Flowers bells - the most beautiful plants of the Russian flora

According to the legend, flowers bells ring once a year - on the night of Ivan Kupala, then, when the fern blooms. Their distinctive feature can be called a bell-shaped or tubular five-sectioned corolla often with a deeply cut upper edge. Flowers can be as collected in inflorescences, and separate. The size of the buds and the length of the stem vary considerably depending on the species. In nature, there are both fairly tall varieties (up to 100 cm), and dwarfish (10-25 cm). There are 1100 kinds of bells, but recently it is quite difficult to see this plant in fields and forests. Many varieties are listed in the Red Book.

In flats and private houses, you can often meet bells. Indoor flowers are represented mostly by a uniform species (C. isophylla), originating from Italy. Buds of this plant can be both white and blue. In the people they are often called "bride" and "groom" respectively.

This plant is grown and many gardeners on their sites. Flowers bells are quite unpretentious in care and easily reproduce both cuttings and root shoots, and the usual sowing of seeds in the ground. The vegetative method is applied to a large extent to double and semimaric varieties, since they often do not have seeds at all. This method allows you to get plants that exactly match the external signs of the uterus.

But more often than not, flowers are bred by seeds. Because they are very small in this plant, they are previously mixed with sand. The latter must be steamed or calcined before use. Sowing is usually done in the winter for boxes or any other container. The most suitable for bells is a light fertile soil. It is not recommended to deepen the seeds too much. You can plant bells even in a superficial way.

The boxes are buried in the ground on the site and covered with film. In this form they are left until the spring. In May, young plants in sunny weather should be pritenyat, otherwise they will get burns. Watering is carried out carefully - best through a strainer. In June, the seedlings thus obtained are dived to shady beds. The bells can be moved to a permanent place of growth only in the next spring. It is very easy to take care of grown plants. It is enough to feed them in the spring after germination with any nitrogen fertilizer, periodically weed and loosen. Watering is quite moderate.

Flowering begins in June and, provided that the faded buds are removed in a timely manner, can continue throughout the summer. Many believe that this is an unusually aesthetic flowers. White bells "bride" (Alba) decorate any, even the most exquisite flower bed. The blue - "groom" (Maji) - are distinguished by an unusually gentle shade. These two varieties can be considered the main, most often used in the landscape design of country houses. They both refer to the sight of the bell. In addition, sometimes flower beds and lawns are decorated with a bell and a bellflower bell.