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Now in Bloom: Campanula persicifolia

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | May 25, 2010 8 Comments

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

Tomato Tips
The Return of Jaws

Comments

  1. 1

    Sheila says

    May 26, 2010 at 10:26 am

    Campanula is EASY to fall in love with! I have both Takion Blue and Takion White behind a bed of green, low mounding hostas.

  2. 2

    James says

    May 26, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    Wow! Another blue flower to add to my list…

  3. 3

    Gardenlady says

    May 26, 2010 at 8:50 pm

    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.

  4. 4

    Anonymous says

    June 6, 2010 at 11:45 pm

    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

  5. 5

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    June 7, 2010 at 12:43 am

    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.

  6. 6

    Betty819 says

    February 28, 2011 at 11:33 am

    Are they in the same family as Peach leaf campanula? I have wintersown that for the first time..hoping for success.

  7. 7

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    February 28, 2011 at 11:52 am

    Betty819 – Campanula persicifolia is the Peach leaf bellflower. It should winter-sow very well.

  8. 8

    Douglas Mitchell says

    February 1, 2015 at 5:59 pm

    What has your experience been with “Takion Blue” in the several summers since this post?

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