Growing and caring for bells that are widespread in household plots is not a problem, since even cultivated species can easily adapt to weather changes. But decorative, large and constantly flowering buds require good care. The plant will have the proper appearance only under optimal conditions in which perennial bells should be grown . Planting and care of each species is made taking into account its features.
General rules for growing bells
Many types of bells grow well in open sunny places, but also like partial shade. Some of them bloom longer under similar conditions.
Bells grow everywhere except in areas with stagnant waters. They really do not like lowlands with loamy or clay soil. They will not grow in the flooded areas. If the groundwater is close, you can plant flowers on high ridges, providing them with good drainage.
Planting bells
The soil should be loose. To do this, add peat, humus, turf soil to loam or clay soil . Bushes are transplanted in autumn or spring. At the same time, they leave a lump of earth so as not to damage the accessory roots. Wells before planting and after abundantly watered. If the roots are powerful, the flowers take root better in early spring. For a less developed root system, planting is done in May, when the earth warms up.
In autumn, the bushes must take root before the frost sets in. Work is performed in late summer or early fall.
Fertilizers
In spring, nitrogen is added to the soil, which contributes to the rapid growth of green mass of plants. In the summer, complex and phosphorus fertilizers are used, and in the fall, potassium is added, which increases resistance to frost.
Care
Summer care consists in periodic loosening, weeding and regular top dressing with mineral fertilizers or rotted manure. Before flowering, this work should be done. Apply moderate watering.
For long flowering, dried stems are removed. Some of them are left, hoping to get seeds. As soon as the boxes become brown, they are collected until they open and the seeds do not fall into the soil.
Before the onset of cold weather, all plant stems are cut to the root. Shelter is required mostly for species originating from southern Europe and Asia. Sprinkle the soil with peat, spruce branches or dry leaves.
How to grow seed bells
Most species repeat the properties of parent plants, and they can be propagated by seeds. Some varieties, such as terry, may differ from the parent. In this case, they are propagated vegetatively.
Bells give very small seeds, and they should be laid out on the ground under a thin sand layer. In the 2nd half of October or May, seeds are sown in the ground. You can grow seedlings starting in March. To do this, prepare light soil from a mixture of peat, turf land and sand, without the addition of organic fertilizers.
Germination of seedlings occurs 2 weeks after sowing. When 3 true leaves appear, seedlings dive after 10 cm. Planting of plants on a permanent place is carried out in early June. Color and seeds will appear in a year.
Division propagation
Perennial bells are perennial. Planting and care begin from the second or third year of vegetation. The method is suitable for vegetative inactive and mobile plants. The carpal or rod root system does not allow vegetative propagation, and seedlings are grown only from seeds.
The aboveground part is cut off, and the plant is divided so that each part has a sufficient root system. The separated sprout is planted in the selected place and watered abundantly.
Cuttings
Cuttings are produced from young shoots using microparnishes. Each of the decorative types of bells has its own characteristics that should be considered when caring and growing.
Carpathian bell
This species is most common in gardens because of beauty, prolonged flowering throughout the summer and unpretentiousness. The Carpathian bell is a mountain plant, and in nature it can be seen on the mountain slopes. In artificial conditions, it is planted on alpine hills and rockeries.
From small seedlings a bell grows quickly into a large bush for many years. Carpathian varieties belong to undersized. Leaves of a heart-shaped form form a spherical bush up to 30 cm in diameter. Flowering lasts up to 70 days and can be extended by regular clipping of dried inflorescences.
Flowers grow well among stones that create drainage and protect the soil from drying out. Excess fertilizer is not required, and the soil should not be acidic. To do this, add lime or wood ash.
When propagated by cuttings in the spring-summer period, the base and upper part with buds are cut off from a young shoot. Cuttings germinate in a mixture of earth, humus and sand. Flowers are unpretentious and require watering only in dry times.
After 5 years, perennial bells should be planted in other places. Planting and care with propagation by seeds are less common, as seedlings develop unevenly and slowly. Flowering in young plants begins only after 2-3 years. Sowing is done in the fall, and in the spring shoots appear. For early flowering, bushes are planted by division.
Flowers of the Carpathian bell resemble elegant porcelain of light lilac or white color. They stand in water for a long time if you split the ends of the stems and remove the lower leaves.
Bell peach leaf
The bell will grow on sandy or cultivated clay or loamy soil. It is desirable that there is drainage and more humus. Plants are not afraid of shading and prefer soil with a neutral or slightly acid reaction. Many fertilizers should not be added, as this will adversely affect the resistance of plants in the winter and lead to their rapid aging.
The propagation of the bell of the peach leaf is done by seed. They are sown in greenhouses, starting in mid-spring. Bells from seeds do not inherit parental traits.
In July, seedlings are dived, and in August planted in a permanent place. For winter, the plant is covered with peat or a layer of dry leaves of 15-20 cm. With appropriate care the next year, the bell may bloom. If you delay in planting or picking, buds will appear only in the third year.
Peach-leaved species are not durable plants, although they are perennial bells. Planting and care during reproduction by fission make it possible to inherit parental traits. The transplant is done at the beginning or end of summer, while the roots should be covered by clods of earth. Cuttings are also often used and are produced in sand.
For effective flowering, you need to periodically feed the bell. Cultivation will be effective if fertilizers are applied correctly. In the spring, nitrogen is used, and before flowering, various complex mineral fertilizers. In addition, faded shoots are pruned so that blooming bells delight the eye longer. The photo shows what they can be with proper care.
Bell point
The bell received its name from the presence of specks inside the petal. The plant is common in temperate regions and blooms until autumn. It differs by hanging down heads collected in inflorescences.
In a large range of colors you can find a bell white, blue, pink, dark red, blue.
Many varieties are capricious. In different living conditions, the same type of flower can be terry or ordinary. Among them are many unpretentious plants decorating the garden.
Growing a bell is not so easy. Its seeds are extremely small. For them to sprout, good lighting is required. Soil is necessarily taken light, sand is poured on it, and seeds are placed on top. They are sprayed with water and covered from above with a gap. When shoots appear, the film is removed from the box during the day for a while. Watering is done very carefully so that the seedlings are not washed out by water. The soil should not dry out, otherwise it will lead to the death of seedlings. After the appearance of 3 real leaves, seedlings are dived. Growth occurs unevenly, and part of the remaining plants is buried in the ground and grows to a transplant.
In June, seedlings are planted in open ground, and at the end of summer, bells begin to bloom. A photo reflecting the beauty of this species can be seen in our article. It is difficult to grow bells with seeds, but rare varieties are obtained. By dividing them, they are stored and propagated.
Under the ground, the root system of a point bell develops rapidly. In order for the shoots not to spread further, apply tapes of plastic or metal buried in the ground.
For growing a bell, places with good lighting are used. Watering with active growth is limited, otherwise the plant can stretch and break under its own weight. After flowering, the bell throws off the foliage. It gets along well with other flowers, so it is advisable to plant thickeners that bloom earlier and later.
Broadleaf bell
Perennial plant has a powerful rhizome, it is unpretentious. Brushes of blue, purple or white bloom in early summer. The lower leaves are wide and thick, and the small upper leaves beautifully set off large flowers.
Broad-leaved bell seeds are planted in late March. To improve germination, the soil is covered with a film on top and kept moist. Dive is made when two true leaves appear. Seedlings are planted in the ground when constant heat occurs. Flowering begins next year.
Seeds can be planted directly in the ground in late May or early June. You do not need to sprinkle them. The soil is kept moist and covered. Every day, the seeds are ventilated, and after germination the shelter is removed.
Rhizomes are divided directly in the ground and then planted. Humus is added to the well and watered well. Cutting is not always successful, so this method is rarely used. For better growth of the root system, special preparations are used, for example, Kornevin.
Plants are unpretentious, but they lose their decorativeness when there is not enough moisture. Extra watering is also not needed. During growth, complex fertilizers are used. Bells for the winter are covered with sawdust or spruce branches.
The bell is milky-flowered
Perennial is winter hardy. It grows up to 1.7 m in height and up to 0.5 m wide. Flowering is magnificent, and inflorescences completely cover the leaves and stems. In the gardens you can find a white bell, blue-lilac, bluish, as well as with different shades. Flowering lasts no more than a month. After trimming the faded stems at the end of August, it repeats, but not so magnificent.
Due to the deep roots of the plant, it is undesirable to transplant, it is better to do this while it is young. The root neck is very vulnerable. With alternating thaws and frosts, the kidneys of renewal may die.
The bell milky in gardens is rarely used because of its large size. Some plants require support. They are grown in soil with medium fertility. Excess moisture is not needed, and in a drought you need to water the bell for many years. Varieties can also differ in compact plant sizes, for example, Favorite, Pouffe, White Pouffe.
Equalous bell
A perennial plant with proper care blooms and lasts for many years. In nature, the bell leaf is found in the Italian Alps. Flowers support fragile stems 30 cm high.
Only the bell of the same species of all species is grown in pots. However, it can grow on alpine hills and flower beds. Indoor bell looks beautiful in hanging flower pots with delicate grassy shoots hanging down.
Bell bologna
Perennial belongs to the European-West Asian species. It is also called the bell of the steppe. With us it grows in the European part of Russia and in the Caucasus. The plant is found in meadows, along river banks, on forest edges.
The bell is propagated mainly by seeds. Refers to a vulnerable species. It is replaced by the development of the territory and grazing. In many regions, it is listed in the Red Book.
Plants are large and bloom for about 3 weeks. Bluish-lavender flowers are small and do not grow too densely. The plant survives everywhere, but with poor care, flowering is very modest and short.
The bell quickly loses its decorativeness, so it is advisable to supplement it with other perennials.
Conclusion
Due to the decorative effect and long flowering, perennial bells have become popular in our gardens. Despite the unpretentiousness, they require certain rules of cultivation and care.