American Bellflower

Native to most of the eastern half of the US, tall bellflower is highly preferable to the popular creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides), a European import commonly found in American garden centers. Unlike its European counterpart, C. americana (also known as American bellflower) doesn’t spread rampantly by underground runners. It spreads reliably but non-aggressively by self-seeding, making it a good choice for woodland gardens and naturalized areas. The flowers of tall bellflower wrap around the stem, whereas the bell-shaped flowers of creeping bellflower line one side of the stem. Once classified in the genus Campanula, tall bellflower has been reclassified into the genus Campanulastrum because its widespread lobes don’t resemble the bell-shaped flowers representative of plants in the Campanula genus. Campanulastrum refers to the differently shaped flowers and to the spongy nectar ring at the base of the corolla.

Native habitats include woodland edges; moist, open woods; thickets; moist meadows; stream banks; and ditches. Use massed or in groups for naturalizing and in moist, shady areas.

Soil type: tolerates clay, rocky, and sandy soils with good drainage

Soil moisture:  part or full shade

Height: 2 to 4 feet

Bloom Color: Blue-violet

Bloom Time: July to early November

Benefits: Host plant for 5 species of Lepidoptera larvae, including dark-spotted palthis, greater black-letter dart, and specialist pink-washed looper moth. Long-tongued bees, including leafcutting, bumble, and specialists Megachile campanulaeand Colletes brevicornis, are the primary pollinators. Other pollinators include halictid bees, wasps, butterflies, and skippers.

(Sources: mortonarb.com / leavesforwildlife.com /vplant.org / inaturalist.org, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org)