Campanula and relatives 2020

[Tristan_He]

Haven't seen a thread yet this year...





Edraianthus graminifolius



Edraianthus montenegrinus



Edraianthus niveus. I think putting it next to tufa was a mistake, it makes the flowers look sort of dirty. Have to raise more from seed....



Campanula cf. bellidifolia. (got this from Vlastimil Pilous, does anyone out there know what it might be? Very pretty but slugs are very fond of it!

[Leucogenes]

Hello Tristan

Great pictures.  A little remark about Edraianthus niveus.  I don't think it's your tufa that makes the flowers look dirty to you.  Because that's exactly what it looks like to me...  but without the tufa.  Maybe this species has a little variation in color?

Here's a quick photo from last year...because my plant needs some warm days to bloom.

[Tristan_He]

Hi there Leucogenes - yes I see what you mean. Previously I had grown this plant against the local slate, which is a dark grey - as you can see it looks much better than with the tufa (well I think it does).

It's interesting that your plant doesn't flower too reliably as I have had no problems in that regard, even though we don't often get any real heat in summer. We often get a dry spell around April-June though, and I grow it in very poor sandy soil.

[Maggi Young]

I think you guys are  beating  yourselves  up  unnecessarily!  I've  never  seen E. niveus that is  pure  white - it always  looks  a  bit  grubby, because  it  is  really  a  green/cream colour  rather  than pure  white.   I suspect photos  showin "snowwhite" niveus to be  altered! ( Suspicious me?? Sure!)

[Yann]

Tristan that's great to grow this little jewels, they don't like my soil.

[Leucogenes]

I think you guys are  beating  yourselves  up  unnecessarily!  I've  never  seen E. niveus that is  pure  white - it always  looks  a  bit  grubby, because  it  is  really  a  green/cream colour  rather  than pure  white.   I suspect photos  showin "snowwhite" niveus to be  altered! ( Suspicious me?? Sure!)

Maggi...  You confirm my earlier suspicions... thanks for that.  I'm definitely not beating myself up over this... on the contrary... I like this dirty color. 

Edraianthus tarae is very pure.  Both are beautiful and I am grateful that they grow and bloom very well with me.

[Tristan_He]

Phyteuma nigrum is very abundant on the rockery at the moment - pretty but it just tends to self seed a little more than I would like. I also have P. album and it looks as if there has been hybridisation as some of the plants are a bit paler. The bees absolutely love these at this time of year. It's hard to believe this really is in the same family as Campanula, the appearance is very different!

[Tristan_He]

Edraianthus graminifolius. This one is flowering a good three weeks later than the one I posted up thread. I should say that the one above had a labelling mishap at one stage so it's possible it's something else... then again with the taxonomy of these being so muddled I suppose it's also possible this one is something else! 

[Tristan_He]

A bellflower from Slovenia, probably C. carnica, where it was growing in limestone cliffs. Any opinions welcome! It's like a harebell (or bluebell if you are north of the border) but flowering much earlier and with slightly larger, more open flowers. It seems to have a naturally rather trailing habit.

[Tristan_He]

Jasione montana (sheep's bit scabious). When it is happy this is a lovely thing - thanks to Ian McD for sending me seed of this. The bees and butterflies love it too - worth a place in anybody's garden.



Campanula barbata. Some plants I planted were short-lived, but most (including this one) seem soundly perennial. It likes well-drained rather dry soil and seeds around modestly. I can never totally make up my mind whether the colours on this one are 'refined' or 'wishy-washy' - I think it depends on the light! It definitely shows up better against a dark background.



Campanula label lost from Aberconwy Nursery (I have emailed Tim to see if he knows the name). This beautiful little thing is really dwarf. I am afraid I have sorely mistreated it, but after fighting its way through a patch of Androsace 'Susan Joan', this year it has finally got big enough to make an impact (the drought probably helped too). I'm pretty sure it's a hybrid. Does anyone recognise it?

Update: this is C. 'Timsbury Chimes' - a selection from C. rotundifolia subsp. arctica 'Mt Jotunheim' (it says here). Well worth seeking out.

[Tristan_He]

Campanula spicata. This pretty biennial with unusual upward facing flowers is too rarely seen in gardens in my opinion. This is from seed collected the first time we visited Slovenia some years ago and the plants seed around gently including on top of our wall in very harsh conditions.

[Tristan_He]

Finally a flower of Cyananthus farreri, which I obtained this spring from Aberconwy just before lockdown. So far the individual flowers are more impressive than the overall effect, but hopefully the plant will make a more impressive show as it grows.

Also my C. lobatus has been in flower for a couple of weeks already! Has anybody else noticed this? Usually this plant doesn't flower until the end of July - August.

[Hoy]

Tristan, you certainly grow many nice bellflowers!

Jasione montana is native here. It is very drought tolerant. Each plant is short lived but it pops up here and there in dry sites. (Here with raspberry leaves.)





Regarding Campanula barbata, it is my experience also that some specimens are shortlived while others are more perennial. But no plants here is that light blue!

[Tristan_He]

Thank you Trond! I don't exactly collect them, but it is a group that I am very fond of and they seem to do well here, by and large. Exactly why is a mystery to me because round here we have wet winters, cool summers, acid soil and slugs the size of sheep! But the soil is very well drained and fairly poor, which probably suits them.

Jasione montana is native here too, but rarely grown in gardens. Which is a shame. I see the small copper butterfly is enjoying yours.

Re C. barbata - this form originates from Switzerland, and all mine are this pale blue colour. I think I like your form better. I wonder if there is a white form?

[Roma]

Codonopsis clematidea often masquerades as other species in the seed lists.  I had a few attempts before I got the true Codonopsis ovata which I think has a much prettier flower.

Codonopsis clematidea





Codonopsis ovata





Campanula thyrsoides which is aiming to be another of the 'weeds' in my garden where I leave far too many seedlings.