeks.
It will take another 15 - 20 days for the bell seedlings to get stronger.
Then comes the picking phase. Bellflower seedlings are planted in a pattern of 10 x 15 cm.
Transplanted plants are shaded again until they fully survive, for about a week. Seedling care is usual.
CUTTINGS
Looking through the literature about bells, I saw that bells can be taken from cuttings!
This is done like this:
Sometimes they practice propagation of the middle bell by cuttings. They are cut in the spring of the second year of cultivation. The rooting scheme is standard: a cutting with one or two internodes with cut leaves is planted in moist soil with the addition of sand, the other two internodes are left above the soil surface; kept in a moist, warm environment under a film or jar with a small air flow.
LANDING INTO THE GROUND
Disembarkation home seedlings bells to a permanent place: May - June. If the seeds were germinated in open ground, seedlings are planted in a permanent place in August. When planting bell seedlings, you should adhere to a planting pattern in which the optimal distance between plants is 30 x 40 cm.
SOURCES
Many flower growers mistakenly believe that the bell is a wild plant. Today there are varieties that are successfully used for landscaping lawns and flower beds, growing in flower pots on loggias and balconies.
Most often, flower lovers choose the middle bell. The history of this plant began in Asia and the south of Western Europe in the 16th century. Previously, the cup and saucer bell could only be found in natural conditions. But for many years this magnificent plant has been decorating gardens and summer cottages, it can be seen in squares and parks.
Description of the variety
It is a biennial plant and is often grown as a perennial. This is explained by natural renewal. have a rather tall (about a meter), straight and rigid stem, abundantly covered with villi. This plant valued for its very beautiful flowers, shaped like inverted glasses with gracefully curved edges. They can be terry or smooth and reach seven centimeters in length. There are up to fifty flowers in one inflorescence.
The bell can be painted in different colors: unusually delicate in all shades of white: from snow-white to milky, elegant blue or dark blue. The pink bell (the middle “cup and saucer”) looks especially impressive. It blooms profusely, lasting from June to the end of September.
The seedlings will allow you to admire the blooming “cup and saucer” bell already in the same year. Growing from seeds - only for the next one. In the first year it is formed root system and a leaf rosette, and the next time a peduncle will grow. By the way, they can be stored in a vase for up to ten days.
Seeds
Seeds appear in early September, sometimes at the end of August. They are very small and light: there are up to four and a half thousand pieces per gram. Many gardeners practice self-seeding quite successfully: falling seeds take root in the soil and the next generation develops from them. In this case, you do not have to renew the flowerbed every year.
And the average bell blooms if folded favorable conditions, throughout the summer, until September.
Features of the variety: choosing a place for planting
Description of the bell given experienced flower growers, indicates that this plant loves light and moisture. It tolerates temporary drops in temperature well.
Prefers well-fertilized and light soil. Does not tolerate acidic soils and stagnant moisture. In damp areas, the plant simply withers away. For one square meter For clay soils, fifteen kilograms of humus or compost must be added for digging. For loamy soils this amount increases to nineteen kilograms.
Use and possible difficulties of cultivation
It should be noted that the flowering of this species is very active - the plant is completely covered with large flowers, which looks simply incredibly beautiful. Bells are planted in groups against the background of a lawn, on ridges, singly, in prefabricated flower beds, and used for cutting. Bouquets of these flowers (especially multi-colored ones) look very impressive and fresh.
But for active flowering, these plants not only need good soil, they make high demands on growing conditions. The fact is that seeds germinate only in the dark. They may not rise in the light. And one more important condition that must be fulfilled is winter shelter. Rosettes of leaves that form by the autumn of the first year are covered with dry peat or dry fallen leaves; you can also use covering material.
Bell "cup and saucer": growing from seeds
Seeds are the most common and popular method of propagating the described flowers among gardeners. You can use one of two methods:
- sow seeds in open ground;
- grow seedlings.
We have already said why seedlings are still preferable to growing a “cup and saucer” bell. Growing from seeds will only allow you to get magnificent flowers the next year, so gardeners prefer the second method.
Before planting you need to prepare:
- landing containers;
- priming;
- seeds.
Use small plastic containers or wooden boxes. They must have drainage holes. The soil mixture should consist of six parts of turf soil, three parts of rotted leaves and one part of large river sand. Mix all components thoroughly, pour the resulting soil into containers and water.
Bell "cup and saucer": planting and care
So you've completed everything preparatory work, and now you can start planting. Let’s immediately answer a common question: when to sow “cup and saucer” bells? When growing seedlings, this must be done in October-November, then the plant will have time to form and produce abundant flowering before summer.
Sow the seeds on the surface of the soil, lightly press down and “powder” the top with sifted fine sand. After this, the planting containers are covered with film or glass. Seeds should germinate in a warm, well-ventilated and dark room. Comfortable temperature air for the plant +20°C. To darken the glass or film, cover it with dark paper or cloth on top. There is no need to water the seeds; they are only periodically moistened with a spray bottle.
The description of the bell, which can be found in publications on floriculture, guarantees the appearance of the first shoots within fifteen days. After that dark fabric You can remove or move the boxes to a brighter place. When the very first leaves appear on your seedlings and they grow to about three centimeters, they need to be pruned. Transplant into larger containers, at a distance of about fifteen centimeters from each other.
After this procedure, the seedlings are again removed to a dark place for ten days - this way they will take root faster. All this time, the plants continue to be moistened with a spray bottle.
Planting in open ground
When the weather settles and the night frosts pass, the seedlings are planted in the ground on lawns and flower beds. This usually happens in mid or late May. Already in June you will see the first buds. There should be a distance of at least thirty centimeters between seedlings.
Propagation by cuttings
These flowers can be propagated using cuttings. In the second year after planting the plant, in the spring, when the stem has formed, the healthiest shoot is selected and a cutting is made. It must have at least three internodes. The leaves are removed from it so that they do not take away the strength of the plant.
The cuttings are planted in well-moistened soil. Two internodes should remain on the surface. Close up the cutting plastic bottle or a glass jar.
We hope that now an elegant “cup and saucer” bell will definitely appear on your site. Growing this plant from seeds, as you can see, is not too difficult. By following all the rules of planting and care, you will be able to admire the luxurious blooms all summer long.
In June, my garden was full of colors, more and more flowers were blooming here and there. And yet, biennial bells became the favorites, and I want to tell you about growing them from seeds. In general, biennial crops traditional for Russia are mallows, violas, forget-me-nots, daisies, foxgloves and Turkish cloves. Not all gardeners like to grow them, because, having sowed the seeds in the first year, you will see flowering only the next.
Blue bells with astilbes and matricarias
However, in my opinion, it's worth it. Firstly, sowing of biennials is usually carried out in June, at this time all annuals have already been planted, there are free pots and a place in the greenhouse or on the windowsill. This is if we're talking about about growing seedlings. Mallow's seeds are so large that they can be easily sown directly into open ground. Forget-me-nots, as a rule, also have good germination.
Secondly, many biennials subsequently self-sow, having planted them once, then you can simply replant the independently sprouted plants to the right place, without particularly bothering yourself. Thus, mallows, forget-me-nots, and daisies reproduce by self-sowing.
Bluebell seeds "Droplet" in the center
Thirdly, although in the second year, biennials bloom very luxuriantly and for a long time. And for all these reasons, at the end of June 2013, I sowed biennial bells for seedlings. Blue “cup and saucer” and pink “Droplet”. Sowing was carried out in seedling boxes, lightly sprinkling the seeds with soil (a layer of just a few mm).
White bells and pink verbena
If you are new to growing seedlings, then keep in mind that you first need to pour a layer of substrate about 7 cm high into a box (or pot) and moisten it well. We scatter the seeds over the surface of the moistened substrate, sprinkle them with soil and spray them with a spray bottle so that the seeds do not go deep. Then we cover the container with the seeds with film or glass and wait for the shoots to appear. I got them on the fifth day. As soon as small plants turn green, the cover must be removed.
Blooming bluebells and white stars of sedums
After a week, the seedlings have their first true leaf (see photo), after two weeks we thin out the seedlings and, if desired, we prick them, and in mid-August the bells from the seeds become so large that they can already be planted in a permanent place in the flower garden. At the end of September, the plants form rosettes of leaves that overwinter.
Bluebell shoots
The next year, at the beginning of June, the bells release flower arrows, and in the middle of the first summer month they open beautiful large flowers, y perennial species I haven't seen any of these.
