Last updated on December 2nd, 2011
EXPLODING with color in my Woodland Garden now is Campanula persicifolia ‘Takion Blue.’ So serene is this bellflower’s bouquet that I can’t help but pause to admire the plant several times a day. And did I mention it blooms in the shade?
Unlike other bellflowers, persicifolia’s bells do not droop. Instead, they face upward and out, revealing one inch stars of lavender-blue. These are born all along dark green, 2-feet-tall stems. Blooming continues over a long, luxurious period if spent flowers are removed religiously.
We are told that campanula favors sun to part shade. However my plant tolerates but a scintilla of morning sun, and fairly deep afternoon shade. It makes a dazzling sight in the woodland here, with an all-green background of rhododendrons, and mid-border mates of Ostrich ferns.
You will find that leaf mold-enriched soil, a deep weekly soaking, and a balanced, organic fertilizer applied twice monthly during the growing season are Takion’s only demands. Divide the plant after three years of growth.
If you want a touch of sky in your flower border, do consider persicifolia. I think you will fall for its charms, just as I have.
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Related Posts:
Blue Flowers for Peaceful Tranquility
My No-Fail Groundcovers
Thunbergia grandiflora: Blue Sky Flower
The Woodland Garden
Sheila says
Campanula is EASY to fall in love with! I have both Takion Blue and Takion White behind a bed of green, low mounding hostas.
James says
Wow! Another blue flower to add to my list…
Gardenlady says
Kevin, I'll have to look for this plant. I need more flowers (besides impatiens) that will bloom in the shade. Thank you for alerting me to this great, blue beauty.
Anonymous says
Hi i have this plant and it has not yet flowered, i rescued it from the garden centre bin! however i noticed that an ant like insect – think they are ants, are crawling all up the stems and in the soil and are making a home on the buds 🙁 will this harm it? i am concerned & angry!! at the ants!
jane
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Jane – welcome. You could not have adopted a nicer plant. Now, about those insects. If they are indeed ants, there is no need to worry. Ants are harmless; they simply enjoy the honeydew secreted by certain plants.
Hope to “see” you soon again.
Betty819 says
Are they in the same family as Peach leaf campanula? I have wintersown that for the first time..hoping for success.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Betty819 – Campanula persicifolia is the Peach leaf bellflower. It should winter-sow very well.
Douglas Mitchell says
What has your experience been with “Takion Blue” in the several summers since this post?