Harebells
Guernsey Donkey2
Posts: 6,713
in Plants
I have managed to germinate 3 small pots of harebells - they look really healthy and are a few centimetres tall and in diameter - where/when should I plant them out , sun or shade, poor or rich soil?
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I've seen them in sun and shade. They don't like stiff clay. I associate them with chalk.
In the sticks near Peterborough
No chalk here nut, but no clay either, so I will put them in three separate places to see which is most suitable. I saw a picture of your harebells on a previous site - they look so delicate and pretty.
they are pretty. Was that the photo on the gravel that you saw?
In the sticks near Peterborough
They do seem to prefer alkaline soil in the wild - but I've got quite a nice clump growing in a fairly sunny spot in acid soil in my garden. So perhaps they're not too fussy...
Maybe not Liri, I've never had acid soil to try them in
In the sticks near Peterborough
It seems that they are tougher than they look - they appear to be so dainty, so I was pleased that some germinated a couple of months ago - now growing happily in a 3 inch pot in my cold GH.
The picture showed a few clumps of pretty flowers which I think were in front of a greenhouse nut, I thin there may have been gravel - was that just a dressing cover?
The gravel is over a membrane GD, it's where I used to stand all the babies in pots before I planted them out. I cut a hole in it to start them going, the soil is a bit too hard really. I have some in grass, the ones in shade do best in there in the same stiff soil. I must put some in a proper piece of garden and give them a chance to thrive.
In the sticks near Peterborough
GD they're tough.
They can be seen in some of Fairy's hill walk pics from earlier this year.
Well, I feel reassured by you all, and I can't understand why I have never noticed them growing over here - I just hope they like our mild climate & our soil.
My only concern is slugs - we don't have masses of them, but I imagine the tender plants would be demolished by a slug or two?
I will post a picture if they mature to the flowering stage.
Last edited: 30 December 2016 11:53:12
They're tough as all Hell GD
For something so delicate looking, they can survive almost anything the climate chucks at them.
They grow on hillsides and glens, sun or shade, on wet ground or dry ground, but enjoy a good bit of dampness best - overhead as well as underfoot
I've seen them growing above the tree line on hills, which is around 1200 feet.
This was taken in Glen Bervie, Blair Atholl, a couple of years ago. One of my favourite pix, and the reason I bought some seeds to grow them in the garden. They're very easy. Mine flowered for months
Last edited: 30 December 2016 12:08:30
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...