Among the huge number of flowering perennials peach bell is a special place among gardeners. This plant is loved by unpretentiousness in conditions of maintenance and care, as well as bright and quite interesting in shape flowers. However, in order to get a healthy bud and achieve continuous flowering of the bell throughout the growing season, it is necessary to know all the species preferences of the plant. All these secrets are to be revealed to us today, and also to find out what the peach-bell is with a detailed description of its varietal characteristics and the conditions for cultivating a flower in a garden.
Botanical description
The peach bell is a member of the bell family of the bell family. This delicate plant has a wide habitat in nature, which covers the entire eastern part of Europe, up to the Ural Mountains. 
The flower lives in mainly light forest zones, in ravines and in thickets of a bush. More recently, this species was one of the most common wildflowers, but human activity rather significantly reduced the number of this species in nature. Therefore, most often this flower is found exclusively in artificial conditions.
Did you know? The leaves and root of the bell are edible and quite can be used by humans for food.
Description and photo
The peach bell is a typical representative of perennial herbaceous species. Depending on the variety and conditions of detention, the adult plant reaches a height of 50 to 100 cm, and in some cases even a record 160 cm. The stem of the species is upright, but in rare cases it can be branched, simple in structure and almost completely naked. The root is spindle twisted. The leaves on the stem narrow, arranged alternately. Their color is predominantly dark green. The lower flowers are noticeably smaller than the upper ones, which in most cases are almost 100% whole along the edges. 
The main pride of the bell is its similar in shape to the bell flowers, which are attached to the stem with short pedicels. They are painted mainly in dark blue-violet or lilac shades, but sometimes they are also white. Flowers are often collected in a brush, which is from 3 to 8 flowers. The corolla is in most cases wide and large, about 4 cm in diameter. The cups are short, with long and sharp teeth at the end. The flowering period of this species lasts no more than 30 days, begins in June and ends at the end of July. After the bell has faded, from August to September, ten-veined fruit-boxes with a large number of seeds appear on it.
Did you know? Not long ago, a unique type of peachy bell was discovered. The plant is characterized by uncharacteristic for the type of bright yellow flowers.
Popular varieties
To date, there are a huge number of varieties of peach bell. Among them are plants with large flowers, semi-double and even terry, which can be combined with any ornamental plant. But most popular gardeners have the following varieties:
- 'Alba'- the leader among representatives of the species. The garden flower is about 1 meter tall. A characteristic feature of the plant - large white flowers of perfect shape with elegant and elegant lines.
- 'Caerulea'- loose-bushy perennial view. The height of the stem is within 80 cm. The flowers are large, purple-blue shades, are collected in a characteristic apical brush. It grows well on clay soils both in light and in partial shade.
- 'Moerheimii'- the type of bell is not more than 90 cm tall. A characteristic feature are large white terry flowers of regular shape.
Did you know? In the people there are many names of the flower bell. The most common of them: Adam's staff, chatterbox, bell, bell, doves, little keys.
Where to plant a plant
Since the bell peach is a true native species of temperate climate, unpretentious to habitat conditions, planting, and even more care for this species does not cause difficulties even with an amateur gardener. But in order to get a healthy flowering plant with bright flowers of the correct shape, you need to observe some specific features when choosing a flower habitat.
Unpretentious perennials - a great option for planting in the country or in the garden, for example: astilba, host, rudbeckia, iris, herbaceous peonies, chamomile, echinacea.
Choice of location and lighting
Despite the fact that the bells are inhabitants of the penumbra of the forest edge, the peach leaf species we are considering differs a great love for good lighting. Therefore, a well-lit garden or flowerbed will be an ideal place for planting a flower. 
Due to the fact that the plant does not tolerate stagnant moisture, for planting it is best to choose an area with a small elevation relative to the entire site. Or artificially create all the conditions for good soil drainage.
Soil requirements
The species is not picky about soil conditions, but the ideal option for growing a flower would be neutral or slightly acid loamy soils with a high agricultural background. In addition, the plant will respond perfectly to the soil with a high content of humus. When cultivating the bell, it is important to remember that before planting the ground must go through a full cycle of preparation. 
To do this, it is necessary a month before planting to make a seat per 1 square. m about 300 g of lime, 1 bucket of humus or compost, about 60 g of superphosphate, 30 g of potassium sulfate. After that, the soil must be abundantly dig and loosen.
Important! It is strictly forbidden to replace humus and compost with peat or manure, as this can lead to the development of fungal diseases in the plant and its subsequent death.
Growing bells from seeds
First of all, the bell must be germinated from seeds and previously prepared for development in natural conditions.
Seed preparation
In most cases, the seeds of the peach flower do not need preliminary preparation. Without any particular concerns, they can be sown directly into the prepared soil of the flowerbed in early May, or for overwintering in October. 
But in order to discard non-viable material, we recommend that you first pour the seeds into a glass of water. The amount of seed that will remain at the top of the water film, in almost 100% of cases, will not give a green sprout.
Sowing on seedlings
Sowing seeds for seedlings produced in late March. To do this, use shallow garden containers with a special substrate for germination. It is prepared from turf land, humus and coarse sand in the ratio of 6: 3: 1. Additional fertilizer in such a soil is not necessary, but before sowing it is necessary to moisten it abundantly with settled tap water. 
Sowing can be carried out in open ground, in a specially equipped greenhouse, but not before the end of May. In this case, you will receive a flowering plant only for the next season, so germinating seeds is best in indoor conditions. Since the seeds of the plant are very small, they are neatly and evenly distributed over the substrate. After that, they must be slightly pressed into the ground, moistened with a garden sprinkler. The resulting structure is tightly covered with a transparent plastic film to create the greenhouse effect. With respect to room temperature, about + 18-21 ° C, after 2-3 weeks, the first shoots appear. 
As soon as the majority of seeds germinate, it is necessary to remove the film from the seedlings and move it to a warm, bright place, but without direct sunlight. At this stage, the sprouts do not need special care, it is enough just to water them and periodically gently loosen the substrate to provide the roots with additional oxygen. After a few weeks, the sprouts are pickled, after which in two weeks they can be fed with a special liquid fertilizer.
Picks
The pickling of seedlings is done after sprouting the first leaves are formed. It is important to carry out the procedure until the root system of the young plant completely fills the free space or intertwines with the root of another seedling. 
In the first case, the plant will begin to slowly suffer and die from lack of space and nutrients. In this case, after transplantation, growth processes will slow down, as a result of which the seedlings may not have time to form, and you will only see the first blooming bells next season. In the second case, tightly woven roots can not be separated without damage, as a result of which part of the seedlings may die. 
Young seedlings are moved to a vessel several times larger than the original. In this case, you can use the rule: the more the better. However, in this matter it is important not to overdo it with volumes, since it will be hard to care for a huge pot.
Important! Dive plants, as a rule, do not plant heavily. Distance between them not must exceed an average of 10 cm.
Other breeding methods
The peach bell, besides growing from seeds, propagates well in other ways, in particular, and vegetatively. Most gardeners resort to two generally accepted methods: grafting or dividing the bush into fragments. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages.
Dividing bush
By dividing the bush, the bell can only be propagated to fifth year of life, but if the dimensions of the bush allow, the procedure is carried out from the third year. To do this, in May or August, the largest bushes are dug out, after which the plant stem is cut into fragments. Each fragment must have a root and a viable kidney. You can multiply the plant only parts of the root. For this, the excavated root is divided into parts, each of which must contain at least one renewal kidney. 
After that, a fragment of rhizome is planted in a permanent place in such a way that the kidney is at the level of the soil. In the case of reproduction by root suckers, they are simply separated from the maternal organism and planted in the soil.
Important! After receiving the fragments of the plant, the cuts should be processed with ordinary coal, ground to a powder. This manipulation will help to heal tissue quickly and protect the plant from infectious diseases.
Cuttings
In order to propagate the peach flower, cuttings are harvested in early spring. 
The best period for this will be the end of March - the beginning of April. The cuttings are cut from the young shoots, after which they are planted in light, soft soil and covered with a transparent film or a glass vessel to create a greenhouse effect. Within four weeks, the cuttings take root, after which they can be transplanted to a permanent place.
Care culture
The bell peach in the care is unpretentious. However, in order to get a healthy plant that will delight the host with long flowering, you need to pay a little attention to the flower. The view tolerates drought, but in hot, dry summers it is worthwhile to ensure that the plant constantly receives the required amount of moisture. 
Also flower needs seasonal dressing. For this, it is necessary to introduce nitrogen fertilizers in spring, and during the period of abundant flowering various mineral complexes for flowering species. Oxygen starvation and flower weed are also undesirable. It is necessary to periodically carry out weeding and systematically loosen the soil adjacent to the bush. To stimulate flowering to the maximum, the bell must necessarily be cleaned from the faded parts of the stem, while the escape must be shortened by at least one third. In addition, once per season, in the first half of October, it is necessary to conduct sanitary pruning of all the aerial parts of the flower. 
Thus, the peach flower bell can be considered so easy to maintain and propagate as a plant that even an inexperienced gardener can cope with it. In order to grow a bright and elegant flower with a characteristic appearance in its own bed, it is necessary to use just a few simple tips, and growing a plant will soon pay off with unforgettable emotions from contemplating the blooming bell.
