Great Blue Lobelia

Need a gorgeous blue flowering perennial that handles wet to very moist soil? The Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) is a hardy Cardinal Flower bearing tall, leafy spikes of clear blue flowers. Members of the Bellflower Family, this showy perennial can be branched or unbranched, which you can encourage with pruning if you want more flowers, versus one large towering spire!

Great Blue is a clump-forming perennial with upright leafy stems. It blooms from late summer to mid-autumn and bears dense spikes of light to bright blue, but can sometimes be lavender or purplish because of their wide native genetic variability. Forming many tubular, two-lipped flowers with a more prominent lower lip. These are wonderfully long-lasting because they flower from the bottom to the top!

Great Blue will attract a plethora of curious butterflies to their nectar resources and the tubular flowers might even have a Hummingbird visitor or two! Perennial throughout USDA planting zones 4 to 9, this wetland native plant features mounds of lance-shaped green leaves with tall wands of dramatic flowering spikes rising high above them.

Planting and Application:

These spikes make it the perfect back-of-the-border plant in your perennial flower beds, Cottage gardens, and Rain Gardens! This perky perennial was made for your backyard pollinator gardens! Create groupings in water gardens or pond edges to draw the eye and give beneficial insects, like dragonflies, a place to land as they search for more pesky prey, like mosquitoes. This will make your outdoor enjoyment even better without these pests!

Of course, this Blue Cardinal Flower can also be used near the back of your property to soften the moist woodland edges or used at the base of a water feature you've installed. No matter where you plant Great Blue, it'll look absolutely stunning!

The tall flower spikes can be clipped and bright indoors to complete a delightful bouquet. Place them in the kitchen or on the living room coffee table to freshen up your space. By snipping a few blooms, you'll encourage more to rebloom throughout the growing season!

• Tall Spikes of Blue to Purple Florets
• Long-Lasting Blooms Until Mid-Autumn
• Lush Green Lance-Shaped Foliage
• Wetland Native Perennial
• Great For Pollinators, Hummingbirds & Cut Flowers
• Tall Specimens, Groupings, Back-of-the-Border, Water Gardens & Rain Gardens

#ProPlantTips for Care:

This full-sun perennial grows 2-3 feet tall, so 6 hours of direct sunlight is needed to maintain strong upright flowering stems. The Blue Cardinal Flower prefers deep, moist soil and should be fertilized every two weeks in spring and early summer to improve flowering.

Pinching back young plants encourages branching, or pinch back offshoots to encourage a single large flower per plant. These herbaceous Perennials may be trimmed as they die back in hot summers. Deadhead to encourage new blooms, and clean the mounds up in the early spring before the growing season begins.

• Full Sun Perennials
• Almost Any Soil That Isn't Stagnant
• Moist to Wetland Conditions
• Pinch Back, Deadhead In Summer & Prune In Spring
• Deer & Rabbits Seldom Bother These

The beautiful blue cousin to the red Cardinal Flower is a refreshing native perennial to enliven your landscape with its unique color and form! Order the Great Blue Lobelia today at Nature Hills, and go native!