Campanula persicifolia
| Campanula persicifolia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 6.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Campanula persicifolia (common name: harebell)
Propagation: Seed - surface sow spring in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 18°c[1]. 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[2]. 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[3]. Very easy[4], larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer or following spring.
Cultivation: Easily grown in ordinary garden soil[5]. Prefers a moist but well-drained rich sandy loam and a neutral or alkaline soil in sun or partial shade[2][3]. Succeeds in light woodland[3].
Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[3].
The species in this genus do not often hybridize and so seed can generally be relied upon to come true[4]. The plants are self-fertile[4].
A very ornamental plant, there are many named varieties[5]. It was at one time grown as a culinary vegetable, but is now only grown as an ornamental plant[6]. The sub-species C. persicifolia crystalocalyx has larger leaves than the species and so is more suitable as a food crop[K].
A very long-lived and easily grown plant[5], it is best divided every other year[7]. Slugs are very fond of this plant and can cause severe damage even to large plants[K].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[8].
This plant is a potential winter salad plant, it retains a basal rosette of leaves all winter[K].
Range: Europe to western and northern Asia. Locally naturalized in Britain.
Habitat: Commons and open woods[9][10].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[11][12]. Rich in vitamin C[13]. A mild flavour, it is nice in salads and is liked by most people who try it[K]. The plant forms over-wintering basal rosettes of leaves and thus provides a source of fresh leaves throughout the winter[K]. The main problem with these leaves is that they are very narrow and it takes quite a lot of picking in order to obtain a reasonable quantity[K].
Root - raw[13].
Flowers - raw. A pleasant sweetness, and a very ornamental addition to mixed salads[K].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, beetles, lepidoptera, self
Notes: A good ground cover for your edible flower garden, as the woodland garden develops it could also be grown there.
We can supply in the spring.
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: C. crystalocalyx.
Links
References
- ↑ Bird, R. Growing from Seed Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan, 1989.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Crook, H. Campanulas: Their Cultivation and Classification. Country Life, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.