The genus of bluebells includes more than 300 species, of which about 150 live in Russia and neighboring countries. Most natural forms are successfully grown in gardens, they are decorative, most often winter-hardy and quite unpretentious in care. Garden varieties created by breeding have larger and more numerous inflorescences, a wider color range, but they are more difficult to care for and place more demands on growing conditions. Despite some capriciousness of cultural forms, among the bluebells you can find plants suitable for any landscape in almost any climatic zone.
Classification of types of bluebells: meadow and many others
Numerous types of bells are conditionally divided into groups according to various characteristics. So, in terms of life expectancy, the main part of them are perennials , a much smaller one is biennials, several species are annuals .
Among biennials, the middle bell is the most famous; bells are less common in gardens:
Pyramidal
rough-haired
Spreading
Bearded
Siberian
Annuals in our climatic zone are rare, usually grow in more southern regions.
From this group one-year-old bluebell is found in gardens.
Much less often bells:
long columnar
Kashmiri
field bell
And its varieties:
crowded
peach-leaved
broad-leaved
An important classification feature that determines the characteristic biological properties of a plant, and, consequently, the features of caring for it, is its natural habitat. On this basis, all species are divided into field , forest and mountain.
Field bells crowded, sprawling, rapunzel-shaped, Bolognese, small, etc. unpretentious, photophilous, winter-hardy and drought-resistant.
Forest moisture-loving and shade-tolerant species:
peach-leaved
Nettle
broad-leaved
dotted
Mountain bells:
Carpathian
Bearded
Pozharsky
Portenschlag
Somewhat capricious, they need sun, calcareous soils and good drainage, but due to their small size and long flowering they are very popular. They are especially good for alpine slides, they also look good in borders.
By height, bells are divided into tall, medium and low. Most forest species belong to the tall group, mountain varieties are usually compact in size.
The following are detailed descriptions of some of the most well-known and commonly found species in our gardens, grouped according to their natural habitat.
Common types of garden bells
Among the cultivated field bells, the most common are:
Clustered bell (C. glomerata) , medium-sized perennial with strong erect, simple or slightly branched stems 30-60 cm high. Leaf plates, like stems, are covered with soft hairs. The capitate inflorescence, apical or axillary, consists of funnel-bell-shaped flowers located on short pedicels and directed upwards, blue-violet, less often white, up to 2 cm in diameter.
In culture since the middle of the 16th century, it is distinguished by extraordinary vitality and plasticity, forms a compact, little growing bush. Like any meadow bell, it is drought-resistant, grows well in sunny places with fairly poor soil, and tolerates light shading. Blossoms 30-35 days in the middle of summer.
There are many garden forms, including:
White-flowered Alba
Pale pink Caroline
Large-flowered white Superba
Superbus dark purple color.
Especially for rocky hills, a dwarf variety Acaulis was bred, whose height is 10-15 cm. Varietal forms reproduce only vegetatively, natural ones can be grown from seeds.
Round-leaved bell (C. rotundifilia) is a low-growing perennial rhizome plant with numerous stems forming loose curtains 10-40 cm high. In nature, it occurs on dry sandy soils of low-grass meadows, slopes and edges. The name of the flower is given for the shape of basal leaves, long-leaved, rounded or heart-shaped, having a serrated edge and a diameter of about 1.5 cm. By the time of flowering, they usually die off, leaving only stem leaves, short-leaved, lanceolate, entire or serrated. Numerous bright blue, blue or white flowers up to 2 cm in diameter are collected in a loose panicle inflorescence. In culture, the plant is valued for a long, from late spring to September, and abundant flowering. Prefers sunny places, usually planted in rock gardens.
Bolognese bell (C. boloniensis) is a perennial 50-120 cm high with simple, slightly branched, roughly pubescent stems. Whole ovate or broadly lanceolate leaves, petiolate at the bottom and twining at the top of the stem, have a short, almost tomentose pubescence below. Light blue, drooping, funnel-shaped flowers with a diameter of 1.5-2 cm are collected in an apical brush.
In nature, the species grows in the Mediterranean, Western Siberia, Central Europe, the Caucasus, is found in the steppes, on rocky slopes, dry pastures. On the territory of Russia, this steppe bell belongs to rare plants, it is listed in the regional Red Books of various regions. In gardens, it is used for planting in a landscape style, prefers the sun or partial shade. Blooms from June to August.
Description of the spreading bell
Spreading bell (C. patula) is one of the most common wild species in Europe, a biennial 30-60 cm high with straight faceted stems, pubescent in the lower part, bare and branched from above. The leaves are alternate, short-petiolate elliptical below, sessile lanceolate above. The flowers are lilac or purple, funnel-shaped, with long pedicels, collected in a loose spreading paniculate inflorescence.
It blooms from May to August, after flowering it loses its decorative effect. It is rarely grown in gardens, mainly as a component of the Moorish lawn or nature-style flower garden. As can be seen from the description, the spreading bell is one of the earliest flowering species, it blooms in May. It is recommended to be planted next to other plants, which in the future will be able to disguise faded stems that have lost their attractiveness. Self-seeding in the garden.
Forest bell: dotted, medium and other types
A large group of decorative bells are forest species.
These include:
Bell peach (C. persicifolia) , a perennial often grown in culture, belonging to the group of juveniles. Straight or slightly branched stems grow up to 30-70 cm, petiolate basal and sessile stem leaves, oblong or linear-lanceolate, resemble peach leaves in shape. Large, up to 4 cm in diameter, flowers, painted in blue and white, are collected in a loose racemose inflorescence, blooming in June-July.
The species grows in forests throughout Russia, but its numbers are constantly decreasing due to the uncontrolled collection of attractive inflorescences for bouquets. It has long been grown in horticultural culture, valued for its unpretentiousness, the ability to grow both in the sun and in the shade, on soils of any composition.
There are many garden forms and cultivars that differ in size and color of inflorescences.
So varieties:
Celestine and Blaukelchen have terry blue,
Alba – white
Percy Pieper – dark blue
Moyerheimin – double white flowers.
There are also two-tone colors: the Marginata cultivar has a white corolla with a blue border. The natural species reproduces well by self-sowing, cultural forms can only be bred vegetatively, by root offspring.
Broadleaf bell (C. latifolia) , one of the most large-flowered and tall species, has long been and often grown in our gardens. Perennial plant with straight bare stems up to 1.5 m tall, large pubescent leaves, rounded petiolate in the lower part of the stem, sessile lanceolate at the top, and large, in some varieties reaching 7 cm in length, bell flowers with pointed petals. The flowers are blue, purple, rarely white, collected in a sparse spike-shaped brush, blooming in the axils of the leaves.
Flowering time – June-July. The plant is ideal for the background of landscape-type gardens, it is durable, shade-tolerant, undemanding to soils. It has been used in culture for a long time, the first mention of it as a garden flower dates back to 1576.
They grow not only the original natural form of the blue color, but also a number of cultivars:
White Alba
Dark purple large-flowered Macranta
Bright purple Brandwood .
Varieties are easily propagated by dividing the bush, the natural form – by seeds.
Bell dot (C. punctata) , moisture-loving, medium tall, 30-60 cm tall, representative of the flora of the Far East, also found in China, Japan and Korea.
In nature, this perennial grows in forests, shrubs, along river banks and in shallows. Its straight, branching stems from above are densely pubescent, the leaves, petiolate, heart-shaped from below and on non-flowering shoots, broadly lanceolate, sessile or stem-like with short petioles, are also covered with hard short pubescence.
The name of the species reflects the original appearance of its flower, large, in some cultivars up to 9 cm long, drooping, goblet-shaped, inside, and in some forms and outside, covered with bright crimson dots. Individual flowers are collected in a dense brush, bloom in mid-summer.
The plant is becoming increasingly popular in culture, it is winter-hardy, shade-tolerant, moisture-loving, forms many underground shoots, due to which the curtains actively grow, gradually turning into a dense flowering carpet.
The natural form is white, cultivars have a variety of colors: reddish in Othello, pink with white edging and numerous purple dots in Cherry Bell, bright blue in tall (up to 75 cm) Kent Bell cultivar.
The middle bell (C. medium) is a very decorative two-year-old species, the natural habitat of which is the light forests of southern Europe and Asia. A medium-sized plant with lanceolate leaves and a powerful tap root in the first year of vegetation forms a rosette of basal pubescent leaves, from which a strong straight peduncle 50-100 cm high grows in the second year, as well as leaves covered with hard dense hairs. The flowers are large, up to 7 cm in length and diameter, bell-shaped, collected in dense brushes, bloom in June-September. Shoots die off after flowering, but new stems can form in their place, which will bloom next summer.
This decorative bell is more whimsical than other species, it requires a sunny location, nutrient-rich non-acidic soils, sufficient moisture, shelter for the winter. Because of the tap root system, it does not tolerate transplantation, especially in adulthood. Propagated by seeds, often self-seeding.
Despite some care difficulties, it is popular among flower growers, looks spectacular in garden compositions, and is suitable for cutting. Cultivated in culture since the 16th century, numerous garden forms with simple and double flowers are painted in a wide variety of colors: white, blue, blue, pink, purple.
Carpathian bellflower and other mountain species
Representatives of mountain species are also widely represented in decorative floriculture, these, for the most part, undersized plants are especially suitable for alpine slides and rocky gardens.
Most often grown:
Carpathian bell (C. carpatica) , compact, perennial not exceeding 10-15 cm in height. The homeland of the species is the Carpathians, where it belongs to the endangered and is even listed in the Red Book, but the flower has long been widely used in culture as a spectacular plant for rock gardens.
The Carpathian bell has thin, brittle, leafy shoots, small round-ovate leaves, in the basal part with long petioles, collected in a dense rosette, on the stem – with short petioles, arranged alternately. At the ends of the shoots, large, up to 4 cm in diameter, single, upward broadly bell-shaped flowers bloom, the color of which can be, depending on the variety, blue, white, blue or purple.
The plant feels great in the conditions of central Russia, where it successfully winters without shelter. Valued for its unusually long flowering, starting in June and lasting up to 70 days. Prefers a sunny or semi-shady location, dry, well-drained soil, practically does not need watering. It grows well, forming dense compact bushes. The disadvantages of culture include its fragility, in one place without a transplant, a flower can grow no more than 2-3 years, after which it usually freezes.
From garden forms there are:
White Alba
White Star
Blue Celestine
Isabelle
Purple Carpatencrone
As well as a number of bright blue varieties:
Chanton Joy
blaumeise
Riversleigh
The plant gives abundant self-seeding, can be propagated by both seeds and layering.
Pozharsky’s bell
Pozharsky’s bell (C. Poscharskyana) grows in nature in the Balkans, is a low-growing perennial with creeping shoots that form dense cushions up to 20 cm high, up to 30 cm wide. The plant has small rounded densely pubescent leaves and star-like flowers 2-2.5 cm in diameter, with bent petals and elongated tube, collected in an inflorescence of several pieces at the ends of long stems. Blooms in July for 35-40 days. This mountain species was introduced into cultivation in 1930; it is distinguished by shade tolerance and exceptional winter hardiness. There are garden forms of blue, pink, blue, purple color.
Bell Portenschlag (C. portenschlagiana) outwardly similar to the previous species, but has larger leaves and flowers, reaches a height of 15 cm. It develops well both in the shade and in the sun, grows rapidly, forming dense curtains. It blooms profusely for a month, starting in June, with bright purple or reddish-purple flowers. Insufficiently cold-resistant, requires shelter for the winter.
