Campanula at home: features of flower care and reproduction

Campanula care

Due to the fact that campanula does not require special care and effort to grow it, even a novice florist or a person far from floriculture can keep it at home. However, using some simple tips, you will provide support for the decorative and flowering of the plant and avoid various problems and diseases.

• Illumination Campanula prefers to grow in a well-lit place with diffused light. Sunburn can cause sunburn on the leaves, so place the bell pot on top of the eastern lily of the western she, or hang them in a capsho near the window. Growing a bell in sunlight, it will have ugly elongated leaves and small rare inflorescences. In addition, the shape of the bush will not be symmetrical, stretching towards the sun. If you do not have the opportunity to place the pot with campanula in the right place, take your time to turn the bush towards the sun with different sides so that it forms compact and decorative.
• Temperature Campanula prefers cool rooms with a temperature of 20-23 degrees in summer and 10-13 degrees in winter. If the plant is grown in a dry and hot environment, it may shed leaves, buds and stop blooming. On hot summer days, place a flowerpot in an air-conditioned room, and in winter, away from heaters and a gas stove.
• Humidity Campanula is loyal to the level of air humidity. She does not suffer from over- and under-moisture. Therefore, it does not need irrigation and placement on a pallet with wet pebbles. You can only spray on the hottest days or in winter if it is not possible to move the plant pot away from the battery. The pot should be sprayed in such a way that water does not get on the flowers, otherwise the petals will be covered with ugly brown spots.
• Top dressing Top dressing is a very important step in plant care. During the period of active vegetative growth, which lasts from early spring to early autumn, the flower spends a lot of energy on the formation of flowers. During this period, it should be regularly fed with complex mineral fertilizers intended for flowering plants. Fertilizers are applied three times a month or once a week. The amount of fertilizer should be half the amount stated on the package.
• Watering Campanula should be watered sparingly, avoiding waterlogging and drying out of the soil. She also negatively refers to the stagnation of water at the bottom of the pot. Because of this, its roots quickly begin to rot. The regularity of watering depends on the season of the year. In the summer, during flowering, watering should be done daily. It is allowed to add flowering stimulants and mineral fertilizers in a small amount to the water for irrigation. In winter, the campanula retires and needs watering twice a month. In the fall and spring, the amount of watering increases regularly every three days. The plant should be prepared for daily summer watering gradually, starting to increase the regularity in March and watering the flower with a small amount of water. The water should be kept warm. It must be free of bleach and heavy metals.

Rest period of room campanula

After active flowering, which continues throughout the spring and summer, Campanula retires. This period begins in September and lasts all winter until March.So that next year the plant will delight you with abundant flowering and health, you should properly care for it during sleep. For this:

• At the end of October, a sanitary cutting of the bush is carried out. This is done so that the plant does not waste extra energy on maintaining unnecessary stems. During clipping, all dry inflorescences, leaves and stems are removed. This state should be maintained throughout the entire period of sleep.
• In December, shoots are trimmed to a height of 10-12 cm.
• In March, the shoots are re-pruned, which have managed to grow a little, to a height of 5 cm above the ground.
• During the dormant period, watering is carried out once every two weeks, depending on the state of the soil. Campanula is placed in a bright, cool place with enough light, but away from heating appliances. Top dressing at this time is not carried out.

Care features

Top dressing of perennial bells

Campanula is not capricious in choosing the right fertilizers. Any flower dressing will do. You need to use it in accordance with the instructions (only during periods of growth and flowering).

In rest mode (if the plant is moved indoors), the campanula does not need to be fertilized, this can only harm it.

Healthy. In frequent and abundant watering, campanula in the country only needs in the summerif it's not raining for a long time

It is especially important to monitor the plants in pots: when it is hot and the air is dry, the lack of moisture will affect the condition of the flower. The rest of the time, you can leave the flower without water for a couple of days.

This is very much appreciated in her by lovers of traveling and working on business trips, because you do not have to ask someone to take care of the flower and worry about it.

Water for irrigation must be filtered, then settled and only at a warm temperature.

Loosening and weeding

Periodically, it is necessary to remove weeds from the area where domestic plants grow, with loosening the soil

This is especially important after long rains. Even if the option of growing in pots was chosen for the undersized species, the soil must be loosened so that there is no stagnation of moisture, which will lead to decay of the roots and other problems

Location and lighting

Campanula loves an abundance of light, but diffused, not direct. Therefore, it should be planted in flower beds on the sunny side of the house under the cover plant. When growing in pots at lunchtime, it is necessary to remove the flower from the sun's rays.

Campanula care

When placing flower containers on a veranda or near gazebos, preference is given to special stands or shelves so that the light is scattered through curtains or decor.

Pruning and wintering

At the beginning of September, you need to bring the pots with the plant into the room, or cut off the shoots completely, then cover with peat. Perennial campanula, although it belongs to the winter-hardy species, does not tolerate the cold. Therefore, after winter, with poor cover, the plantings may be damaged, and the composition will need to be "repaired".

How to deal with pests and diseases

If the simple rules for caring for the campanula are not followed, she often suffers from fungal diseases. She is also not immune to ticks and scale insects. You need to periodically carefully inspect the plant, look under the bells, because small insects are not immediately noticeable.

Special preparations will help get rid of any diseases and parasites: Healthy Earth, Biotlin, Tsvetolux.

Problems may arise during cultivation if the conditions of care were not followed, and natural factors influenced:

• The leaves of the plant turned yellow or became pale - this indicates that he does not like the place, the campanula needs to be rearranged;
• If the stems began to stretch and turn pale, this means that the flower does not have enough light, you need to find another place and transplant the plant to a lighter area;
• Sluggish leaves indicate over-watering - it needs to be reduced.If it is affected by rains, the soil must be loosened to dry out.

Daily care of the campanula

It is quite simple to take care of the bells at home and the main conditions that must be observed are:

• regular watering;
• temperature regime;
• daylight hours.

However, with long-term cultivation, it is worth thinking about other activities - pruning and replanting flowers, fertilizing and spraying the plant. Consider how to properly care for campanula at home.

Bells with flowers of two shades - white and blue, are popularly called "bride and groom". Only Campanula isifolia can have such a color.

Plant fertilization

Top dressing is necessary for bells during the period of active growth and flowering from March to August. During this period, feed the plant with fertilizers for decorative flowering plants 2-3 times a month. It is necessary to use small dosages or to dilute the dressing strongly with water. No feeding is needed in winter.

Spraying leaves

Spraying the leaves of campanula is advisable only in the summer, when the flower suffers from heat and moisture quickly evaporates from the soil. It is recommended to spray the foliage in the morning or in the evening, as at lunchtime the sun's rays are reflected in the drops of water and can leave burns on the buds and leaves.

When choosing a campanula in a store, keep in mind that in its natural environment it can only be white, blue or purple. You should not buy flowers of non-standard colors, they may be of poor quality.

Pruning and dormancy

In the cold season, the campanula begins a dormant period, when the plant gains strength for growth and flowering in spring. Depending on the variety and conditions of detention, it can start from October to December.

At that time:

• Prune the flower by shortening the shoots to 10 cm in length and leaving a few buds. Re-pruning is done in January, then 5 cm is left from the shoots. Pruning with a sharp blade or scissors.
• Place the flower in a cool place where the temperature can be maintained at around 15%. A good option is an insulated balcony, where the plant will receive enough light.
• Reduce watering to once a week or two. In cold ground, moisture stagnates longer, so the soil needs time to dry out.

If you cut the bell at the very beginning of the dormant period, it can bloom again in December, for the New Year holidays. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain the correct conditions for keeping the flower.

Transfer

Unlike many flowering houseplants, Campanula does not need to be transplanted annually. The pot should be changed in two cases:

• If the campanula was bought in a store;
• If the plant has grown a lot or it is planned to propagate the flower by dividing the root.

Plants in the store are planted in the simplest and thinnest "shipping" pot without a pallet, which is not suitable for long-term growing.

How to transplant Campanula? Let's consider step by step:

• Water the plant a little for 4-5 hours for the planned transplant - this will make it easy to remove the root part from the pot;
• Choose a good pot with a tray - it should be 2-3 cm larger in diameter than the previous one;
• Prepare soil from peat and leaf soil, a mixture for drainage, fertilizer;
• Remove the campanula by slightly rolling it in the pot and not separating the roots from the earthen coma;
• Pour drainage into the planter (approximately 1-2 cm), partially fill it with soil;
• Place the campanula in a pot and cover the roots with earth;
• Water the plant - the soil will soften and fill the voids between the roots;
• Place the bell in a shaded area for a few days and limit watering.

Reproduction of campanula

The bell can be propagated in three ways: by dividing the bush, cuttings and seeds. Given that this plant does not belong to perennials, it stops blooming and growing after 2-3 years.If you do not want to lose the campanula at all, you should multiply it. It is done most often in the spring.

Propagation by cuttings

For propagation by cuttings, cuttings are taken that remain after the spring haircut. They must have a heel. To do this, the cutting is torn off at the stem itself so that the lower part retains the skin from the mother stem. Also, the stalk should have 2-3 leaves at the base. The stems should be prepared before planting.

To do this, the lower part of the cutting is dipped in a weak potassium permanganate for 7 hours. Then it is treated with rooting stimulants, which will help the shoot to form new roots faster and get a strong, beautifully flowering plant.

After that, the shoot is planted in the ground to a depth of 3-4 cm, the pot is covered with a jar or plastic wrap, which should be removed regularly to ventilate and remove condensation. The pot of seedlings is placed in a cool room and sprayed with warm water every 7 days. After three weeks, the shelter is raised, after another 7 days, the sprout is exposed to a light window. When the shoots reach a height of 12-13 cm, the top is split to create a lush bush.

Reproduction by dividing the bush

This method is used in the process of transplanting a campanula into a new pot. The procedure is carried out in spring or summer. For this, the plant is completely removed from the old pot along with the earth. The root system is cut into several pieces with a sharp knife. It should be borne in mind that each piece should be medium in size, as very small parts may not take root. "Delenki" are planted in separate pots with a drainage layer and nutritious soil. Sprinkled on top with the second part of the earth, compacted and watered. You can feed such bells a week or two after planting, reducing the amount of fertilizer by half.

Seed propagation

Seed propagation should be carried out in early spring. For this, seeds are bought or harvested from the mother plant after the bells have faded in the fall. If you want to harvest the seeds yourself, find small seed pods and wait until they are fully ripe on the plant. A bursting box will indicate the readiness of the seeds. Then the grains are removed and placed in a paper bag. It should be borne in mind that the seeds of campanula are very small, dusty, so when removing them, try not to make sudden exhalations and movements.

After receiving the seeds, sow them on top of the soil and sprinkle with a thin layer of sand. Spray the soil with a spray bottle and cover the crops with transparent film. The film should be removed every day for an hour to ventilate the ground. Do not water crops with water into the ground. So the seeds will quickly rot before they germinate. The container is placed in a cool room with enough light, away from heating appliances and drafts. After the sprouts have 3-4 true leaves, they are dived into separate pots for growing. When the sprouts get stronger, they are transplanted into permanent flowerpots.