Forum home› Plants

Susan Gibson

Susan.gibson7Susan.gibson7 Posts: 8
in Plants
I have just bought 6 campanula plants which are in bloom,is it safe to plant in borders now.

Posts

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 16,527
    Assuming you are in the UK and these have come out of a greenhouse, No.  It is the wrong time for them to be flowering. I would cut off any flower spikes and put them in a cold frame for a couple of months.
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 35,795
    Hello Susan and welcome to the forum. You haven't said what type of campanulas they are but I think I would play safe and keep them quite sheltered for now. I don't know where you are in the country but I'm in the North West and we have frost forecast for tonight. Campanulas are quite tough when in the ground but if they are in mini pots the roots may suffer in a severe frost. Planting them now would not give the roots time to establish in the ground to keep them safe.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • Susan.gibson7Susan.gibson7 Posts: 8
    yikes I don’t know what type they are as they have no label and did not think to ask the seller.I am in Essex and have frost predicted for tonight so will keep them in doors for now then.Thank you all for your help.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 28,818
    You could post a picture or look a few on the RHS site - 

    If they are low growing they may be these - https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/24372/Campanula-carpatica/Details

    taller ones may be https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/96441/i-Campanula-glomerata-i/Details or https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/111692/i-Campanula-persicifolia-i-Blue-Bloomers-(d)/Details which also has a white form 

    @fidgetbones and @Ladybird4 are right about it being too early to plant out.

    If you want to plant them out in the garden you'll need to harden them off so leave them outside in a sheltered sunny spot by day but bring them in at night so the roots don't freeze.  If it stays really cold where you are it may be wise to pot them on into slightly bigger pots or maybe tubs or window boxes but keep them from freezing at night.  Plant out in mid to late March once the worst frosts are over and when the ground is not sodden or frozen.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 7,941
    They could even be Campanula isophylla, which is normally grown as an indoor plant.  I think we need a photo please...
    "The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life."  Rabindranath Tagore
  • Susan.gibson7Susan.gibson7 Posts: 8
    This is the one I bought,I don’t have a cold frame or greenhouse, so brought the plants in last night and have put them out in the garden today.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 28,818
    OK.  Doesn't look like the tender isophylla version so just keep doing what you are and they'll be ready to plant out once hardened off.  That may take a month or more depending on how serious winter gets your way.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 35,795
    edited January 2020
    Susan, it looks to me like Campanula portenschlagiana (also known as Campanula muralis). Its a good rockery plant or for tumbling over walls. I would not put those outside just yet though. As fidgetbones mentions, they will probably have been raised in a greenhouse and therefore not ready to go into the garden as yet. I have one growing in a trough outside my front door and it still has two flowers on it - despite the frost! They are tough as old boots once established in the garden.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • Susan.gibson7Susan.gibson7 Posts: 8
    Thank you Obelixx and Ladyburd4 for info it’s much appreciated .
Sign In or Register to comment.