"My bells, steppe flowers ..."

Large-flowered bells can easily transform any flower bed, plants with a high stem can be used as a transition from tall plants to low plantings, and those species that grow well in the shade (nettle-leaved, peach-leaved bell, rapune-like, crowded, broad-leaved) can be safely refined , hidden from the sunlight, part of the garden.

This flower got its name from the specific shape of the flower. The bell rim resembles a bell. The bell has always been popular among the people. This flower is often mentioned in stories, songs and poems.

Bellflower: vegetative properties

Bells have an ordinary stem, reaching a height of one and a half meters. The next arrangement of leaves, a bell-shaped corolla and seeds inside the flower - a box.

Bells are divided into two types by their ability to grow. These are summer-green and winter-green. Summer-green bells turn green in spring, and when freezing, the leaves lose their color. The second type of plants can remain green even in winter, or rather all year round. It is enough just to transfer the plants to a warm place in winter, and in the spring such a bell will bloom again.

Bell: planting and caring for a plant

The bell is a rather unpretentious plant. However, it will be better for us to develop fertile, and most importantly, well-drained soils. If you plant a bell on an area where there is a flood in spring, then its roots will rot and the plant will die.

It is advisable to prepare the soil in advance. If you have clay soil on your site, then you need to add sand or peat to it. The earth is dug up and all weeds and roots are removed. If the soil is loose sandy, then it is necessary to add humus, and also add sod. It is not recommended to add fresh manure, as this can provoke some diseases. The bell does not like acidic soils, so it is also good to add lime to such soil.

As for caring for the bell, it is necessary to fertilize the plant with nitrogen at the beginning of spring. You can also add the hall and rotted manure. Before the bells bloom, you need to feed them with some kind of mineral complex.

Care consists in regular loosening of the soil and weeding. Bells are not at all demanding on moisture, so most of them can grow well in general without additional watering. But if the summer is too dry, then you will still have to water the plants several times. But these flowers do not like waterlogged soil and moisture stagnation at all.

If you want to collect seeds from bells, then you need to collect the capsules before opening the pores. In early autumn, the stems must be cut off. If you decide to transplant bells, then it is allowed to do this either in the fall or in the spring. The main thing is that the soil is not frozen. The bell should be dug out, leaving a large lump of earth so as not to injure the roots, as well as water the transplanted plant abundantly.

Reproduction of bells

The bell is propagated by seeds, roots, cuttings. The breeding method will depend on the type of plant. Collected in autumn brown boxes, carefully open and mix the seeds with sand or crushed chalk, as they are very small. Seeds can be sown directly in the garden in the spring, or you can grow seedlings and transplant the grown seedlings to the flower bed. It is better to prepare the beds in the fall so that the earth is loose and fertile.

Sowing seeds is necessary superficially.After sowing, the seeds are sprinkled with a thin layer of earth, and in a couple of weeks you can already see the first shoots. Then the plants need to be thinned out. And when 3 real leaves grow on them, then plant the sprouts altogether, keeping a distance of 10 cm between the flowers. You can sow seeds before winter. This must be done in October, and after sowing, cover the beds with foil.

You can grow seedlings in a greenhouse. Then it will be better to sow the seeds in special boxes filled with a mixture of turf, sand and peat. Then the seedlings dive into the open ground.

There are types of bells that cannot bear fruit, or the seeds do not have time to ripen in certain climatic conditions. Then the plant is propagated vegetatively. So, a three-year-old plant is divided in late spring or early August. The bush should be carefully dug up, the leaves and stems should be cut off, and the remains should be cut into separate pieces. Care must be taken that each part has a root and buds. The separated parts should be planted in previously prepared trenches, burying the plants in such a way that the soil level is at the level of the buds.

Types of bells

This culture is divided into several types. Here are the most famous ones.

Carpathian bell.

Carpathian bell

This plant has a light root. The stem height can be up to 40 cm, and the bush has the shape of a sphere. This type of bell is distinguished by large blue flowers. It blooms very generously all summer, forming seeds at the end of summer. More about the variety here.

Nettle-leaved bell.

Nettle bell

Grows mainly in the shade. The people appreciate this species for its medicinal properties and is used for diseases of the throat, as well as for food.

The bell is milk-flowered.

Milk-flowered bell

It differs in the height of the stem and the milky color of the flowers.

The peach-leaved bell is very beautiful.

Peach bell

This is a fairly tall plant, reaching 1 m in height. The bell blooms with lush blue and white flowers. There are some crops that have double flowers. Some gardeners, in order to prolong its flowering, remove the fruiting without waiting for the formation of a capsule.

Bells are practically invulnerable to various pests and diseases. But still, it is better not to grow a plant in a certain place for several years in a row, since pathogenic bacteria can form in the soil. If, nevertheless, the bell is sick, then it is necessary to treat it twice with a solution of foundation. In spring and autumn. A superphosphate solution will help get rid of slugs by spraying or adding it to the soil around the stem. You can spray the plant with garlic infusion.

Bells are planted on the site primarily to create an attractive look. Experts recommend placing bell bushes in front of dark-leaved plants. You can plant bells, choosing different flowering times, depending on the species. Then graceful flowers will decorate your site throughout the season. Bells are also used to create a rabat. They are planted in 2 parallel rows, or placed alternately. Tall bells can be used to create a multi-tiered flower bed, seated as the highest tier.