Lobelia

There are several varieties of annual Cardinal Flower that are great in the flower garden but here we are going to limit ourselves to the best and hardiest of the perennial counterpart.

The cultivars are Lobelia cardinalis which flowers red from July to September with a mature height of about three feet.

The second one is Lobelia siphilitica (Blue Select) which sports blue flowers in late summer and may reach heights of three to four feet.

Also available is Lobelia fulgens (Queen Victoria) with its’ red flowers and maroon foliage it has shown to be a real show stopper but is not nearly as hardy as L. cardinalis.

All of the above have demonstrated their ability to thrive in full sun, partial shade and in a woodland garden in shade.

Cardinal plants have proved not to be overly selective in so far as soil conditions are concerned.

Three decades ago which was prior to the popularity of water gardens I observed L.fulgens growing wild in a drainage ditch that had at least some water in it most of the year.

Needless to say a few years later when I developed our first water garden I planted the Cardinal Flower in one and two gallon pots; then submerged the containers in three to four inches of water and watched as they thrived.

In my opinion they, perhaps, performed better in water than soil.

Give them a try as you will love the results.

It will reward you as a cut flower with hummingbirds and butterflies finding the plants irresistible as well.

Three selections that we consider as being among the very best are as follows: