How to Grow Campanula? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Cultivation Methods
Campanula is also known as bellflower, tile-tube flower, and campanula flower, among other names. It is an annual, biennial, or perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Campanula in the family Campanulaceae, suitable for use as bedding and border material in small courtyard gardens, mainly grown as potted flowers, but can also be used in open-ground borders, suitable for arrangement in small courtyard gardens as bedding and border material. Now let us take a look at how to grow campanula!
Campanula Growing Habits
Campanula is native to the northern temperate zone, the Mediterranean region, and tropical mountainous areas. It has many cultivated ornamental species and requires an environment that is warm in winter and cool in summer, with sufficient light and good ventilation. It is not tolerant of dry heat and has weak cold hardiness. It prefers deep, fertile, well-drained neutral soil and can also grow normally in slightly alkaline soil.
Campanula Propagation Methods
1. Campanula is mainly propagated by sowing. The seeds are very small, so the soil covering should not be too thick. The optimum germination temperature is 20 to 24°C. After flowering, it forms capsules containing many seeds. The seeds are extremely small and can be dried in the sun for storage. Sow in spring or in late winter to early spring, keeping warm inside a plastic tunnel. Autumn sowing is also possible; generally, seedlings sown in autumn of the current year need to be grown until spring to summer of the following year before they can bloom.
2. Following the requirements for small seeds, the soil should be prepared carefully, deeply turned and broken up more than 2 times, the ground scraped level, and watered thoroughly. Then the seeds are scattered evenly. After sowing, do not cover with soil again, or only thinly cover with sifted fine soil. During the seedling stage, use a sprayer to water, and thin or fill in seedlings according to their growth. The seeds can also be kept warm and sown in a sand tray, and once seedlings emerge, apply compound fertilizer.
3. When campanula seedlings are about 10 cm tall, transplant them to the nursery plot or pot them for final planting. For planting in the nursery plot, a spacing of 20x40 cm is more suitable. After transplanting, water thoroughly to settle the roots, and then manage as usual.
4. Campanula can also be propagated by division or cuttings. Division is mostly done in autumn, and after growing through one winter, it can bloom the following year. For cuttings, mostly in spring, take new shoots sprouting from the base and insert them into a wet sand bed, spraying frequently to maintain moisture. After rooting, transplant them.
Campanula Cultivation Methods
1. Soil: Campanula prefers loose, fertile, well-drained loam.
2. Watering: Before the radicle appears, campanula needs to maintain relatively high relative humidity, and the substrate should also be relatively moist. If necessary, cover the new seedlings with a layer of coarse vermiculite to retain moisture.
3. Sunlight: Campanula prefers long-day conditions. With 14 hours of sunlight per day, it can bloom naturally. If you want to advance the flowering period, only 4 hours of interrupted darkness treatment for 30 days is needed.
4. Fertilizing: If you want campanula seedlings to grow quickly, you can apply 30 to 50 PPM calcium nitrogen fertilizer, and then on that basis apply calcium fertilizer to make them grow quickly.
5. Pests and diseases: Common diseases of campanula include powdery mildew, leaf spot, and rust, which can be sprayed with 50% carbendazim wettable powder diluted 1500 times. The main pests are aphids and thrips, which can be killed by spraying with 40% omethoate emulsifiable concentrate diluted 1500 times.
6. Pruning: Campanula does not require growth regulation or pinching. During early growth, its appearance is messy, but in later growth it naturally adjusts to be neat and compact, so no special pruning or regulation is needed.