Bluebell Cup and Saucer: Growing from Seeds

Medium-sized bell Cup and saucer, or “Chinese service”, is an original and exquisite variety of the Campanula Medium family. The history of the cultivation of the plant dates back to the middle of the 16th century. The culture is biennial, capable of renewal in natural conditions. On one stem, there can be up to 50 outlandish inflorescences of amazing beauty.

The appearance of flowers resembles an elegant porcelain cup on an exquisite saucer.

Description of the middle bell Cup and saucer

The variety group of decorative medium-sized flowers Cup and saucer is considered one of the most attractive. Unlike classic garden bells, this culture has 2 “skirts” arranged in the shape of a tea pair. For a two-year-old bell of a medium-sized variety Cup with a saucer, the following features are characteristic:

• bush height up to 0,8 m;
• stem erect, hard, straight, pubescent with stiff hairs;
• leaves are narrow, basal, collected in a rosette;
• leaf color is bright green;
• type of inflorescence pyramidal;
• the color of the inflorescences is white, blue, purple, pink, purple;
• the number of buds in the inflorescence – 45-50 pieces;
• bud length up to 7 cm;
• terry flowers, two-layer;
• flowering period – June-September;
• fruiting period – August-September;
• seeds – small seeds of a gray-brown color;
• the aroma is subtle, pleasant.

Lush flowering medium-sized flower Cup and saucer prefers cultivated and fertilized fertile soil with a low level of acidity

The bell is medium-sized A cup with a saucer is a light-, moisture-loving, cold- and frost-resistant plant, quite demanding on some features of agricultural technology:

1. Soil composition – the most preferred neutral or slightly alkaline soil. Sour soil for planting a variety is categorically unacceptable.
2. Requirements for the level of illumination. Culture “prefers” well-lit areas, but can develop in slightly shaded areas. In a small shade of buildings, small architectural forms and other plants, it retains flower stalks for a long time.
3. Demanding to a sufficient level of soil moisture. At the same time, plants do not tolerate stagnant water. The most preferred places for bells are under fences, near walls on the western or eastern side.
4. The seed material does not germinate in the light. Seedlings need darkness to germinate.
5. When growing seedlings, young bushes throw out flower stalks in the first year of life.
6. When sowing seeds in open ground in the first year, a leaf rosette and root system are formed, and in the second year, flower stalks are ejected.

The color range of medium colors Cup and saucer from snow-white to different shades of pink and blue

Application in design

In landscape design, medium-sized bells Cup and saucer are used in various angles:

• in the form of single compositions;
• in group plantings on prefabricated flower beds and discounts;
• against the backdrop of lawns;
• as a border plant against tall crops.

In addition to landscape designers, the medium-sized flower Cup and saucer is well-deservedly popular with interior designers. Bouquets of bluebells of the original shape and cool colors are ideal for some stylistic design trends, so they are widely used to decorate living rooms.

Plants are grown for cutting, elegant bells look spectacular in bouquets, retain their decorative properties for about 2 weeks.

Methods of reproduction

Bellflower Cup and Saucer reproduces in several ways:

1. Seminal. The material collected at the beginning of autumn at home does not give a full guarantee of repeating the varietal characteristics of the mother plant. Seeds purchased in specialized stores allow you to fully recreate the individual characteristics of the variety.
2. Cuttings (allows you to maintain a varietal affiliation) – reproduction by separating a cutting with three healthy internodes from plants of 2 years old.
3. The division of the bush (allows you to transfer varietal characteristics) – reproduction by dividing the root system of an adult culture into 2-3 parts containing several viable stem buds.

The seed method of planting seedlings is most often used by flower growers to propagate medium-sized flowers “Chinese Service”

Sowing bluebell Cup and saucer for seedlings

Sowing seeds for seedlings – March.

Soil for crops should be chosen loose, fertile, consisting of:

• 6 parts of sod land;
• 1 part river sand;
• 2 parts of humus.

The soil for seed germination should not be acidic

Algorithm for sowing seeds of the bell variety Bowl with a saucer for seedlings:

1. A prepared container (a low wooden or plastic container, a box) is filled with soil mixture, disinfected, moderately moistened.
2. Seeds are sown in a container, sprinkled a little with fine sand.
3. Crops are carefully moistened with a spray bottle.
4. To create a greenhouse effect, the container is covered with glass or plastic wrap.
5. Crops are placed in a dark place at temperatures up to + 20 ⁰С.

2-3 weeks after the germination of the bell seeds, the shelter is removed, the container with the sprouts is placed in a well-lit place.

Growing seedlings

Seedling care consists of the following activities:

• periodic moistening by irrigation when the top layer of the earth dries up;
• dive when the first leaves appear 3 weeks after sowing;
• top dressing with complex fertilizers for seedlings 5 ​​weeks after sowing.

2 weeks before transplanting into open ground, seedlings are gradually hardened in the open air.

Algorithm of planting in the ground

A month after the picking, seedlings of medium-sized bells “Chinese service” are transplanted into open ground.

Young bushes, together with a clod of earth, are planted in prepared small depressions in the ground at a distance of up to 40 cm from each other. The earth is pressed around the bushes, carefully watered.

Transplanting seedlings of bluebells in open ground is best done in cloudy weather.

Cultivation of bluebells Cup and saucer

The picturesque medium-sized bells Bowl and saucer, despite all the external splendor, are unpretentious and require minimal and simple maintenance:

1. Watering in dry weather, as dry soil adversely affects the condition of the plants.
2. Mulching the soil to maintain a sufficient amount of natural moisture.
3. Removing weeds to prevent the spread of diseases and pests.
4. Loosening the soil for the supply of oxygen to the root system.
5. Application of fertilizers according to the phases of growth: at the stage of growth of green mass (in March) – nitrogen-containing compounds; at the stage of bud formation (in early June) – phosphorus and complex additives; at the stage of preparation for winter (in November) – potash fertilizers.
6. Removing faded inflorescences helps to extend the flowering time of the crop.

In autumn, you can plant bushes or collect seed for propagation of the decorative bell “Chinese service”

Preparation for winter

Bluebells Cup and saucer – frost-, cold-resistant culture. For the winter there is no need to prepare a total shelter. As part of the preparation of plants for wintering, a number of activities should be performed:

• pruning stems to ground level;
• top dressing with potash fertilizers, which increase the frost resistance of the crop;
• covering the root zone with dry foliage or mulch.

In the spring, the shelter is removed, the bells are fertilized with ammonium nitrate

Diseases and pests

Medium-sized bluebells Cup and saucer – plants with strong immunity to the effects of pathogens and pests. Most often, decorative flowers are exposed to the negative effects of pathogens, growing for a long time in one place.

As a preventive measure, you can use the treatment with the drug “Fundazol”, which prevents the spread of pathogenic flora in the soil.

Rainy weather can cause colonies of slugs that damage the stems and leaves of bluebells and spread fungal diseases.

For pest control, superphosphate granules are used (soil treatment) and hot pepper tincture (spraying bushes)

Conclusion

The magnificent, lush flowering of medium-sized bluebells Cup with saucer decorates flowerbeds, flower beds, ridges, terraces, balconies with a pastel palette of cold tones. More than 50 outlandish 2-tier bluebells on one bush is a breathtaking sight, especially when there are a large number of them.

Among the people, a medium-sized flower is called “balabolki”, “keys”, “bells”, “gorlanchiki”.

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