Lobelia - Flowering Perennials

Lobelia is a large and varied Genus that contains the well known half hardy summer bedding plants in shades of blue and purple that adorn so many hanging baskets and other containers so admirably.

Less well known are the perennial Lobelia species and varieties which are quite different in habit in that they are generally large upright plants from 12 to 36 inches in height. The flowers are unusually shaped and on closer inspection the family resemblance can be seen with the annual varieties.

They may be grown in full sun to partial shade, though most do better with some shade during at least part of the day. The exceptions to this are the semi-aquatic varieties that happily grow with permanently damp to wet roots. Unsurprisingly, no members of the group are really drought resistant.

Propagate by seed or division in spring.