Forum home› Plants

Too late to divide Echinops and Canterbury bells?

ThankthecatThankthecat North DevonPosts: 420
in Plants
I've had an injury that meant I relied on help in the garden for the last year. My gardener let me down (not her fault) and has hardly been here this spring. I'm now getting fit again and desperately want to carry out some renovations I had planned. Is it too late to lift and divide Echinops bannaticus and Campanula medium? We're in Devon and both have taken me by surprise, going from 0 to 60 in the last three weeks! Campanula has buds forming, Echinops just tons of new growth. 
I know we're about to have a sunny week but I can commit to regular watering. What do you reckon?  

Posts

  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 4,514
    You can divide but you would need to cut them back to make it work, and that will delay flowering or potentially postpone until next year. Not familiar with C. medium, but internet says it's a biennial, which doesn't sound like a good candidate for dividing. 
  • punkdocpunkdoc Sheffield, Derbyshire border.Posts: 11,721
    Canterbury Bells are usually biennial, so die after flowering.

    I would say it is too late to divide Echinops, if you want it to flower this year.
    He calls her the chocolate girl
    Cause he thinks she melts when he touches her
    She knows she's the chocolate girl
    Cause she's broken up and swallowed
    And wrapped in bits of silver
  • ThankthecatThankthecat North DevonPosts: 420
    I must have got the canterbury bells type wrong as I've had them three years now and they've flowered and the clump grown bigger every year... Unless they have self-sown in a VERY small area around the originals? Thanks for your advice re the echinops. I will have to wait until autumn to do my redesign then as I don't want to lose flowers this year. Cue shopping trip to buy annuals to fill in all the gaps I made ready for them! 

  • punkdocpunkdoc Sheffield, Derbyshire border.Posts: 11,721
    Every cloud 😀
    He calls her the chocolate girl
    Cause he thinks she melts when he touches her
    She knows she's the chocolate girl
    Cause she's broken up and swallowed
    And wrapped in bits of silver
Sign In or Register to comment.