What Are Your Three Best Tips For Growing Canterbury Bells?
ponderinstuff
15 years ago
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bonnys
15 years agolibbyshome
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Peach leaf bellflower or canterbury bells: pros and cons?
Comments (5)Both are about the same height, though I believe the Canturburry Bells can get larger. C. medium (Canturburry Bells) are biannual while Campanula persicifolia (Peach-Leaf-Bellflower) is perennial. I tried CBells many years ago. I gave up after four plants died out. They seem to rot out readily, so it is not a bad idea to treat them like annuals. It needs fairly moist, good draining soil.They are beautiful plants though, and the dark purple ones are amazing. But there are just too many other wonderful, and not fussy, Campanulas out there to plant this one. Campanula persicifolia is a great plant. Stays upright and is somewhat drought tolerant, though it does great in moist soils. I have my 'Alba' in an area where nothing else will grow due to tree roots. The Bellflowers are shallow rooted enough not to care about this. This year I tried an experiment. I left the stalks of some (after flowering) and it turns out they will bloom again on those same stems without deadheading. Reseeds readily, but are easy to pull up. Transplant well. The double forms are sterile. Hope this has helped you some. CMK...See MoreHindsight is 20/20 - 3 of your best tips for beginners
Comments (38)What a great thread!!! Thanks, Buck for asking this question. I am new to winter sowing too....this past winter was my first. I intended to plant about 50ish containers and did over 100. I had one I forgot to label but now know that it is monarda lambada and it is blooming nicely. I had two containers that the labels faded out...still don't know what they were. I discovered halfway through that I really didn't need to plant every seed in every packet and I got over the guilt rather early of not sowing the gift seeds that I really wasn't interested in. I do still have plastic containers out in the yard with seedlings in them....blooming nicely...kind of like container gardening but yucky containers for that purpose. My husband still loves me and encourages my new obsession ;*) he even tilled me a holding bed for my perennials. I am in a weird part of zone 5 and have discovered that most of the annuals I love don't germinate soon enough to provide the blooms I want for the summer. There are a few that did fine though and those I will winter sow again...the others I will either sow indoors or purchase. I don't know what zone you are in but I want to point out that the warmer zones get results a lot sooner than the colder zones (I know that is obvious but it was frustrating that they had sprouts and I had snow!). This has been a fun and wonderful experience for me. It really helped with the winter blues and has improved my garden with plants I never would have bought but have grown from seed just fine. The friendship and generosity on this forum is exceptional. I'm glad you joined and I'm glad I joined too! Bonny...See Morewhat is so different about growing bell peppers
Comments (14)I must be the exception to all of you. I grow two to three sweet bells ea season and they do very well for me. I get nice plants with about five peppers on ea plant at any given time. I live in Thousand Oaks, which is about 20 miles (as the crow flies) inland from the coast and so the temps here are quite moderate (today the high was around 77*f) with the nighttime temps still getting cool. My garden is a reaised bed. I have spent a lot of time filling it with compost I make it from leaves, grass clippings, and horse manuer I get from a local horse ranch. I French double dig the bed every 2 to 3 years. Since my garden is only 10'x15' double digging it is not such a big deal. This year, until the latter half of June, I seemed to have more "June Gloom" kind of weather than the typical nice clear days we usually have. I got a very late start this year, not getting my nursery bought plants into the ground until the end of May. Usually I put my seedlings in the ground late March/early April. This is the first time in years that I did not start my own plants from seed. I like to plant my pepper plants quite close together (six inches apart) as I find they tend to shade each other when the weather turns hot. Daytime temps will get into the high 90's during the day and perhaps as low as 75sh at night in late August and early September. Even thought it may seem like they are close togeher they get plenty of sun. Because So Cal has such low humidity I made a 1'x 3' frame out of 1/2" pvc and covered it with an old white sheet to shade the peppers. Without the humidity the temp in the shade is easily 15* lower than in the direct sun. I find this really helps during the really hot afternoons (say from noon to 3). Even though I have composted nearly everything that goes into the garden I still put a small handfull of fertilizer in the bottom of each hole (mixed with a little soil) when I am putting the plants into the garden. After about six weeks I will side dress each plant with one T of 5-10-10 fertilizer (the same stuff I use for my tomato plants). I need to check this out and make sure this is a good choice for the peppers. I water every day (I am guessing about galon per plant). I find that consistent watering is best. I deep water one day ea week. I heavily mulch the entire garden bed with about 3" of grass clippings to help moderate the soil temp and retain moisture. My soil is such that the water drains into the soil moderately fast. It pools but within a couple of minutes it is gone. But like Justaguy2 said consistency is the name of the game. Out of the last 10 years I have had three that would be classified as "so so". But I continued plant them again the next year. I would try the following: Plant the plants closer together (unless you live in a very humind local that has little to no air movement (ie no breeze). I think the mutual shading helps. Keep the soil consistently moist, but not wet. Try mulching with compost. As you occasionally wet the mulch the water will leach nutrients into the soil. I will not mulch with anything that will not break down fairly quckly. I say that because when the mulch breaks down it releases all kinds of good suff into the soil. I do not use bark, plastic, or news paper, etc. I want my mulch to be gone by the end of winter. That is why I like grass clippings and compost. Try making a raised bed for just the peppers. This really helps maintaining a consistent soil dampness. If it gets really hot where you live, build a shade covering of some kind that you can move easily. I use a white sheet because it seems to reflect heat while still letting some light penetreate to the groud. Darker colored materials will absorbe heat and then radiate it to the plants, just what you do not want when it is really hot. Make the raised bed small (say 2'x3') and use it just for the peppers. If you plant them close together you can easily get three rows deep that are 3' long. And you will have easy access to all sides of the plants without having to acutally walk in the garden. This way you will not compact the soil as you maintain the peppers. Finally,not evey local is right for every kind of vegetable you might want to grow. Pick and choose what grows best in your area. Perhaps the best thing you can do is try to find someone who has had success growing their bells and pick their brain as to why they are successful. I hope I was not too wordy or long winded. Tom...See MoreWhat Are Your Top Three Tips For Growing Tomatoes?
Comments (44)Great post. 1. Select excellent seeds of varieties known to do well in your area (check the forums) and start several seeds in good mix in at least 4" pots. Select for strongest seedling after about 3-4 weeks (snip the others with scissors, don't pull). 2. Plant deeply into well prepared, amended soil in raised bed or mounded row, including lots of organics (compost, natural mulches added additionally over the years), with additional bonemeal in the hole. Have it tested if it doesn't seem to be right. If you must fertilizer use organic pellets. 3. Lots of sun and good water. Water infrequently but deeply and slowly. Drip irrigation lets you water more often but even more slowly (best). Notes: You really shouldn't have to fertilize your tomatoes once they're growing if your soil is right. But a foliar spray of liquid seaweed or other organic, micronutrient solutions produce amazing results quickly for ailing plants. Keep foliage dry if at all possible and spray them in the morning if necessary. Also make sure to give each plant enough room for ventilation and root space. Neem oil works great for most pest probs but can sometimes burn young leaves. Organic mulches keep fruit off the ground (for sprawling), breakdown into good stuff, and keep soil from splashing up onto the plant when it rains (important). Cages allow for keeping fruit off the ground and protect them from sunscald....See Morephyl345
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8 years agoEdith J. Carrier Arboretum at JMU
8 years agofloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
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8 years agoEdith J. Carrier Arboretum at JMU
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8 years agoEdith J. Carrier Arboretum at JMU
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7 years agoAmanda Dean
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