Plant Pick: Campanula portenschlagiana

Campanula portenschlagiana is an alpine plant.

Perfect!

This is just the kind of plant I look for when I want something to plant in my hypertufa pots or cement planters. This type of plant would need sharp drainage, so is perfectly suitable for any of my large garden planters, and since it can take sun or partial shade, I have a lot of options.

In my garden, this plant has been easy to grow and it has come back each year. I have it planted inside a container just in case I would find that it spreads too quickly, but that hasn’t seemed to be the case.

It is a smaller plant which could be overwhelmed by larger ones, so I prefer it in a planter so that I can feature it.  I love flowers that blooms all season and of course I love the blue.

I have had small starts to come up in the planter, so it gives me an extra plant or two for other garden pots. It is said that it will grow in cracks and rapidly colonize between pavers . I haven’t set it free up to this point.

 

Stats for this plant:

1. Any well-drained soil
2. Full sun or partial shade ( in the south the partial shade would be better)
3. Height: 8-12 inches
4. Spread: 2-3 feet
5. Blooms: all summer
6. Zone: 3-9

The foliage on the Campanula portenschlagiana also known as the Dalmatian Bellflower is pleasant looking even when the plant is not blooming. Leaves are a lacy scalloped edge and the plant itself grows in an attractive bush form.

Care During The Season of Bloom

I usually try to keep picking off the dying blooms to keep the plant vigorously blooming through the season. In my experience, it does bloom very profusely as most of the photos show . When blooming slows, you can cut the plant back and may get a new blooming cycle if it is not too late in the year.

I think I will try my plant in a hanging planter next year. I have made hanging pots from hypertufa and they worked really well for me.

Have you grown this plant? How do you like it? and who would not fall in love with the blue-purple color?