Golden Acre Home & Garden Centre's Plant Library

Other Names:  Carpathian Bellflower, Carpathian Harebell

Group/Class:  Teacup Collection

Brand:  Walters Gardens

Description:

A rounded, compact mound, covered with lovely blue and white cups that really stand out; perfect in rock gardens, along pathways or border fronts; a butterfly magnet; prefers consistent moisture, but not wet soil

Ornamental Features

Delft Teacups® Bellflower is bathed in stunning sky blue bell-shaped flowers with lilac purple overtones and white eyes at the ends of the stems from late spring to late summer. Its oval leaves remain emerald green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Delft Teacups® Bellflower is a dense herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Delft Teacups® Bellflower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Delft Teacups® Bellflower will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity extending to 8 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 12 inches. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under typical garden conditions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Delft Teacups® Bellflower is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.