Campanula Bellflower Plant Care

For something spectacular to hang in hanging baskets or placed in a tall pot, choose the Campanula, the Campanula Bellflower plant. When the flowers bloom, those long stems with the studded bell-shaped flowers that spill over the side are a fabulous display.

More About Campanula Bellflower

Campanula flowers belong to the family Campanulaceae and go by different common names:

• Harebell

• Bellflower

• Star of Bethlehem

• Serbian Bellflower

• Falling Star

• Canterbury Bells

One thing you will notice when you have it growing in your flower garden or on the patio is the abundant colors in blue, pink, white, and purple flowers. The flowers look fabulous as cut flowers and brighten up rock gardens.

You can even find varieties with violet-blue flowers making for a great display. For example, you can find hundreds of annual, perennial, and biennial species in the Campanula genus. The Campanula plants have trailing stems, but you can grow this plant outdoors or as a houseplant.

The flowering plants bloom in summer, fall, and early winter, but in certain parts, they can die back when freezing outdoors. The recommended place to grow Campanula is in the USDA hardiness zones 4 to 10.

So, add them to your houseplant collection, as who does not enjoy baskets filled with flowers in the living space?

Campanula Plant Care Tips for Indoors and Rock Gardens

Campanula species are hardy plants grown indoors or in the garden, as it needs cool nights, moist soil, and indirect sunlight. When you treat this lady right, she presents you with gorgeous blooms. You can grow them as perennial plants in warmer regions, but bringing your bellflower plants indoors in freezing temperatures is best.

The Best Soil For Campanula Flowers

Grown as perennial species outside or indoors, the Campanula flowers prefer loamy or chalky soil. Yet, you may find that some varieties grow well in soil surrounded by sand or chalk.

The pH range between 6 to 8 and needs to be alkaline or neutral with mild acidity. Also, provide your flowering plants with a well-drained soil level.

Alternatively, it can be 50% potting soil with 50% compost. Another helpful tip is to provide your plant with some mulch outdoors to retain moisture.

Watering Your Bell-Shaped Flowers

Whether you grow Campanula in cottage gardens, rock gardens, or indoors the watering needs are remarkably the same. The soil surrounding your plant needs to remain moist but not soggy in the growing and flowering period.

With wet feet, clustered Bellflower will get root rot. Thus it helps to allow the soil to dry out between watering but not too much. Another helpful thing is to water at the soil level and not over the foliage.

The best time to water your Campanula is in the morning so the sun can dry the foliage that has gotten wet.

The Best Light Conditions For Those Gorgeous Purple Flowers

Campanula flowers grow best in full sun in the morning with partial shade in the afternoon. The more direct sunlight your plant gets, the more blooms it produces. Still, if you live in hot climates, we recommend keeping your plants in partial shade to prevent the sun from scorching the foliage.

Temperature and Humidity

The Campanula loves warm days with cool nights when grown in the Northern Hemisphere. Unfortunately, the bellflower plant does not enjoy very high humidity or freezing temperatures.

The ideal temperature is between 45° to 65° Fahrenheit, and keeping your plant away from air vents and doorways is best. The leaves will wilt with hot or cold drafts, resulting in spent blooms. An average humidity level of 40% is ideal for your flowering plant.

So, if you live in cold climates, you can bring your plant indoors when temperatures drop or treat it as an annual. Another important thing is to provide your plant with enough space between them by removing dead or diseased foliage to prevent fungal infections and pests.

Fertilizing Campanula Flowers

In spring to mid-summer, water your plants well and feed them with a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer. For outdoor Campanula, you can add a dressing of organic mulch to your plants twice a year to keep them fed and growing strong.

Maintaining Your Campanula Flowers

While optional, you can prune, also known as deadheading, the spent flowers once it fades. It also makes your plant look tidier and can be done by snipping the flowers off the stems at the base.

Furthermore, it prevents reseeding as the plant is self-seeding while promoting new growth. If you want to propagate your plant, you can collect the seed pods in early fall. To prune your plant, we recommend using sterilized pruning shears.

Propagation Done Through Seeds

The best way to grow your plants to multiply them is through seeds. You can start the seeds indoors in late spring, plant the seeds directly into the garden or do winter sowing in some milk jugs.

You can collect the seeds inside the pods that develop after flowering. Another important thing before you sow seeds is to provide them with cold, moist stratification. Place your seeds into a small plastic bag with a moist soilless medium like vermiculite, peat moss, or a damp paper towel.

Then place the bag into the fridge and keep alternating it between the freezer and fridge for about a week. So, into the refrigerator, then out, into the freezer, and so forth. Once completing the stratification, you can take a cell tray to place the seeds on a soilless mix in bright indirect light to germinate.

We recommend spreading some vermiculite over the seeds and keeping them moist by watering the cells from the bottom, leaving them undisturbed. If you have some heat mats, you can place the cells on them or use some grow lights.

You can transplant your seedlings to the garden in early spring after the frost has passed. Alternatively, you can plant the seeds directly into a garden bed in late fall or sow the seeds in milk jugs in winter.

Campanula Similar Plants and Varieties

You can grow different Campanula varieties in mild climates, from tiny seeds in early spring to early fall indoors or outside. So choose your flower from the Campanula selection here. You only need to provide them with the right soil, light, and water to thrive.

Campanula isophylla

The tender perennial is not that frost–hardy and is grown as a houseplant or annual. The bloom time is from late spring through to fall, and it develops little bell flowers in white or blue. The stems of this plant are very delicate, and the same applies to the leaves.

Campanula persicifolia

The peach-leaved Bellflower is an herbaceous perennial with cup-shaped lilac-blue or white flowers.

Campanula glomerata

The clustered Bellflower or purple Campanula brings early color to your garden and even looks great with basal cuttings. It is a charming flowering plant to have indoors or outside.

Campanula Diseases and Pests

It helps to keep the soil moist and well-drained to prevent the following common problems. First, provide enough air circulation; if you find it needs more, you can divide them to increase air circulation.

Also, remove fallen debris around your Campanula isophylla and other plants to prevent fungi infections, and inspect plants often for pests. Some common problems are slugs and snails, as you find them on most plants eating on the foliage.

You can use Nemaslug or create natural barriers of crushed eggshells to make traps to prevent them from damaging your garden. Another sap-sucking pest is aphids, noticed by deformed leaves and black mold to poor health.

You can keep them at bay using insecticidal soaps or neem oil. The other concern is powdery mildew, and best to destroy infected plant leaves when it falls to the ground. Another problem is rust; removing the affected leaves, flowers, and stems, helps with early infections.

Alternatively, you can use a fungicide to prevent further spread. Another concern is overwatering, leading to root rot and leaving the foliage wet, resulting in crown rot.