Platycodon planting and care. Platycodon is an amazing Japanese bell. Platycodon after winter

Platycodons, or Broadbells, are one of the most attractive representatives of the bellflowers. Their name directly indicates the unique shape of the corolla: already in buds, the flowers look like small lanterns, and after blooming, the wide corollas amaze with both the diameter and the shape of an ideal bell. It is the large flowers that are considered the main advantage of this species, although long flowering and a color palette not limited to blue colors also add charm to Platycodon. But gardeners adore the plant for its slightly different talents - good adaptability and ease of cultivation.

Large bells on lush curtains

The plant, which in our country is often mistakenly called broad-leaved bellflower, has nothing to do with Campanula, except for the common family. Platycodon(Platycodon) is a separate genus of plants, the legal name of which is only one - broadbell. And confuse it with Campanula latifolia ( Campanula latifolia) would be a big mistake. After all, Platycodon is a much more lush plant, and also easier to grow.

A medium-sized and hardy perennial with very beautiful foliage, not typical for most bells, and luxurious long-term flowering - this is how platycodons will appear to every gardener who dares to prefer the rarer wide bell to the usual campanula. The height of this plant is usually limited to 50-60 cm, while the bushes are lush, the shoots are numerous, thin and straight, rising in old bushes, and the clumps seem slightly wider than tall.

Depending on the lighting, the thin shoots of Platycodon may stretch slightly, but the bushes always remain lush and attractive, and the foliage is located quite densely. The leaves of Platycodon are arranged oppositely, the lower ones are collected in basal rosettes, ovate or elongated, narrow with a beautiful finely toothed edge. Depending on the variety, the foliage can be either dark green or bluish. Platycodon has one significant feature: the plant shows signs of growth very late, in fact, shortly before the start of flowering. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid that in the middle of spring the Platycodon does not show signs of revival: it will quickly catch up with its competitors and surprise with its growth rate.

The main advantage of the plant is the large and wide “bells” of flowers. The inflorescences of Platycodons really can’t be called anything other than broadly bell-shaped. Rare panicles contain up to 5 large flowers, less often they bloom one at a time. Reaching 8 cm in diameter, they are distinguished by ideal symmetry of shape and create a rounded cup. The corolla lobes are decorated with the finest dark veins. The parade of Platycodons continues for 2 months. At the same time, the number of flowers on the plant seems surprisingly constant. Platycodon blooms in mid-July.

The color range includes not only various shades of blue. Broadbell flowers can be painted in both white and pink tones.

Platycodon varieties

Actually, in the genus Platycodon there is only one species - Platycodon, or broadbell grandiflora (platycodon grandiflorus). Which does not mean that this plant is boring and monotonous. Platycodon has many very beautiful varieties that differ not only in color.

The best wide bells are considered to be:

• variety "Album" with luxurious white flowers, decorated with thin blue veins and powerful curtains up to 60 cm high;
• form "Nanum" with low bushes and touching periwinkle-blue star-shaped flowers with dark veins;
• low-growing, up to 35 cm in height variety “Marisil” with a light blue color;
• pale blue variety “Sentimental Blue” with white buds;
• variety "Apoyama" - a dwarf about 20 cm high with a carmine, rich dark color, more suitable for rocky gardens;
• Pleno form with double dark blue flower;
• Pleno Alba form with a double snow-white flower and very beautiful stamens;
• variety “Fuji Pink” with loose, spreading clumps and star-shaped large bells of a delicate white-pink color;
• semi-double variety with shining snow-white flowers “Snowflakes”;
• "Mother of Pearl" - pink wide bell of standard height;
• variety "Perlmutterschale" with a pearlescent texture of soft pink flowers.

Widebell in landscape design is used as:

• a plant for spectacular spots on the lawn or clearings with ground covers;
• large-flowered bellflower in landscape-type compositions;
• to create spectacular compositions in flower beds and flower beds, decorated in cold colors;
• highlighting accent in large flower beds;
• partner plant for showy roses and other large soloists;
• in compositions with a continuous relay of flowering;
• in compositions of bells;
• in textured flower beds;
• cut plant (pruning into bouquets is carried out only when all the flowers on the branch have opened).

The best partners for Platycodon: all bells, phlox, gypsophila, adenophora.

Conditions comfortable for Platycodons

If you want to admire the luxurious bloom of Platycodon, try to provide it with a sunny location or at least a bright location. The broadbell does not like shade; in light shade it stretches out slightly. But in fact, it is a much more adaptive plant than campanula. In many ways, the range of lighting comfortable for Platycodon is determined by exactly how the seedlings or divisions of the plant were grown. Therefore, it is better to clarify the lighting parameters when purchasing: if young Platycodons have been adapted to shading, they will be able to settle in more secluded places in the garden.

You can pay less attention to the choice of soil. For Platycodon, only one soil parameter is critical - drainage. In order for the plant to successfully winter, grow vigorously and bloom, it must be protected from even the minimal risk of water stagnation. In places with moist, dense soil, where there is a high risk of stagnation of rainwater or the level of groundwater, it is better to lay a drainage layer at the bottom of the planting holes.

Platycodons are quite stable and reliable plants. They grow in one place for 5-6 years without losing the abundance of flowering; they can be replanted every 7 years.

Platycodon grandiflorus ‘Sentimental Blue’. © flora.mania

Features of planting broadbell

Planting Platycodon requires care. Try not to cause even minimal damage to the rhizome of the plant, move it to a permanent place while completely preserving the earthen clod. The faster you can carry out the transplant, the more carefully you act, the better the Platycodon will take root. The holes are dug according to the size of the earthen ball of the seedlings. If the soil needs to be improved, carry out the digging, fertilizing and drainage procedures at least a week before planting the broadbell. Do not shake the soil from the roots, do not crush them or straighten them with your hands. Immediately after planting, shade the plants from direct sunlight. Start sparing but frequent watering until active growth resumes, but in no case allow moisture to get on the plants themselves and do not allow the soil to become waterlogged.

Caring for the broadbell

Watering Platycodon is a very controversial point in plant care. Stagnation of water and excessive watering are destructive for the broadbell, but drought is far from it. But since drying out the substrate for a long time has a detrimental effect on the duration of flowering, it is better to provide additional watering for Platycodon from the period of budding until flowering. They should be carried out in moderation only when natural precipitation is insufficient and all plants suffer from drought.

Platycodon responds gratefully to feeding. For this plant, the fertilization regime is determined by the soil in which Platycodons grow. If the soil is super nutritious, in the first year after cultivation, you can only mulch the soil once with organic fertilizers and add complete mineral mixtures at the budding stage. From the second year of cultivation or on ordinary garden soil, two types of fertilizing are applied to Platycodon:

1. Mulching with organic matter (peat, compost, humus), which can be done in early spring or early autumn;
2. Fertilizing with complete mineral fertilizers in May, June and July with an interval of 1 month between fertilizing.

It is this strategy that allows you to achieve the longest and most abundant flowering of the broadbell.

Otherwise, caring for platycodons is not at all difficult:

• remove fading flowers to prevent seed formation and stop flowering and stimulate as many new buds as possible;
• if the bushes are too tall and powerful, and the broadleaf grows on a windy area and begins to lie down, tie the plant to a support in a timely manner;
• in the fall, after drying begins, do not wait for the bushes to die off on their own and cut all the stems as low as possible.

Platycodons, despite their extraordinary beauty, are persistent and hardy plants. They tolerate winters well in the middle zone and adapt well even at a very young age (fragile seedlings of small size). But Platycodon does not like snowless winters too much, so to stabilize conditions it is better to mulch them every year with any available plant materials (for example, dry leaves). It is advisable to carry out mulching immediately after trimming the bushes.

Pests and diseases of broadbell

Platycodons are quite resistant plants. Occasionally, spider mites can settle on them, but the greatest danger to this crop is represented by various rots that appear when there is excess moisture in the soil. It is better to remove damaged parts of clumps immediately and take emergency measures, including replanting them in drier conditions.

Broadbell Reproduction

The unique features of Platycodon include preferences for methods of reproduction. This plant is not divided, like most perennials, but propagated exclusively by seeds. They can be sown either in seedlings or directly in open soil.

Growing Platycodon from seeds

When growing seedlings, seeds are sown rarely, in large containers or boxes in any nutritious and loose substrate (peat pots can be used). When covered with film and placed in a warm place, seedlings will appear unevenly, but quickly enough. The substrate should be moistened moderately, avoiding excessive dampness. As soon as the seedlings appear, they need to be allowed to strengthen in a bright place at room temperature.

Diving is not carried out, because Platycodon does not tolerate transplantation well, but is replaced by thinning after the appearance of the third leaf or later. The seedlings are grown without waterlogging until the end of May or the beginning of July. Even young and weak seedlings are immediately transferred to a permanent place. Platycodons adapt slowly and grow poorly, but this is only the beginning of their gardening career. Plants will bloom only in 2-3 years, when they have grown a large mass of rhizomes and formed lush curtains. If you buy ready-made seedlings, try to plant the plants in a permanent place as quickly as possible.

Seeds can be planted in the soil both in spring and autumn. When planted in the fall, the plants will undergo natural stratification; for spring planting, they need to be kept in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 months. Such wide bells bloom for 3-4 years and require standard care for all platycodons, but more frequent weeding. Plants are planted in a permanent place as soon as the seedlings become stronger, keeping a distance of about 30 cm between the bushes.

Occasionally, platycodons are also propagated by root cuttings - shoots with a heel, which can be separated in the spring at the very beginning of active growth and rooted in a moist substrate.

Platycodon is a flower with a bright, memorable appearance. Once seeing it in person, any gardener dreams of growing at least a few bushes on his plot. Having made sure of the unpretentiousness of the plant, flower growers do not want to part with this crop; they grow it at home in pots, constantly carry out selection and create new, amazing hybrids.

The Platycodon flower has an ideal bell shape and is large in size, which, combined with a thin, graceful stem, gives it a special charm. The classic blue color of the flower has long been complemented by a variegated range of new varieties, but it is still attractive and never gets boring.

Structural features

Platycodon is a genus of herbaceous plants from the Campanaceae family. The only type of flower is the Broadbell grandiflora. Its natural habitats are in the Far East, Eastern Siberia, China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula. On the territory of Russia, the flower is included in the Red Books of several regions and is under state protection. Due to economic development of territories, predatory procurement of medicinal raw materials and collection in bouquets, the population of Platycodons in nature is constantly declining.

The name of the species very accurately characterizes the appearance of the charming flower. It is a large, cup-shaped bell, and at the bud stage it resembles a Chinese lantern. A hardy perennial with a long flowering period reaches a height of 80 cm. Platycodon is distinguished from other bell-shaped plants by beautiful, lush foliage with a smooth or finely toothed edge and a large flower - about 8 cm in diameter.

The root of the perennial is large, radish-shaped, up to several centimeters thick, and when broken it abundantly secretes milky juice. This part of the plant is used in the medicinal practice of many peoples; a description of the wide bellflower is present in the Pharmacopoeias of China and Japan.

Numerous leafy shoots rise from the basal rosette of leaves, straight, smooth, branching from the very base. The color of the foliage, depending on the variety, can be from dark green to silver-gray. The top of the stem is decorated with a panicle of 2–5 bell flowers; a single flower is less common. The petals fused at the base form a cup-shaped corolla and bend freely at the ends.

Flowers of various varieties of Platycodon

The open flower looks like a regular five-pointed star with contrasting, voluminous veins. There are terry varieties in which the petals grow in several rows. The inflorescences of broadbells are blue in nature, but when cultivated they acquire different shades. Snow-white, all shades of pink, blue, dark purple flowers attract the attention of gardeners and decorators not only with their beauty.

The plants are surprisingly unpretentious, they are easy to propagate, and in one place lush bushes can grow for up to 10 years without replanting. Abundant flowering begins in July and continues with the same intensity for about 60 days.

Popular varieties

Within the monotypic genus Platycodon, decorative varieties with different colors of flowers, foliage and different bush heights have been bred. In the long line of varied bluebells, several double hybrids have also appeared. This allows you to create spectacular compositions, use plants in landscape design and grow crops at home.

Platycodon Astra

Among the popular broadbells, there are varieties like Astra with different flower colors:

• Astra blue, with soft blue petals.
• Astra pink, pale pink hybrid.
• Aster Semi Double Blue, with a double row of purple petals.
• Aster is white, with poorly defined veins on evenly colored petals.

Platycodon Astra-blue

Platycodon Astra-pink

The bushes have a compact shape with a small shoot height (up to 25 cm). The flowers are very large - up to 10 cm in diameter. The varietal line contains double varieties, with petals in two rows (semi-double platycodons).

Astra Semi Double Blue

Album

Large-flowered variety with thin blue veins on white petals. Plant height is up to 60 cm. The varietal line contains plants with different colors.

Platycodon Album

Pleno shape

A double variety of wide bells of different colors with unusually beautiful stamens. The shades of the petals vary from dark blue to snow-white.

Terry Platycodons

Platycodon Fuji

It is distinguished by sloping, loose bushes with flowers in the form of large stars. There are several varieties (Pink, White, Blue) with petals of soft pink, white or blue color. The stems and leaves have a bluish coating, the height of the bush is up to 45 cm.

Fuji White

Variety Apoyama

A dwarf bell with a stem height of only 20 cm. The rich carmine color makes it a very bright detail when decorating rocky slopes and alpine hills.

Widebell Apoyama

Within one species, breeders have managed to create a huge variety of perennials with different characteristics. Thus, the Nanum form is distinguished by its low growth and flowers in shape and color close to periwinkle; the Maser of Pearl variety attracts with high (up to 80 cm) stems and pink buds of a very delicate shade.

Growing conditions

To select a place in the garden where broadbells will bloom profusely and for a long time, most carefully monitor the illumination of the area. In shaded areas, the stems of the plant tend to stretch, which reduces the decorative value of the crop. Platycodon has the ability to quickly get used to the proposed conditions, but cannot tolerate constant shadow. If the seedlings were grown in a shady place, then the plants have most likely adapted and will be able to bloom beautifully in partial shade. Bushes accustomed to the bright sun will not be able to show all their decorativeness without sufficient lighting.

The composition of the soil does not require special attention. There is only one obligatory condition - the drainage of the soil at the planting site. The plant cannot tolerate the slightest stagnation of water. Growing in nature on rocky slopes, open lawns with poor soils, Platycodon is undemanding to the nutritional content of the substrate, but is sensitive to the close occurrence of groundwater and soil density. The presence of a drainage layer during planting (crushed stone, sand) will also provide good wintering for the roots, without the danger of damping off or freezing.

An established platycodon bush is capable of growing in one place for decades without losing its decorative properties. But experienced gardeners advise replanting the plant every 7 years.

Reproduction and planting

Of the two methods of propagating the broadbell, the simplest is by seed. High germination and survival rate of seedlings allow you to quickly propagate bushes. The method has one drawback - it is almost never possible to preserve the varietal identity and quality of the mother plant. Flowers easily cross-pollinate and create new hybrids themselves. Thus, the characteristics of new plants cannot be predicted in advance. The method is applicable if representatives of only one bell variety grow in a large area.

Platycodon fruits and seeds

The vegetative method - separating cuttings from the rhizome - does not always give a positive result. The root system on a separated stem is reluctant to form even with the use of special rooting solutions. Therefore, propagation is most often used with varietal seeds purchased in specialized stores.

Sowing in open ground

It is possible to plant bell seeds immediately in a permanent place in the garden both in spring and before winter. In autumn, work is carried out at the end of October: the seeds are planted shallowly in the soil (up to 0.3 cm), the plantings are mulched.

At the end of April, when the earth is warm enough, you can sow platycodon directly on loose soil, without deepening. It is enough to mulch the planting site with sand or sifted soil in a layer up to a centimeter. Shoots appear no earlier than a month later; during this time the bed should be kept moist.

The first leaves of future bushes will appear by the beginning of June and the further development of the plant will also be leisurely. The seedlings are regularly thinned out, leaving one plant per 20 cm. The young bush will bloom no earlier than the second season.

Home seedlings

Platycodon develops faster when grown in seedlings at home. Sowing begins at the end of February or March. Step-by-step instructions for seed growing of broadbells:

• The soil for planting is suitable as usual for flowering plants, with a small addition of sand;
• seeds are laid out on the loose surface of the soil, spaced 2–3 cm apart from each other;
• The top of the planting is covered with a thin layer of sand; it is not necessary to deepen the seeds;
• humidification is carried out using a spray bottle, preferably with warm water;
• cover the containers with film and place in a warm place (20 to 22 ºC);
• crops require bright lighting, preferably in the morning and evening;
• Water the soil only when the top layer dries out.

The first shoots will appear in 1–2 weeks. To improve germination, it is useful to subject the seeds to cold stratification for 30 days before planting. To do this, just keep the seed on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator door.

After the third leaf appears, the seedlings can be planted. Young broadbell plants are very fragile and all work, including watering, should be done very carefully. The temperature in the room with seedlings can be lowered to 18 ºC. If the weather is suitable, the plants are taken outside, accustoming them to sunlight and wind.

Landing in a permanent place

When the threat of returning cold weather has passed, in May or early June, Platycodon seedlings are planted in open ground. The soil is pre-loosened, fertilized if necessary and always drained. It’s good to add a small amount of sand to the soil, 1 tbsp. l. complex fertilizers for flowers and half a glass of wood ash per 1 sq. m.

Under favorable conditions, a healthy plant will bloom in the year of planting; sometimes the first buds are already observed on seedling bushes.

Landing sequence

Both the above-ground and root parts of bell seedlings are very fragile. The plant should be transported to a new habitat and replanted carefully, with a clod of earth, without injuring it. The rest of the landing rules are simple:

1. 1. Make shallow holes according to the size of the roots. The distance between the holes is maintained within 15–20 cm.
2. 2. Lower the roots into the planting hole, sprinkle with soil and tamp lightly.
3. 3. Excessive watering will cause the soil to settle and must be replenished.
4. 4. The surface around the plant is mulched with peat or fertile substrate.

When choosing a place in the garden for seedlings, count on a long stay of Platycodon. This perennial plant does not like transplants and grows in one place for decades.

Caring for the broadbell

Wild varieties of Platycodon are not spoiled by weather conditions; their cultivated varieties are also resilient and unpretentious. But proper care significantly increases the decorative value of the bushes, prolongs flowering and makes it abundant.

Plants tolerate drought well and react negatively to excess watering. However, to prolong flowering during hot periods without rain, it is recommended to irrigate the plantings additionally. From the beginning of budding until the last flowers, it is worth keeping the substrate slightly moist. Watering is carried out moderately and only when the top layer of soil dries.

The poorness of the soils where the broad bell plant grows does not mean that fertilizing is contraindicated for it. If the soil in the garden is nutritious and fertilizers were applied during planting, then the first fertilizing will be needed when the buds appear. When the soil is poor, plants are fertilized in two ways:

• mulching the surface around the bushes with compost, peat or humus (in spring and autumn);
• watering with the addition of mineral fertilizers once a month, three times during the summer.

The rest of the care consists of timely removal of faded buds, timely staking of stems when lodging and preparing plants for cold weather.

Preparing for winter

Even small plant seedlings are able to survive the harsh winter in central Russia. To do this, they will need minimal help from a gardener:

1. 1. Before the onset of cold weather, without waiting for the death of the above-ground part of the bush, it is completely cut off as close to the soil as possible.
2. 2. If the winter is expected to be snowless, the flowerbed is mulched with any plant debris: hay, dry leaves, pine needles, peat.
3. 3. Stop all watering in advance, and in rainy weather cover the area with platycodons from excess moisture.
4. 4. The root can withstand severe frosts, but in a humid environment it rots and dies.

Bellflower sprouts appear late in the spring; the bush has enormous growth power and manages to grow and bloom on time. There is no need to worry about the safety of the roots when Platycodon has not emerged from the ground along with its neighbors in the flowerbed.

Diseases and pests

Immunity to diseases and resistance to pests is one of the main advantages of broad bells. The only disease that threatens flowers in the garden is gray rot. The defeat occurs from long-term waterlogging and can be stopped at the very beginning by stopping watering and loosening the soil in the flowerbed.

If it was not possible to eradicate the rot, spray with special fungicides (Topsin, Fundazol or copper sulfate), having previously removed all diseased plants from the area. After 10 days, the treatment is repeated.

Rodents - mice and moles - can damage beneficial roots; each gardener has his own ways of dealing with them. But insects avoid plants and Platycodon has no specific pests.

Growing at home

For growing in a pot, compact varieties of wide bellflower are chosen as a houseplant. Tall hybrids are best left for decorating flower beds and mixborders.

The unpretentiousness of the plant even at home pleasantly surprises the owners. The only requirement of the flower is coolness. There is no place for platycodon on a windowsill heated by heating devices. Otherwise, caring for indoor flowers is no different from garden specimens.

There is always a place for wide bells in landscape design or garden decoration: as a separate accent, a spectacular background for other flowers, in mixed plantings of the same variety but of different colors. The best neighbors for the culture are any bells, adenophora, and phlox. High varieties go well with irises and peonies. Roses can be shaded with delicate inflorescences of dwarf hybrids planted in the lower tier of the flower bed.

Flowers with long stems are great for cutting and making bouquets. To do this, you should wait until all the buds open. Platycodon is an unpretentious and very grateful flower; it can bloom for decades without causing much trouble to the gardener.

The plant platycodon (lat. Platycodon), or wide bell, belongs to the genus of the Bellflower family, which is a perennial herbaceous plant with flowers in the form of large wide bells, which in nature are most often found in forest clearings, edges and on rocky slopes of the Far East, Eastern Siberia, as well as Korea, China and Japan. The platycodon flower got its name from the combination of two Greek words: platys, which means “smooth, wide” and kodon – “bell”. Platycodon is a monotypic genus, since it is represented by only one species - Platycodon grandiflorus, or large-flowered broadleaf (not to be confused with broadleaf bellflower). Platycodon grandiflora has been cultivated since 1872, but it gained wide popularity only at the beginning of the 20th century.

Growing Platycodon from seeds

Platycodon is grown from seeds that are sown in March-April. The crops should be covered with film, and they should be watered with room water, sprayed from a spray bottle. In a couple of weeks, shoots will appear. If you want to get early and more friendly shoots, first stratify the seeds, that is, keep them in the cold for some time.

The container with sprouted plants should be kept in a cool room at a temperature of about +15°C and watered moderately. Seedlings are planted in open ground in early June, being careful not to damage the earthen ball.

It is possible to sow Platycodon seeds in the garden before winter. At the same time, they must be sprinkled with a two to three centimeter layer of compost or sifted earth. Such crops will sprout in late spring - early summer.

Small plants can be transplanted into a rocky garden or flower garden in the fall or next spring. Platycodon seedlings grow very slowly and can bloom in the second or even third year.

Therefore, before planting them, you should make a good drainage layer in the hole, and add gravel or coarse sand to the soil to increase its breathability. After planting, the plants must be mulched with peat, compost or humus.

It is possible to grow platycodon in pots placed on the terrace or veranda. Moreover, such compositions will look great if the color of the containers matches the shade of Platycodon flowers.

Growing from seedlings

Seedlings begin to be planted in mid-to-late January. The seeds are placed in gauze, which is lowered into a container with a small amount of water at room temperature. Leave for two days so that the seeds can swell a little. Now take containers for sowing seedlings, pour special soil for flowers into them and loosen it thoroughly. Pour the seeds on top and lightly sprinkle with earth - no more than 0.3 centimeters. Water at room temperature and cover the containers with plastic wrap to create the most comfortable conditions for sprouts to appear. After a week or a little more, the first shoots appear, after which the film can be removed, but the plant must be in a warm room with a temperature of at least 20°C. It is also undesirable for the temperature to exceed 27°C.

When the plants have six to eight leaves, they need to be transplanted into larger pots with a diameter of 10 to 15 centimeters. Transplanting to beds or flower beds can be done in mid-spring or early autumn. In this case, platycodons need to be watered abundantly beforehand and can be placed “headfirst” in water at room temperature for several minutes to minimize stress when replanting plants. Platycodons are planted in the ground at a relatively short distance from each other - about 10-15 centimeters, so that the plants can support each other as they grow.

Caring for Platycodon seedlings

Caring for platycodon involves moderate watering as the soil dries. The main thing is to avoid stagnation of groundwater. In spring, it is recommended to mulch the soil with organic matter, such as humus, peat or compost.

In this case, additional feeding is not necessary. If you decide not to mulch, then you can apply complex mineral fertilizer 2 times during the summer. If the bell is planted in the shade, it may need a garter. You can simply tie the entire bush or tie several stems to a stake. Before wintering, the plants must be completely cut off.

If you are afraid that there will be little snow in the winter, then cover the replanting site with spruce branches or dry leaves. Platycodon usually overwinters well. The plant is also resistant to pests.

Damage can only be caused by underground inhabitants (moles, shrews). Among the diseases, Platycodon can be affected by gray rot. The reason is usually waterlogging.

To treat, loosen the soil, then spray Platycodon with Bordeaux mixture (1%) or sprinkle with ash. Please note! Platycodon has one feature - late germination. Usually the first shoots appear only in late May - early June. But!

Platycodon will definitely rise. Just try not to accidentally dig up the planting site.

Planting Platycodon in open ground

Platycodon flowers are planted in open ground at the end of May or beginning of June, when the threat of return frosts has passed. Find a place for Platycodon in a sunny area (although the plant tolerates partial shade) with loose, rich, well-drained and not very wet soil. The ideal soil for the plant is neutral loam containing a small amount of sand.

The root system of an adult plant is vertical, so it is important that the groundwater in the area is deep, and it is fragile, so it will not tolerate transplants, especially since Platycodon can grow in one place for more than 10 years. Planting platycodon in the ground is preceded by digging up the area while simultaneously adding half a glass of wood ash and a tablespoon of complex mineral fertilizer per 1 m² to the soil.

Caring for Platycodon in the garden

The perennial does not take root well, so it is watered daily and shaded during the first weeks. After this, set the usual watering regime - once every 3 days.

Neighborhood with weeds is not good for Platycodon. Loosen the soil regularly to increase root aeration and remove weeds. Mulching the beds with a thick layer of humus will help make caring for platycodon easier.

For full and bright flowering, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is used. The perennial is regularly fed throughout the growing season once a month.

Platycodon is grown in one place for up to 10 years, but already in the third year the flowerbed loses its decorative effect. The plant becomes very elongated and becomes less attractive. To avoid this, trim the platycodon, pinch the growing point or spray with drugs that slow down development.

How to grow Platycodon

The plant loves well-lit areas and tolerates partial shade when it receives enough sunlight only before or after lunch. “Japanese bell” should be shaded from too intense rays. It is best to arrange mosaic lighting for plants. Platycodon is very hardy and long-lived, withstands temperatures down to –15°C. Open ground plants are more frost-resistant than container plants. Winter peace and coolness are a necessary condition for abundant flowering.

Light loams, loosened and rich in nutrients, are suitable for Platycodon. Its cultivation is facilitated by not too high requirements for the soil. You just need to pay attention to drainage; the fragile roots of the plant cannot tolerate stagnant water, it causes rotting. During the active growing season, Platycodon is fertilized weekly with complex fertilizer.

Platycodon is easy to grow from seeds, which are sown in protected soil in April at 20°C and planted close to the soil surface. When propagated from seed, the broadbell will fully bloom the next year. The seedling method requires careful handling of young fragile specimens; they must be immediately planted in a permanent place.

Tricks for growing Platycodon

Occasionally in stores you can find Platycodon seeds, which need to be planted in early spring. Winter sowing is also possible, but the results are somewhat worse. In the first year, the plants do not need much space, so the crops can be thickened, leaving about 15 cm between the rows for maintenance.

The seedling bed should be in an open, sunny place. Be sure to mark the beginning and end of the row with pegs: this will allow you to find the plants next spring. Care consists of weeding and loosening the soil: tender shoots can easily become clogged with weeds.

In hot weather, watering is necessary. In early and mid-summer, plants can be fed with mineral fertilizers. In autumn, the above-ground part dies off, and a root with a light purple renewal bud, similar to a small white carrot, remains underground - a caudex.

When to collect Platycodon seeds

The ripeness of the seeds is determined by the cracking of the capsule inside the flower. The seeds are collected when the plant stalks are completely dry - usually in September. New varieties with unusual flower colors can grow from seeds collected in your own garden.

Platycodon varieties

Variety “Pure White” - small and compact bushes (height from 20 to 25 centimeters), covered with many snow-white bells, similar to wide five-pointed stars;

Variety "Pink Imp." — on dwarf plants, pink bells with four petals and a dark purple center stand out among the greenish leaves;

Variety "Blue" - the purple color of this variety is reminiscent of the night sky in early summer;

Variety “Semi-Double White” - snow-white double flowers, looking upward, practically cover the surface of low but highly branched bushes;

Variety “Semi-Double Lavender” - a rare lavender shade of double inflorescences sets this variety apart from the rest;

Variety “Semi-DubleBlue” - blue-violet double flowers with dense and thick petals on small bushes will decorate any composition in the flowerbed.

Sakata also has another special variety, Sentimental Blue. This genetically low-growing perennial has a strong bush, excellent branching and bells of a bright blue hue. This variety, a photo of which can be seen in the company’s catalogue, blooms very early. It will look good both in the flowerbed and in the garden.

Description. Platycodon grandiflora (Platycodon grandiflorus) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the natural flora of Siberia, the Far East, the northwestern regions of China, Korea and Japan. It is an inhabitant of meadows, forest edges and clearings, and is also found on rocky slopes and among bushes. The Russian name, which is somewhat inconvenient to pronounce, is wide bell - a literal translation from Latin.

Usage. In its natural habitats, this plant is used in cooking and is widely used in folk medicine, especially in Chinese. Platycodon was brought to Europe only at the end of the 18th century, and became more or less widespread in gardens even later - in the middle of the 19th century. Half a century later, the assortment of Russian nurseries included several forms of Platycodon grandiflora, including a compact variety " Mariesii".

Platycodons are non-aggressive and durable, go well with most garden flowers: phlox, daylilies, peonies, Siberian irises, asters, sedum, cereals, geraniums, wormwood, etc. If early autumn frosts are not typical for your area, you can count not only on stable, long-term flowering of Platycodon, but also on an additional splash of decorativeness due to autumn color. It is worth providing for this the most spectacular background: herbaceous or woody plants with silver, dark green or purple foliage (conifers, bladderworts, barberries, etc.). Dwarf varieties are a magnificent decoration for rocky gardens, compositions with miniature varieties of coniferous and deciduous trees.

Features of the growing season. Platycodon is a true perennial, and if you manage to find a suitable place for it in the garden, it can decorate the flower garden for many years. In addition, it has its own character and temperament: it is a phlegmatic plant, partly even a scoundrel and a lazy one. Judge for yourself: in the spring it wakes up late, 3 weeks later than most perennials. It’s so late that you, having forgotten about this trait of its character, will have time to think that the plant died in the winter. You feel sad for a while, then calm down, come up with a replacement, buy it, bring it to an empty spot in the flower garden where Platycodon stood last year, bring in a shovel and... you discover charming bluish “heads of cabbage” of young shoots of a well-rested plant. It's a common story. Then Platycodon grows as if nothing had happened, forming a beautiful, durable bush with bluish smooth leaves, and blooms in July. At the same time, it is already good in buds, which, in accordance with its leisurely nature, do not open for a long time. But the buds are no less beautiful than the flowers: large, like Chinese lanterns or origami figures. An adult multi-stemmed bush blooms for at least two months. Having “got guilty” in the spring, Platycodon pleases the gardener throughout September: it no longer blooms, but the bush shines even brighter than the blooming one. At this time, the leaves first acquire a lemon and then a yellow and purple color and last until frost.

Landing. The plant is planted in a well-lit place with fairly fertile soil. With partial shading, Platycodon grows well, but the stems will be weaker, and a garter may be required; the flowering period will be delayed. Regular garden soil will do, not too acidic or alkaline.

Platycodon is planted immediately in a permanent place, since the structure of the root system does not allow replanting without damaging the plant. For the same reason, platycodon bushes cannot be divided.

Care. Water as the soil dries out. Mature plants will survive dry periods without damage. Plants respond well to regular mulching with loose organic matter (leaf and manure humus, peat, compost); in this case, additional fertilizing is not necessary. In the absence of organic mulch in the spring, you can feed Platycodon with complete mineral fertilizer on moist soil. Removing spent flowers prolongs the flowering period. If necessary, tall stems are tied to a support.

Pests and diseases. Platycodon has no specific diseases or pests; as a rule, in good conditions, plants do not suffer from anything. Shrews, moles, and field mice can cause damage to plantings.

Wintering. Platycodon overwinters quite reliably, suffering only in winters with frequent alternations of thaws to bare ground and frosts.

Reproduction. Platycodon is propagated by seeds. Sow in protected ground in early April, seedlings can be expected in 2-3 weeks. Stratification is not necessary, but after it the seeds germinate more easily. Crops are kept at room temperature, seedlings - up to +15°C, watered moderately. If you received the seeds in the fall, you can sow them in the garden before winter, sprinkling them with a 2-3 cm layer of sifted soil or compost. Such crops should germinate in late May - early June. At the same time, spring seedlings are planted in the ground, preserving the lump. Seedlings develop rather slowly and bloom in the second or third year. They can be planted in a permanent place in a flower garden or rock garden in the fall of the current year or in the spring of the next, being careful not to injure the root ball.

It is possible to take cuttings from growing shoots with a heel in the spring, but they rot easily.

Problems and solutions. For Platycodon, prolonged stagnation of melt water and close groundwater are detrimental. The root system of the plant consists of succulent, fleshy, deep-lying roots, so good drainage of the planting site is necessary. It is also worth improving the breathability of too dense soils by adding gravel or coarse sand.

Varieties. The typical natural form of Platycodon has blue flowers, which are also the most common in culture. Modern breeding is aimed at obtaining varieties with a double corolla, varieties with especially large flowers with contrasting veins along the petal field, as well as compact plants for decorating rockeries and potted plants.

Among the relatively tall (50-70 cm) varieties, dense compact bushes with large blue flowers develop " Fuji Blue". To the series Fuji also includes white-flowered" Fuji White" and pink "Fuji Pink". However, the latter is not quite pink - the effect of this shade is created by a dense network of pink veins on the white field of petals. In some varieties, instead of the correct pattern of veins, the petals are decorated with contrasting splash strokes - this is " Axminster Streaked": the flowers are white, the strokes are bright blue. The flowers have a double corolla " Hakone Blue" And " Hakone White", respectively blue and white (bush height 50 cm).

Dwarf varieties are very good: imagine Platycodon in miniature, in which all parts of the plant except the flowers are proportionally reduced. The height of the rounded bushes does not exceed 20-25 cm." "Sentimental Blue" has deep blue flowers, " Fairy Snow" - white with blue veins, " Astra Blue"- blue and " Astra White" - white.

Water as the soil dries out.

Regular mulching with organic matter or fertilizing with complete mineral fertilizer.

Platycodon grandiflora is a herbaceous perennial from the bellflower family. Literally translated from Latin, this name translates as large-flowered broadbell. In the wild, the plant can be found in clearings, forest edges, rocky areas and meadows. It lives in vast territories of Siberia, the Far East, as well as in the north-west of China, Japan, and Korea.

Description and varieties

A plant with completely bare bluish stems, having a height of 40 to 120 cm. The rhizome is white, fleshy, similar in shape to a radish. Diamond-shaped leaves with an elongated pointed apex and serrated edges are arranged alternately. The flowers are most often single, but occasionally they are collected in small inflorescences of 2-10 large flowers, which are located on the tops of the shoots. The flowers have a classic bell-shaped shape and reach 8 cm in diameter; they can be simple or double. Wild Platycodon is always blue in color. But breeders have developed varieties of white and pink flowers. Flowering occurs in midsummer, in July and August. The fruit is an ovoid capsule consisting of 5 shiny dark teeth about 2 mm long.

There are dwarf and tall varieties; they can also differ in flower shape and color. All of them are extremely decorative. A striking feature of Platycodon is the swelling of the bud to a spherical state before opening. The buds become like bright colored lanterns.

Let's consider the most popular and sought-after varieties.

Album. A powerful bush up to 0.8 m high with luxurious large white flowers, on the petals of which blue veins sometimes clearly appear.

Platycodon Astra Pink. A small plant no more than 20-25 cm in height with very large star-shaped single flowers of pale pink color.

Astra Blue. Huge blue flowers with bright blue veins along the petals.

Double. Another variety of the Astra variety has a double row of petals.

White. Compact small bush about 20 cm high with star-shaped delicate bright white flowers.

Shell Pink. The variety is quite tall - up to 0.8 m, the flowers are light pink.

Fairy Snow. A bush up to 0.8 m tall with white, slightly lilac flowers, covered with a network of graceful purple veins.

Pink Florist. Bright pink flowers with almost bloody veins.

Marisil Blue. Bushes of medium height (up to 35 cm) with very beautiful lavender-blue flowers.

Pleno Alba. A variety that has snow-white double flowers with beautiful stamens.

Planting and care

When planting platycodon, planting and caring for which is not particularly difficult, it is necessary to take into account some requirements.

This is a flower that will bloom profusely and brightly in well-lit areas. It can also tolerate partial shade, but then its stems will stretch in height and may need support. Constant burning sun rays are also not very suitable for the plant. The ideal option is mosaic lighting.

This bell is very hardy, able to winter in open ground and lives quite a long time. When grown indoors, it requires a period of winter dormancy in order for it to bloom profusely next year.

Platycodon's soil requirements are not very high, which makes its cultivation much easier. It is suitable for loose, light, loamy soils with a rich set of nutrients. The roots of the flower are very fragile and delicate; stagnation of moisture, which can cause rotting, is extremely harmful to them. Watering is necessary as the soil dries out. To prevent water stagnation at the roots, it is necessary to regularly loosen and mulch the soil.

Reproduction

This culture is propagated by seeds and cuttings.

Seed material can be purchased at the store, or you can collect it yourself. Sowing is done in 2 ways: in open ground and in containers. When sown in the ground, plants bloom only for 2-3 years, so for Platycodon, growing from seeds in a container method is considered more preferable. This is usually done in early spring.

The entire further process looks like this:

Shallow containers (containers) are prepared, always with drainage holes.

Moderately fertile loose substrate is poured into containers on the drainage layer.

The seeds are pre-soaked for 1-2 days in damp gauze for swelling.

The planting material is carefully laid out on the soil surface and lightly pressed down. You can lightly sprinkle with sand.

The container is covered with glass or plastic film to create a mini-greenhouse with constant temperature and humidity. The optimal temperature is about 20-22°C.

The greenhouse needs to be ventilated regularly. Moisten the soil only after drying.

Shoots appear in 7-10 days. The cover needs to be removed. Reduce the temperature to 18-20°C.

After the appearance of 4 true leaves, the plants can be planted in separate pots, in which they will grow until planted in the ground in a permanent place.

Propagation by cuttings is carried out as follows:

the stem with 2-3 internodes is cut off;

the sections are lubricated with garden varnish;

then the cuttings are placed in a container with water;

After the roots appear, the seedling can be planted in the soil.

Vegetative propagation by dividing the bush is allowed.

Platycodon is a flower that can decorate any garden. Unusual, bright star flowers look great both in flower beds and in pots on windowsills.