Wildflower Wednesday: American Tall Bellflower

 My garden always surprises me.

I am just as surprised by what lives and thrives as I am by what barely hangs on or dies. And I am always surprised when seeds germinate and I get wonderful flowers, especially since, I have failed so often with seeds. So when I saw the blue flowers of a Tall Bellflower waving at me across the driveway I was delighted, you might even say shocked. I've been trying to get American bellflower established here for dozens of years. I've tried seeds and plants, but, nothing has taken. I didn't know I had a tall bellflower in my garden until this beauty waved to get my attention. 

 

I have no idea where this lone flower came from. It sprouted, grew and thrived in a container amongst plants I've been saving for my son's garden. Is it possible that I have created my own seed bank after years of broadcasting seeds? Or  could it have been transpooped by a visiting bird? I don't care how it got here, I just hope it will seed itself about.

However this seed got here, it germinated and bloomed. And for that I am grateful.

Campanulastrum americanum or tall bellflower prefers rich, moist, well-drained soil in part shade. I don't really have constantly moist soil unless I water often. The pot where it was found growing gets regular watering.

Tall bellflower is either a biennial or annual and it has a fairly long blooming period. To top that off, it's very attractive to bees and butterflies. A long bloom period is pretty wonderful in a native plant. 

Are wondering how it can be either an annual or biennial? If it germinates in the spring it will be an annual. If it germinates in the fall after planting seeds in late spring and overwinters as a basal rosette, it's a biennial and won't bloom until the next year. There are of course other factor like moisture, timing and sun, but I am keeping it simple!

I don't know if my lone bellflower is in its first or second year but, I am thoroughly enjoying the bright blue/lilac starry blooms scattered all along the spiky stem.

Unlike other plants in the genus Campanula that usually have bell-shaped flowers (from Latin campana meaning little bell), tall bellflower produces flowers that are, oddly, quite flat. "The star-shaped, five-lobed, light blue flowers (to 1" across), each with a distinctively curved and recurved style and a pale white ring at the throat, bloom solitary or in clusters at the leaf axils in summer (June-August). source 

American bellflower is native to moist open woods, moist meadows, streambanks, and ditches in shady areas of the Eastern United States and Canada. Plant it in rich, moist, well-drained soils in partial shade. Those of you north of middle Tennessee with cooler summers can have good luck growing it in sunny moist conditions. Here it will need more shade. 

It should readily reseed itself so plant it with plants that like similar conditions like Elymus viginicus, Carex blanda, Geranium maculatum, Geum canadense, Carex pensylvanica, Lobelia cardinalis and other shade loving native plants. I like it massed and that was my wish when I first tried growing it from seed.

Wish me luck in collecting seed and having success getting it to germinate at Clay and Limestone. 

xoxogail 

 

The Particulars

Botanical name: Campanulastrum americanum formerly known as Campanula americana 

Common names: American Bellflower, American Tall Bellflower, Tall Bellflower 

Family: Campanulaceae

Type: Annual or biennial. The life cycle is quite unique and is dictated entirely by when the seeds germinate: Fall/Winter Germination (Biennial): Seeds that drop in the late summer or fall and sprout before winter will form a tight basal rosette. They will go dormant in the cold, and then shoot up their tall, blooming stalk in their second year. Spring Germination (Annual): Seeds that wait to germinate until the following spring will usually grow, flower, and set seed all in that same single season. 

 Distribution: Native: United States--AL , AR , FL , GA , IA , IL , IN, IA, KS , KY , LA , MD , MI , MN , MS, MO , NE, NJ, NY, NC, OH , OK , PA , SC , SD , TN , VT, VA , WV, and WI ; Canada--Ontario and Quebec 

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b 

Bloom Time: June to August 

Flower Color: Blue and/or Purple/Lavender 

Flower Inflorescence:  Star shaped flowers

Dimensions:     Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.     Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. 

 

Source

 

Light:  Full sun if you have cooler summers (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)  Partial Shade for the rest of us (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)

Maintenance: They need regular and even moisture 

Fruits: the fruit is a capsule that changes from green to brown or gray-brown and splits open to expose the seeds. Seeds drop when ripe.

 Wildlife Value: Long-tongued bees are the primary pollinators, including bumblebees and leaf-cutting bees (Megachilidae), including the specialized bees Megachile campanulae and Colletes brevicornis. Other pollinators are Halictid bees, butterflies, and skippers. These insects seek nectar, and some of the bees collect pollen from the anthers. It also attracts hummingbirds.

Propogation: Seeds need light to germinate. Surface sow in seed starting mix or similar medium. Moist cold stratify 30-60 days then bring to 70°F. Plants self sew around plant (what I hope happens here)

Comments: Beautiful massed in a meadow or natural area. Perfect for Riparian (along streams, lakes, rivers),woodland, native, rain, shade gardens. 

 Tolerances: Deer Tolerant, Clay Soil Tolerant, Wet Soil Tolerant, and Black Walnut Tolerant 

 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. So please share your wildflowers on your favorite social media site. Share to help educate others!

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Phacelia bipinnatifida and Love at First Sight

 It really was love at first sight.  

Who could resist the lavender-blue flowers with deeply divided, mottled fern-like leaves that bloom in early spring and attracts bees? Those leaves alone are worth having in your garden. They have lighter, grayish-green, or silvery, watermark-like blotches and can develop a purple tinge in late fall/winter. 

My little naturalized colony at its best

It's been so long ago that I can't remember when I added Phacelia bipinnatifida to the garden but, I remember quite clearly the first time I saw a naturally occurring colony on a shady damp hillside. I was going to visit a new friend's garden and was driving up her steep drive, as I turned a bend in the drive every where I looked Purple Phacelia was blooming and bees were dancing from flower to flower. There's something splendid about natives that mass naturally, and this was a dazzling and magical pollinator show.

My little Phacelia colony waxes and wanes from year to year. Purple phacelia/Phacelia bipinnatifida is a biennial wildflower in the Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family that is native to the southeast USA. Biennials require two growing seasons to complete their life-cycle. The first year is vegetative growth; the second year, they flower and produce seed and shortly after, they die. They're usually quite prolific and will set seed, but, you'll only have flowers every other year. If you want to have blooms every year, you've got to put a little bit of effort into making that happen.

 

Let's get more detailed about what that effort looks like.

When you are trying to get a biennial established it's important to remember: One year from seed, second year to flower, then it dies. To have flowers every year you have to get a colony started, so you need seeds, first year plants and flowering plants. I really was lucky to be given several plants in bloom and many first year seedlings. Here's how it works! Those first flowers were visited by Bumble bees and other pollinators and got fertilized, they set seed and then died. The fallen seeds germinated and over wintered; the following spring the original first year seedlings bloomed and their flowers were fertilized, set seed, and then died. It's not a complicated process, but it's a brilliant cycle that continues to this day.  

 

I make sure the cycle is not interrupted. Which means that I collect the seeds, and sprinkle them where I want new plants, sometimes I move the tiny seedlings, the first year plants and even the second year plants in late winter to make the colony larger. They always seem to survive!

 

If you're lucky it forms self seeding colonies that are simply stunning. 

 As all gardeners know, some years are better then others and this is a lean year. Lean because we've had a several years of low rainfall right when the seeds need moisture to germinate. I've watered enough so that I have flowers every year, but, I will be doubling my efforts this year to reinvigorate my little colony. To insure  the  colony will make it through the deluge/drought pattern Middle Tennessee has settled into, I'll hand water them during the severely dry times.

Bees and other pollinators that are out and about on warm days love Phacelia. It has wildlife value and supports  the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.

tightly coiled inflorescence in bud

I am honestly not disappointed that it's a lean year. Especially when I see proof that it's  providing for a lot of early spring visitors. I don't have hillsides of Phacelia, that requires much moister soil than I can give it, but, where it's blooming it shines. 

 

 To successfully grow our Wildflower star give it part-shade, shade, moisture, (it can take some dryness) in acid, neutral, average loam. It won't turn it's noise up at rich moist, well draining soil! 

 There are a few online nurseries that sell Purple Phacelia just do a web search. Or if you're lucky and can find a friend with seedlings to share, you can start your own journey to having a colony of flowers that pollinators adore. I hope that post like this open eyes to the beauty of Phacelia. 

 

 The Particulars

 Botanical name: Phacelia  bipinnatifida

Common names: Purple Phacelia, Fernleaf Phacelia, Fernleaf Scorpion Weed, Spotted Phacelia, Loose-flowered Phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family, also sometimes classified in Borage family

Life Cycle: Biennial

Distribution: AL , AR , GA , IA , IL , IN , KY , MD , MO , MS , NC , OH , PA , SC , TN , VA , WV

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b  

Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. 

Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. 

Light: Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours) Full sun if mesic soil.

Soil:  Adaptable-clay, shallow rocky, loamy, sandy and/or high organic matter. PH acidic and neutral. Moisture-well draining and moist  

Flower description: Racemes of 4-12 blue to purple flowers are produced from March through April/May. Individual flowers are 1/2 inch across cup shaped with 5-lobed corolla, 5 sepals, 5 stamens, a slender style, and an ovary. The racemes occur at the top of stems with some secondary ones forming in the axils of the upper stems.  

Color: Blue/Purple/Lavender  

Bloom Time: Spring. March in middle Tennessee.

Propagation: I collect seed by placing a tray with potting soil under the blooming flower. I let most self sow. Seeds ripen shortly after blooming. I let natural rain fall water the seeds and they germinate when temperatures cool in the fall and through the winter. I usually don't notice seedlings until March. Some folks say that the seed needs to be sown fresh, but I am going to try to collect it and place in the refrigerator to see if it will grow when sown later.

 

Surface sowing is always successful and in my garden fallen leaves don't seem to keep them from germinating, so prehaps light isn;t a requirement.

Wildlife Value:  Phacelia support the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.
   
Comments: Deer and bunny safe. This is a plant that should be in every shady garden. Find a friend who will share a few seedlings. Phacelia bipinnatifida should be allowed plenty of room in a naturalistic, woodland setting to move around as it wishes. If you want to maintain it in precise spots, transplant seedlings in the fall to preferred locations. 

My thoughts: When it comes to wildflowers almost all the attention centers on perennials. They're marvelous investment plants that you can count on to make a good show in your garden year after year, but, you might want to consider adding a few annuals and biennials that are native to your part of the garden world. They're charming plants and add another dimension to the garden~many of the seedlings and first year plant's foliage is quite attractive. (Gardeners, Do Yourself A Big Favor)

Thanks for reading! xoxogail


 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

 

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

The thing about biennials

Biennials require two growing seasons to complete their life-cycle. The first year is vegetative growth; the second year, they flower and produce seed and shortly after, they die. They're usually quite prolific and will set seed well, but, you'll only have flowers every other year. If you want to have blooms every year, you've got to put a little bit of effort into making that happen.

My favorite native biennial is Phacelia bipinnatifida.

Purple phacelia/Phacelia bipinnatifida is one of my favorite spring flowers and it happens to be a biennial. I fell in love with it about 20 years ago and have worked to make sure it thrives in my garden. It's a pretty ground cover when it colonizes and it has good wildlife value (provides nectar and pollen for the earliest pollinators).

You can have a yearly blooming colony.

It's an excellent pollen and nectar source for early pollinating visitors. 

The easiest way is to find a source of first year seedlings and/or second year plants of the biennial of your choice. That's not always possible with underused natives like Phacelia bipinnatifida. Sometimes native plant nurseries sell annuals and biennials, but, most of the time you'll have to start with seeds. (Locals, you can call GroWild to see if they still have plants available otherwise, check the internet for seeds). 

If you only have one flowering plant you can still have blooms every year, it will just take a few years. It will take a little bit longer if you start with seeds.


The process:

First Spring with your biennial.  If you have a second year plant, it will bloom! Collect mature seeds (on my Phacelia it's when the ovoid capsules are ready to split), save some (Cleaned seeds should be stored dry in sealed, refrigerated containers) and direct sow others. Biennials reproduce through seeds.

If you're starting with seeds, sow them now! The seeds will germinate early the next spring, here in Middle Tennessee that often means in late February.

first leaves and true leaves

Second Spring: Seedlings will be everywhere you sowed them (cotyledons of Phacelia bipinnatifida are oval) and will rosette up (pinnately divided leaves) as the growing season continues! You can transplant them anytime, but I like to wait until fall when the rains and cool weather return.  

Now is the time to sow those seeds you saved last spring! Direct sow them into the garden and gently press the seeds into the soil. I promise you they will germinate if you've chosen the right spot in your garden. Phacelia likes moister conditions, so I plant them where I know they'll thrive.

 first year seedlings with pinnately divided leaves November 2015

Third Spring: You should now have first and second year plants and be on your way to having a wonderful yearly show! Continue to collect seeds for sowing wherever in your garden that your biennial will be happy or let them drop onto the soil where they've been growing. Continue transplanting first year rosettes during the fall.

This is what you can expect every Spring. Aren't they lovely!

They take a little bit of effort, but the results are very satisfying! 
xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.