Bellflower 'Sarastro'
Campanula 'Sarastro' ·
Long, glossy bells of deep violet-purple hang from upright stems in early summer, and again after cutting back.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late June to early August
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around bellflower 'Sarastro'
The planner designed this bed around bellflower 'Sarastro' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why bellflower 'Sarastro' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bellflower 'Sarastro' × 3, purple
- 2 Candytuft × 4, white
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 22, pink
- 4 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 5 Little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' × 3, tan
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Star of Persia × 4, purple
- 8 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are dense clusters, flat plates, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 24 in it is seen over sedum 'Lidakense' (4 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' (3½ ft) and stiff goldenrod (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 8 weeks. From late June to early August.
- Fills a gap. For six of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 5 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (purple and pink) and uses yellow for warmth, with white and tan to calm things between them. Sedum 'Lidakense' repeats along the bed to tie it together.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where bellflower 'Sarastro' goes in a border
At 24 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It has the big, dark bells of the spotted bellflower without its invasive roots. One of the best bellflowers for a mixed border: upright, clumping and quick to flower again.
- Dark bells for the middle of a border
- Repeat flowering after cutting back
- Cutting
What to plant with bellflower 'Sarastro'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for three weeks, from late June.
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for eight weeks.
- Shasta daisy 'Becky': in flower together for six weeks, from early July; tall enough (3½ ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about bellflower 'Sarastro'
Does bellflower 'Sarastro' need sun or shade?
Bellflower 'Sarastro' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does bellflower 'Sarastro' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does bellflower 'Sarastro' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to early August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to mid August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 6 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to early August |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should bellflower 'Sarastro' be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many bellflower 'Sarastro' plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is there a native plant like bellflower 'Sarastro'?
Bellflower 'Sarastro' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Coneflower 'Green Jewel': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early July to early September, green, not purple.
- Butterfly weed: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; orange, not purple, wants dry soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after bellflower 'Sarastro'?
Bellflower 'Sarastro' is over by early August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
- Hosta 'Guacamole': from early August to late August, 24 in tall.
What does bellflower 'Sarastro' look like in winter?
Bellflower 'Sarastro' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Campanula
- Bellflower 'Dickson's Gold' Campanula garganica 'Dickson's Gold'
- Bellflower 'Kent Belle' Campanula 'Kent Belle'
- Carpathian bellflower Campanula carpatica
- Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' Campanula carpatica 'Blue Clips'
- Clustered bellflower Campanula glomerata
- Dalmatian bellflower Campanula portenschlagiana
- Fairy thimbles Campanula cochleariifolia
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia
- Milky bellflower Campanula lactiflora
- Peach-leaved bellflower Campanula persicifolia
- Serbian bellflower Campanula poscharskyana
- Spotted bellflower 'Cherry Bells' Campanula punctata 'Cherry Bells'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late June to early August; hanging bells; purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.