How to Grow Bells of Ireland Flowers

Hi this is Yolanda Vanveen and in this segment I am going to talk about how to grow Bells of Ireland or sometimes even call them Bells of Iceland. Now the interesting part about all of this is they're not even from Ireland or Iceland, they're originally native to Turkey and Iran so they really like dry arid conditions. So then they call them Bells of Ireland although they are found from Turkey and Iran in the caucus mountains in this whole area but they were traded all over the world so because the flowers are green with green stripes that look like bells and they are just gorgeous they were nicknamed Bells of Ireland because they look like the national color of Ireland which is green and most people when they think of Green the think of St. Patrick's Day and they think of the Irish. So they're easy to grow as long as you realize that they're not hardy in cold climates, they will not make it over the Winter so you have to start them out as an annual. If you live in a warm climate you can grow them outside and they'll come back by seed from year to year. If you live in a cold climate you have to start them by seed each Spring because they will not Winter over. They cannot handle real real cold conditions. Now when starting them from seed they're just a very small seed and you can put that right into the soil whenever it has quit freezing. I usually like to wait even later into June because I have found the later you start with warmer climate plants the better they do because naturally they will not grow under maybe even 60, 70 degrees. So if you start them too early they're not going to do anything but rot so the easiest way to start seeds is in seed trays and I have found just by putting a couple seeds in each tray, on a spoon and then you can thin it out too the easiest way is just to put a little bit, a few seeds in each and scatter them around and then you can try to cover them up but I have found it is just easier to put another layer of soil on top, not even more than a quarter to a half an inch. Then when you water it in make sure that you use a mister so that you are not using a heavy stream that everything is just going to flow back out or you can put a piece of cloth on it or a sheet and then that way the water doesn't just splash right into it, it will just sink slowly and drip and that's the goal so that they stay moist but the water doesn't just drain right out. Once they start growing you can transplant them out into containers or right out into the garden and then they will bloom by late Summer and usually into the Fall sometimes. It depends on your climate. If you live in a warmer climate they're going to bloom much earlier in the Spring. If you live in a colder climate they're going to bloom in the Summer. So I have found that with most plants they will bloom at different times in different locations but they're an easy plant to grow from seed and they're a gorgeous addition to your Irish garden.