Platycodon Grandiflorus: From Medicinal Roots to Garden Marvel

Platycodon grandiflorus is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Campanulaceae. It has a robust root system with an unbranched stem, though a few may have an upper branching section. The leaves are ovate, ovate-elliptic to lanceolate with finely serrated edges.

The flower, typically a fused petal type, is blue or purple in color. The fruit varies in shape, from spherical to inverted ovate. It blooms from July to September and bears fruit from August to October.

The Balloon Flower acquired its name due to its solid, upright root as stated by Li Shizhen: “The root of this plant is solid and upright, hence the name Balloon Flower.”

Originally native to Northern China, the Korean Peninsula, and Far Eastern Russia, it’s now primarily found in Northeast, North, East, and Central China, as well as in Japan.

The Balloon Flower thrives in sunlight and cool environments, it’s frost-resistant, drought-tolerant, dislikes waterlogging, and prefers fertile, moist, well-drained loose soil. Its propagation method is by seed, either directly sown or transplanted after seedling cultivation.

The Balloon Flower is also a medicinal plant. As recorded in the “Shennong Bencaojing”, it has a pungent taste and slight warmth. It is said to treat symptoms such as sharp chest and rib pain, fullness in the abdomen, fright, and palpitations. It’s known to clear the lungs, benefit the throat, and remove phlegm.

It’s used to treat throat pain, loss of voice, cough, and excessive phlegm. Those with stomach and duodenal ulcers find it particularly beneficial, though large doses may cause nausea and vomiting. The fresh root of the Balloon Flower can also be used as a vegetable.

Balloon Flower pickle is one of the specialties of the Korean cuisine. Additionally, the Balloon Flower is an ornamental plant, its flower symbolizes “eternal love”. It can be used in flower beds, and its root can be used for medicine or as a vegetable, making it a versatile plant.

History of Botany

The name of the bellflower is related to its roots, as Li Shizhen once said, “The roots of this plant are solid and upright, hence the name ‘bellflower’.”

Morphological Features

The stem is 20 to 120 cm tall, usually hairless, occasionally covered with short hair, non-branching, and rarely branched at the top. All leaves are whorled, partly whorled to entirely opposite, without a petiole or with a very short petiole.

The leaf blade is ovate, ovate to lanceolate, 2 to 7 cm long, 0.5 to 3.5 cm wide, with a broad wedge-shaped to round blunt base, sharply pointed, hairless and green on the upper surface, usually hairless and powdery white on the lower surface, sometimes with short hairs or lump-like hairs on the veins, and finely serrated at the edge.

The flowers are single and terminal, or several are gathered into a pseudospike, or the inflorescence branches and gathers into a conical inflorescence; the calyx is bell-shaped with five lobes, covered with white powder, the lobes are triangular, or narrow triangular, sometimes toothed; the corolla is large, 1.5 to 4.0 cm long, blue, purple or white.

The capsule is spherical, or spherically inverted conical, or inverted ovate, 1 to 2.5 cm long, with a diameter of about 1 cm. The flowering period is from July to September.

Distribution Range

Native to North Korea, Japan, the Far East of Russia, and the southern regions of Siberia. The type specimen was collected from Siberia, Russia.

Growth Habits

Bellflowers prefer cool climates, are cold-resistant, and enjoy the sun. They are suitable for cultivation in hilly areas below 1,100m above sea level, in semi-shaded, sandy soil. They grow better in neutral loamy soil rich in phosphorus and potassium.

The seed’s lifespan is one year, but it can be extended if stored in low temperatures. Dry storage of seeds at 0 to 4 degrees Celsius for 18 months increases the germination rate by 3.5 to 4 times compared to storage at room temperature.

The seed germination rate is 70%, and at temperatures of 18 to 25 degrees Celsius, if the temperature is sufficient, seedlings will appear 15 days after sowing.

Propagation Method

For the propagation of bellflowers, select high-yield plants for seed retention. In late August, remove the inflorescence from the side branches of the seed-retaining plant to concentrate nutrients for the development of the upper and middle fruit, promoting full seeds and improving seed quality.

When the capsule turns yellow, cut down the whole plant and let it dry in a ventilated place until ripe, then sun dry and thresh the seeds for future use. Direct sowing is usually adopted, but seedling transplantation can also be used.

However, direct sowing yields higher than transplantation, with fewer split roots and better quality. Autumn sowing, winter sowing or spring sowing can be done, with autumn sowing being the best.

Seed Selection

Bellflower seeds should be chosen from two-year-old or older non-accumulated seeds (the germination rate of seeds accumulated for one year will decrease by more than 70%). Before planting, a germination test should be conducted to ensure the germination rate of the seeds is above 70%.

The specific method for the germination test is: take a small amount of seeds, soak them in warm water at 40-50°C for 8-12 hours, then take the seeds out, drain the water, place them on a cloth, mix with damp sand, and germinate at a temperature of about 25°C, taking care to turn and spray water timely. Germination can occur within 4-6 days.

Sowing

Bellflowers can be sown in spring or summer. For spring sowing, it is advisable to use warm soaking to speed up seedling emergence. Place the seeds in warm water, stir until the water cools, then soak for another 8 hours.

Place the seed-wrapped cloth in a damp jute bag slice, cover it, and rinse with warm water once every morning and evening. After about 5 days, sow the seeds when they begin to sprout. Spread the seeds evenly in the furrow.

Because the seeds are small, you can mix them with fine sand for sowing. Cover with soil or ash after sowing, and water to keep the soil moist in arid areas. Each acre requires 500-750 grams of seeds.

During the seedling emergence period, it’s important to loosen the soil and weed. When the seedlings are about 2 cm high, thin them out, leaving strong seedlings at a plant distance of one meter. Thin or interrupted areas should be supplemented with seedlings on cloudy days.

Afterwards, apply a thin layer of human and animal manure, cover after application, apply once more and cultivate the soil to prevent lodging. Cover after application.

In addition, it is necessary to frequently loosen the soil and weed, and water timely in the early morning. Generally, harvest before the bud sprouts in late autumn or early spring after sowing.

Prevent the bifurcation of balloon flower roots. The best balloon flowers are those with straight, firm stalks and few forked roots. Cultivated balloon flowers often have many fused roots, some bifurcated, some trifurcated, and some with thick, short primary roots and lateral roots.

This significantly affects the quality. If a plant has multiple shoots, it will have forked roots, and the more vigorous the shoot, the more it will affect the growth of the primary root.

On the other hand, if a plant has only one shoot, there will be no bifurcation or branching. It seems that the solution to the problem of bifurcated roots in balloon flowers is simple. As long as each balloon flower plant has only one shoot, there will be no bifurcation or branching.

Therefore, any excess shoots should be removed at all times, especially in the second spring when the plants are most likely to produce multiple shoots. At this time, special attention should be paid to remove the excess shoots and maintain one plant per shoot.

At the same time, apply more phosphate fertilizers and less potassium fertilizers to prevent excessive growth of the above-ground parts. If necessary, pinch out the tops to reduce nutrient consumption and promote normal root growth.

The seeds of dry sowing need to emerge in about 25 days, and the seeds of germination sowing also need to emerge in about 10 days. After the seedlings emerge, weed timely.

If the seedlings are too dense, thin them out in a timely manner, keeping 10-12 plants per 100 square centimeters, leaving one seedling every 5 centimeters for thinning (about 60,000 plants per acre), and loosening the soil.

Weed should also be removed in the later stage. In addition, the flowering period of bellflowers is long, which consumes a large amount of nutrients and affects root growth. Except for seed-retaining fields, timely thinning of flowers and fruits should be done to improve root yield and quality.

Cultivation Techniques

Site Selection

The Balloon Flower thrives in loose soil, particularly on slopes and in the mountains, with semi-shaded terrain being optimal. For flatland cultivation, good drainage conditions are essential. Successive cropping of Balloon Flowers is not recommended.

Land Preparation

Given that Balloon Flowers have long fleshy roots, ridge cultivation is ideal. In early spring (mid to late April), sprinkle some farmyard manure and till the soil thoroughly (deep ploughing to 30cm).

When making ridges, mark grid lines 2 meters apart on the ground, dig trenches, and then push the soil from the trenches to both sides to form ridge beds about 1.7 meters wide and 30cm deep. In case of drought, irrigation can be carried out along the trenches in preparation for sowing.

Fertilizing

Before sowing in the field, apply 2000-3000 kg of farmyard manure, 40 kg of cereal compound fertilizer, and 30 kg of calcium superphosphate per acre. To prevent nematodes, mix 1 kg of methamidophos per ton with the farmyard manure before tilling.

Later fertilizing mainly uses clear manure water or urea, which can be applied in July of the current year and July to August of the following year.

Each time, apply about 2 tons of clear manure water per acre with a concentration of about 10%. If the concentration is high after fertilizing, rinse the seedlings with clean water promptly.

Pest and Disease Control

1. Root rot: This affects the roots, causing black-brown spots on the infected roots and eventually rotting the whole plant.
   Control methods:
   (1) Water the infected area with a 1000 times diluted solution of carbendazim.
   (2) Pay attention to drainage after rain; the field should not be overly wet.
2. Powdery mildew: This mainly affects the leaves. When infected, the leaves are covered with grey powder and the whole plant may wilt if the disease is severe.
   Control methods: Spray a 0.3-degree sulfur compound or a 500 times diluted solution of fungicidal soap at the early stages of the disease, or spray an 1800 times diluted solution of 20% rust inhibitor.
3. Root-knot nematode disease: When affected, roots show disease protrusions, and above-ground stems and leaves wilt early.
   Control methods: Apply 1500kg/ha of tea seed cake fertilizer as a base fertilizer to mitigate damage. Before sowing, use lime nitrogen or dibromochloropropane for soil disinfection.
4. Purple-striped feather disease: This severely affects plants from mid-September, and by October, the roots rot. Initially, the infected roots turn red and are densely covered with web-shaped reddish-brown mycelium. Later, they form mung bean-sized purple mycelium, causing the stems and leaves to wilt and die.
   Control methods: Avoid successive cropping and implement crop rotation. Uproot and burn infected plants and disinfect the disease pit with 5% lime water.
5. Anthracnose: This disease is prevalent during warm and humid months (July to August), spreads rapidly, and causes plants to collapse and die. It mainly affects the stem base, initially appearing as brown spots at the stem base, gradually expanding around the stem, and later causing the diseased part to shrink and the plant to collapse.
   Control methods: Spray a 500 times diluted solution of 20% Tektamer wettable powder for prevention before seedlings sprout. In the early stages of the disease, spray 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture or an 800 times diluted solution of 50% methylobenzene wettable powder, spraying once every 10 days, for a total of 3-4 times.
6. Ring spot and leaf spot diseases: These affect the leaves. Spray 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture or a 1000 times diluted solution of 50% carbendazim wettable powder in the initial stages of the disease, spraying 2-3 times consecutively.
7. Underground weevils: These pests affect the roots of Balloon Flowers. During the mating period of adult weevils in March to April and the larvae period in May to June, spray an 800 times diluted solution of 90% diazinon or a 1000 times diluted solution of 50% phoxim emulsion to kill them.

Primary Value

Economic Value

A 100-acre, three-year-old Platycodon grandiflorus crop yields 200 tons. Due to the plant’s strong cyclical nature, prices fluctuate significantly. The price of Platycodon grandiflorus is $5.5 per kilogram (fresh product).

Edible Value

Platycodon grandiflorus is a dual-purpose species used for both medicinal and culinary purposes. The commonly seen forms of Platycodon grandiflorus in the market are either pickled or not pickled.

The representative product, Platycodon grandiflorus pickles, is a typical pickled product, while Letian Beauty’s Platycodon grandiflorus salad is a representative of the non-pickled variety.

Platycodon grandiflorus recipe:

1. Soak the fresh Platycodon grandiflorus in water, and chop ginger, green onion, and garlic, minced shrimp sauce.
2. Prepare MSG, salt, sugar, and chili powder.
3. Peel the pear and apple, and blend them into a puree.
4. Place all condiments in a bowl, pour the blended apple and pear puree into the bowl, mix well, and then add a spoonful of cooked white sesame seeds.
5. Stir until even.
6. Drain the Platycodon grandiflorus, rub it repeatedly with salt to remove the bitterness, then rinse it several times with clean water.
7. Squeeze the Platycodon grandiflorus dry, place it in a larger container, and pour the prepared seasoning.
8. Wearing disposable gloves, mix everything evenly by hand, then serve.

Plant Culture

Legend has it that the blooming of Platycodon grandiflorus symbolizes the return of happiness. Platycodon grandiflorus has a dual meaning – eternal love and hopeless love.

1. Eternal, unchanging love; sincerity, compliance, sorrow.
2. Hopeless love.
3. Longing.