Bellflower

Romantic, usually bobbing, often blue bellflowers are classic cottage garden plants. Tall types look like something straight out of a fairy tale garden, while ground-hugging types are good in rock gardens, more formal gardens, and many other situations. Most are perennial, but a notable exception is Canterbury bells, a stately biennial (it takes two years to bloom). Flowers come in blue, purple, white, or pink.

Shown above: Campanula carpatica

Light:

Sun,Part Sun

Zones:

3-9

Plant Type:

Perennial

Plant Height:

4-36 inches tall

Plant Width:

6-36 inches wide

Special Features:

Flowers,Cut Flowers,Drought Tolerant,Easy to Grow

Top Varieties

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'Birch Hybrid' campanula

Campanula 'Birch Hybrid' is a groundcover that bears 1-inch-long fluted lavender-blue flowers from late spring through late summer if deadheaded. It makes a great rock garden plant. Zones 4-7
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Blue Canterbury bells

Campanula medium 'Caerulea' is an old-fashioned cottage-garden biennial that sends up towering spikes of clear blue flowers. Zones 5-8
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Campanula raddeana

Campanula raddeana grows 1 foot tall and produces 1-inch-diameter bell-shape flowers midsummer. Zones 5-8
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Clustered bellflower

Campanula glomerata sports tight clusters of purple blooms on 2-foot-tall stalks in early summer. It quickly spreads to form a large mat. Zones 3-8
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Dalmation bellflower

Campanula portenschlagiana is a tidy little groundcover or rock-garden plant that grows 4-8 inches tall and 2 feet wide. Violet-blue blooms adorn the plant in late spring to early summer. Zones 4-7
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'Elizabeth' hybrid bellflower

Campanula 'Elizabeth', sometimes called Korean bellflower (Campanula takesimana), is an upright clump-former that grows 2 feet tall. It produces drooping pale pink flowers in summer. Zones 5-8
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Peach-leaf bellflower

Campanula percisifolia grows a foot tall and wide with fine foliage. In early summer it sends up wiry stems with violet, blue-violet, pink, or white flowers. Zones 3-8
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'Pearl Light Blue' Carpathian bellflower

Campanula carpatica 'Pearl Light Blue' has 2-inch-wide, cup-shape flowers that are light blue with a white center. It reblooms all summer if deadheaded regularly. Zones 4-7
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'Pink Octopus' campanula

Campanula 'Pink Octopus' has unique flowers that look like a creature from the depths of the sea or outer space. Flowers with straplike pink petals rise a foot above the foliage on plants that spread to 18 inches wide. Zones 5-8
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'Sarastro' bellflower

Campanula 'Sarastro' is completely covered in long, bell-shape, deep purple flowers on 18-inch-tall stems in early summer. It reblooms throughout the summer if faded flowers stalks are removed. It spreads to form a large clump. Zones 4-8
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Serbian bellflower

Campanula poscharskyana grows 4-8 inches tall and produces flaring lilac-blue flowers in late spring and early summer. It's perfect for growing in walls or between flagstones. Zones 4-7
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White Canterbury bells

Campanula medium 'Alba' is a biennial that produces dramatic 3-foot-tall white flower spires. Zones 5-8
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White peach-leaf bellflower

Campanula persicifolia 'Alba' bears pure-white flowers in summer. It grows 3 feet tall and wide. Zones 3-8
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Garden Plans

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Long-Blooming Rock Garden Plan
Island Bed 2
Burst of Summer Color Garden Plan
Extra-Easy Sun-Loving Garden Plan
Walk to Front Door
Colorful Front Entry Garden Plan 2
Summer-Blooming Front Yard Cottage Garden Plan
Cottage Garden
Summer Cottage Garden Plan
Foundation Garden
English-Style Front Yard Garden Plan
Pastel Retaining Wall Garden Plan

Plant It With

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Foxglove

Foxglove pairs wonderfully with tall forms of bellflower in dappled shade. Spring spires of bloom pair to create a dramatic combination.

Phlox

Garden phlox makes a lovely backdrop for bellflowers. Surround it with low-growing and midheight bellflowers to create a combination that will bloom nearly all summer long.

Jupiter's beard

The pure pink of red valerian looks stunning with any of the bellflower colors available. Its long season of bloom ensures constant color.

Propagation

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Seed
Division