Thursday, March 24, 2016

Tall Campanula

Ideally we should know the names of all the plants we grow. Unfortunately, this is not how it works.

Labels go astray, you forget a name you were sure to remember, a plant was a gift and the giver did not know the name, plants are mislabeled, etc...

This post is about  tall campanula, one of our plants that you could say has "obscure origins".


Campanula (First year)


I know where it came from.

I bought it from a woman whose garden is open to the public.

She told me it was a Campanula lactiflora she had grown from seed. Her garden had several clumps of Campanula lactiflora doing well.

So far so good.


First year again, the Campanula is at the back, in the middle right of the picture


I planted it, it grew well and a year after it was planted it bloomed like a typical Campanula lactiflora. I noticed however it was a bit tall but did not pay any attention.

Last summer it bloomed again and, as far as I could see, the flowers were typical of Campanula lactiflora. However, this time the plant was about seven feet tall (that is the height of the trellis behind it), the flowers towering above me.

It did not get any staking and stood up straight till I cut it down in autumn.

Same plant last summer

All references give five feet as the maximum height for this plant.  I thought I should check with the woman I bought  it from. 

One Sunday last summer, when her garden was open, we set out to visit it once again. At the garden entrance was a big sign saying "Visitors Welcome" but there was not a soul around, except for a dog indoors.

We had a look at the garden where several healthy clumps of C. lactiflora  grew not much taller than three feet high, perhaps half the size of mine, but there was no sign of the gardener and so I did not get any more information.

I will try to organize another visit this summer.

I wish I could say that this plant grows so tall here because the soil is particularly rich where I planted it. Unfortunately this is not at all the case. I gave it a good mulch of compost last spring, but the soil is in fact rather poor and rocky where it is growing.

I am quite pleased with it and presume it simply is a taller form of Campanula lactiflora. But it remains one of several plants in the garden whose names are uncertain or unknown.

The only tall campanula I know is Campanula americana, but its blooms are very different from the bloom of this plant.

Any suggestion to confirm its identity?

18 comments:

  1. Sorry no, but as you say the lady grew it from seed, then it wouldn't necessarily come true. Maybe it has taken after one of its grandparents or even great grandparents!

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    1. I am very pleased with it. I just wonder how it came about. Just a mixing up of genes I suppose.

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  2. I wonder whether it is some sort of hybrid too. Maybe some cross pollination has taken place. I love campanula lactifolia - we have Pritchards variety and it flowers for ages.

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    1. It came true to seed but with a doubling of the size!

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  3. So impressed that it stood that tall with no need of staking! In my experience flowers will sometimes grow as much as twice as tall as they are supposed to. Just a question of the right conditions, I suppose. My favorite Campanula is C. persicifolia, I thin,.

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    1. I also love C. persicifolia. I expect as you say this this tall one has found just the right conditions.

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  4. Wow, that is really tall. I like it in that spot, though. Sorry, I don't have any experience with this plant. Please keep us posted on your observations and discoveries. :)

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    1. Yes it is quite tall but rather nice. I should cut it down just after it blooms with the hope it produces a few more flowers later in the season.

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  5. I think you've been very lucky, proper name or not. I love tall plants which fend for themselves without the fuss of staking, and yours seems capable.

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  6. Maybe it's just because it's a seedling or maybe it is because of the place it grows. Perfect soil in a place where it would already haved thrived ok and bam 6 feet tall ?
    Anyway I'd love to grow some C. lactiflora this tall : it makes a wonderful background
    Bon week-end

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    1. Par coincidence je suppose qu'elle trouve à l'endroit où elle pousse tout ce qu'elle a besoin. La chance joue un rôle important dans le jardinage!

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  7. C. lactiflora 'Lodden's Anna' is my best guess. She'd probably cut hers back to make it more manageable. I have successfully killed this plant multiple times so congrats on keeping it alive!

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    1. You are probably right. I had not thought about the fact that she might have cut it back to keep it lower.
      You might be to hot for it.

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  8. Wow, it's really very tall for campanula, Alain. I liked that you planted it on background and other plants are seen well too.

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  9. I agree with Tammy, it does look like C.lactiflora' Loddon Anna' which usually grows to about 5 foot in my garden at the most. Seed grown plants do vary or perhaps it is really, really happy in your garden. The amazing thing is that it doesn't need staking. I usually give mine the Chelsea chop to stop them flopping about.

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  10. Wow, I've never seen one that tall and I thought you garden on pretty poor soil. It looks fab. Guess the girls are right as no other C. reaches those heights. PS: It was honesty seedpod on the Easter egg. Happy spring, Alain :) PS: I still follow your blog but don't comment often as it's such a pain when you come from Wordpress. Annette

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  11. Love campanulas but I have problems in that many of the varieties seem to have weak stems, yours is very impressive whatever it is.

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