Gertens Plant Finder

Group/Class:  Bellefleur Series

Description:

A compact and colorful variety producing clusters of star-shaped blue bellflowers on a tidy plant; great for containers, small beds, and along border fronts; prefers moist soil

Ornamental Features

Bellefleur Blue Clustered Bellflower features showy clusters of blue bell-shaped flowers at the ends of the stems from early to mid summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its tomentose oval leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Bellefleur Blue Clustered Bellflower is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Bellefleur Blue Clustered Bellflower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Bellefleur Blue Clustered Bellflower will grow to be only 4 inches tall at maturity extending to 6 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 14 inches. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 8 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 prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Bellefleur Blue Clustered 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 larger 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.