Common name:Balloon Flower, Chinese/Japanese Bellflower
Family: Campanulaceae, Bellflower
Height x width: 24-36" x 12-18"
Growth rate: moderate
Foliage: ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1-3" long, sharply dentate margins, alternate, glabrous upper surface, glaucous-blue lower surface
Flowers: usually blue, also white or pink; buds balloon-shaped, flowers saucer-shaped; flowers at end of long stalks (peduncles); summer
Hardiness: zones 3-8
Soil: well-drained, slightly acidic prefered
Light: sun or part shade
Pests and Problems: few, possibly botrytis blight, root rots, mites
Landscape habit, uses: border, rock garden, cutting
Other interest: native to eastern Asia; common name refers to bud shape; genus name is from the Greek for "broad bell" refering to the flower shape
Other culture: long lived, may need staking in south and part shade, late to emerge in spring
Propagation:seed (27,000 seeds per ounce) flowering second year, division is difficult due to long taproots (spring is best)
Species:
grandiflorus (gran-di-floor' us)--only species of cultivars and
commerce
Cultivars: (of grandiflorus)
| Cultivar, other taxa | flowers | other | |
| albus | white | yellow or blue veins | |
| apoyama | violet | 10-15" tall | |
| apoyama 'Fairy Snow' | white | 8-10" tall | |
| 'Astra' | blue, white, pink | 6-9" tall | |
| Fuji series | pink, white, blue | 2-3' tall, good cut flowers | |
| 'Hakone Blue' | blue, double | 18-24" tall | |
| 'Hime Murasaki' | blue violet, large | 15-18" tall | |
| 'Komachi' | blue | 2" bud never opens | |
| mariesii | blue, 2" wide | 1-2' tall | |
| 'Misato Purple' | violet-purple | 15-18" tall | |
| 'Mother of Pearl' | pale pink, large | ||
| 'Perlmutterschale':'Mother of Pearl' | |||
| 'Purple Princess':'Hime Murasaki' | |||
| 'Sentimental Blue' | blue, 2" wide | 6-9" tall | |
| 'Sentimental White' | white, 2" wide | 6-9" tall | |
| 'Shell Pink' | pink, 2" wide | 18-24" tall | |
©Authored by Dr. Leonard Perry, Professor, University of Vermont as part of PSS123 course.
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