Common Name: Dalmation bellflower
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Campanulaceae
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Violet & blue
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Colorful
Tolerate: Deer
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers part shade in hot summer climates. Good plant for dappled shade areas. Plants need regular and consistent moisture. Deadhead spent flowers to encourage longer bloom period. Plants do not always perform well in the hot and humid summer climates of the deep South in areas where night temperatures may consistently remain above 70 degrees F. Divide clumps in fall every 3-4 years. Under ideal growing conditions, these plants can be quite aggressive, sometimes spreading vigorously in the landscape by both self-seeding and by underground rhizomes. Plants can be clipped after bloom to maintain a compact appearance. Propagate species plants by seed or division. Propagate cultivars by division.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Campanula portenschlagiana, commonly known as Dalmatian bellflower, is a dense, rhizomatous, mat-forming, deciduous (semi-evergreen in Zones 8-9) perennial that typically grows to 3-6” tall, but spreads rapidly as a ground cover to as much as 24” wide. It is native to southern Europe (Dalmatian Mountains of Croatia and Herzegovina). Small, triangular, medium to dark green leaves (1-2” long) are round to heart-shaped with toothed margins. Bell to cup-shaped purple flowers (.75 to 1.0” diameter) cover the plant in late spring to late summer (sometimes early fall).
Genus name comes from the Latin campana meaning bell in reference to the bell-shaped flowers.
Specific epithet honors Franz von Portenschlag-Ledermeyer (1772-1827), Austrian botanist and physician.
‘Aurea’, often commonly called golden Dalmatian bellflower, is a cultivar that features attractive golden spring foliage. The foliage gradually acquires green tones as the growing season progresses.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Snails and slugs may damage plants.
Uses
Provides color and contrast to perennial borders, rock gardens, along and draping over rock walls, between stepping stones or as an edging plant. Containers.