Campanula portenschlagiana Adria Bellflower PFAF Plant Database

2 New Books ** Edible Plants: An inspirational guide to choosing and growing unusual edible plants and Woodland Gardening (Forest) [Paperback]. more >>


Search Page Content

Campanula portenschlagiana - Schult.

Common Name

Adria Bellflower

Family

Campanulaceae

Synonyms

C. muralis. Portenschl.

Known Hazards

None known

Habitats

Naturalized on walls and rocky banks in central and southern England.

Range

S. Europe. Naturalized in Britain.

Edibility Rating

Medicinal Rating

Care

Summary

Physical Characteristics

Campanula portenschlagiana is an evergreen Perennial growing to 0.3 m (1ft) by 1 m (3ft 3in) at a fast rate.
It is hardy to zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower from Jul to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies, beetles, lepidoptera, self.The plant is self-fertile.

Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.


(c) 2010 Ken Fern & Plants For A Future

http://www.biolib.de/

Habitats
Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Ground Cover; East Wall. In. South Wall. In. West Wall. In.

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves.
Edible Uses:

Leaves - raw or cooked[K]. The leaves are rather small, but they are produced all year round[K]. They have a mild flavour and make an acceptable ingredient in mixed salads, especially in the winter, but we find that, eaten in quantity, they become a bit unpleasant[K]. Flowers - raw. Very freely produced, they have a pleasant flavour and make a very decorative addition to salads[K].

Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally. None known

Other Uses
A rampantly spreading plant, suitable for ground cover in a sunny position[197, 208].

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist but well-drained rich sandy loam and a neutral or alkaline soil preferring full sun but also succeeding in partial shade[1, 200, 208]. This species prefers a slightly shaded position[221]. Plants can be grown on a dry stone wall[200] and succeed in poor soils[221]. Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[200]. The species in this genus do not often hybridize and so seed can generally be relied upon to come true[221]. The plants are self-fertile[221]. A rampant plant, capable of spreading widely when in suitable conditions by means of both underground roots and long stems above ground [188, 271]. It makes a good ground cover but can become a nuisance if it is not sited with care[200]. It is, however, fairly easy to control by simply pulling up any parts of the plant that wander too far[271]. There are several named forms selected for their ornamental value[200]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow spring in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 18°c[138]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Basal cuttings in spring[1]. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10 - 15cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer. Division in spring or autumn[200]. Very easy, the plant can be divided at almost any time of the year[221].

Plant Suppliers: Click here for a List

You can download this page as a PDF

Expert comment

Author
Schult.

Botanical References
200

Links / References

[K] Ken Fern Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956

Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[138]Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3.

Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[188]Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers

Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[197]Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants.

A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.

Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208]Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover

An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[221]Crook. H. Clifford. Campanulas - their cultivation and classification.

The most comprehensive treatment of the genus yet written (2002).

[233]Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants

A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[271]Lewis. P. & Lynch. M. Campanulas - A Gardener's Guide.

Very readable account of almost 150 members of the genus, together with their hybrids and cultivars, that are more commonly grown in gardens. Excellent photographs of many of the species.

Readers comment

QR Code

What's this?

This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to our website pages. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by mobile phone (smartphone) cameras. This QR Code is unique to this page. All plant pages have their own unique code. For more information about QR Codes click here.

1. Copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, website, magazines, newspaper etc and even t-shirts.

2. Smartphone users scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to the webpage the QR Code came from.

3. Smartphone users quickly have information on a plant directly for the pfaf.org website on their phone.

Rate This Plant
Please rate this plants for how successful you have found it to be. You will need to be logged in to do this. Our intention is not to create a list of 'popular' plants but rather to highlight plants that may be rare and unusual and that have been found to be useful by website users. This hopefully will encourage more people to use plants that they possibly would not have considered before.

Add a comment/link

If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at admin@pfaf.org. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.

* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.

Subject : Campanula portenschlagiana

Links	To add a link to another website with useful info add the details here
Name of Site
URL of Site
Details