Campanula portenschlagiana (Wall Bellflower)
Family: Campanulaceae | Origin: Southern Europe
The bellflower family is represented in Israel by about 20 species, most of which have purple bell-like flowers and the majority are annual plants that bloom in late winter and spring, produce the seeds of the next generation and dry up in early summer.
In Southern Europe and Western Asia (and in Israel, mainly on mount Hermon) there are many perennial Campanula species, most of which are compact alpine crevice plants that are resistant to severe cold.
In Shtiley Har we have several such species from southern Europe and the Caucasus. Over the years we discovered that these bellflowers do well in the Jerusalem area with regular watering under shade or partial shade and are very long-lived.
Campanula portenschlagiana is the most successful species of all: it is a creeping plant that spreads by thin stolons and creates a dense cushion of rounded toothed leaves. In the spring it blooms in great abundance with purple bell flowers and the flowering returns again with less intensity in the fall.
Campanula portenschlagiana is the most successful species of all: it is a creeping plant that spreads by thin stolons and creates a dense cushion of rounded toothed leaves. In the spring it blooms in great abundance with purple bell flowers and the flowering returns again with less intensity in the fall.
The plant grows well under conditions of regular watering and full or partial shade, in heavy or light soils and even with light root competition under trees, in rockeries and pots. It spreads not aggressively and creates a beautiful perennial cover with or without flowers.
Very suitable also for covering the ground under tall plants in containers.
A nice idea is to plant it in a wide pot and bury under it winter or summer bulbs, which will break through the dense cushion and flower in their season
