TALL BELLFLOWER Campanula americana
Campanula americana, the American bellflower, is a uniquely tall bellflower native to eastern North America from the Great Lakes region south to Florida and from the Dakotas east to New York. This native plant is an annual or biennial from 2-6' tall. ts flowers are light blue to violet and are usually arranged in elongated clusters. It is an unusual bellflower in that its flowers are usually flat and not bell-shaped. It has a varying life-history with seeds germinating in the fall producing annual plants and spring-germinating seeds producing biennial plants.
Height: 2-6 feet
Location: Sun or part
Hardiness zones: 4-7
Seeds per pack: 30
Germination: As with many perennial seeds, these seeds benefit from a period of moist cold to help them begin to grow. This is done by giving them a cold 'winter' period (artificial or natural), and then a warming to simulate 'spring', and time to grow! Here's how this can be done:
Obtain a planting container that has holes in the bottom for excess water to drain. Place the seeds just under the surface of your growing medium, and water. Place them in a clear plastic bag (to retain moisture), and in a refrigerator for 4-6 weeks. Once the cold period is completed, place the container back at room temperature for them to germinate. Be sure to keep the soil moist during this entire germination period. Seedlings will sprout a few weeks, or occasionally several months, after the warming period.
These seeds can also be planted in a cold frame outdoors in very early spring, while the temperatures are still cold and fluctuating, as long as you are able to keep the soil consistently moist.
