I love this Campanula: Campanula trachelium ‘Bernice’. It is a perennial that I didn’t bring with me when I moved to Poison Ivy Acres, so I’ll need to start with new ‘Bernice’ plants next season.
For me this plant grew to about 2 feet high in a part-sun garden. As long as it gets at least four hours of sun including the noon hour, it’s fine. ‘Bernice’ bloomed in late-June into mid-summer for me – I read that you can extend the bloom by deadheading, but I wasn’t about to go out and use tiny scissors to remove the faded flowers. The technique that suits my time for gardening is to let the plant do its thing and once it is no longer attractive, cut it to the ground. I do this with the June blooming salvias too, although they usually come back and bloom again in the fall…’Bernice’ does not.
I not only have a fondness for this plant when in bloom – blue, double flowers and erect stems – but I like its name as well. It reminds me of a story I read as a girl, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “Bernice” is a name that hasn’t been in vogue lately, but is probably due for a comeback, like what happened with “Hannah”.
But I digress… a great Campanula and very reliable, hardy in zones 4 to 8, and some sources claim even in zone 3. A good cut flower as well. I do love this plant, Campanula ‘Bernice’!
This plant does not need staking.
