CAMPANULA

(diminutive of campana, a bell; in reference to the shape of the flowers). Bell-flower; Slipperwort. O RD. Campanulaceæ. A genus of mostly perennial—rarely annual or biennial—herbs. Flowers blue or white, for the most part pedunculate, usually racemose, rarely spicate or glomerate. Radical leaves usually different in form from the cauline ones, especially in size. All the species of this genus are elegant when in flower (see Fig. 339), and are very largely grown. The dwarf varieties make excellent subjects for pot culture, rockeries, or the fronts of borders. A rather rich sandy loam, with plenty of drainage, suits these plants. The forms of C. pyramidal is may be kept in cold frames during the winter, and firmly repotted in summer, the crown of the plant being kept just a trifle raised above the soil, or they are at times liable to damp off, through the water lodging around the necks. During hot weather, the pots should be plunged in a bed of ashes. Campanulas are easily raised from seeds, which should be sown in spring. General Culture. As a rule, few plants are so easily cultivated as these. The strong-growing kinds may be grown with the greatest succe in ordinary garden soil, well enriched with manure, while the alpine kinds are easily managed on the rockery. Sow seeds of the annuals in April, and of the biennials in June, in the open, or in a cold frame. The perennials are chiefly propagated by dividing the roots, or by young cuttings, in spring—the latter is by far the best method of propagation with many of the species—or by seeds. Those kinds requiring special treatment are particularised, and those suitable to the rockery are so designated. Perennials, except where otherwise mentioned.