Lobelia siphilitica - Blue Lobelia

Lobelia siphilitica - Blue LobeliaSizes available: HPP quart Basics: zones 4 9, 2 4' (quite variable) x 1 1. 5', full sun to dappled or part shade, a blue, blue violet, or sometimes white bloom on sturdy spikes in mid late summer, consistent moisture to wet, clay tolerant, enjoys some soil fertility all of that is what you are going to read on the internet and it's probably true to a certain extent, but I have had this seed into the most unlikely and inhospitable places and it may not

Sizes available: HPP quart

Basics: zones 4-9, 2-4' (quite variable) x 1-1.5', full sun to dappled or part shade, a blue, blue-violet, or sometimes white bloom on sturdy spikes in mid-late summer, consistent moisture to wet, clay tolerant, enjoys some soil fertility - all of that is what you are going to read on the internet and it's probably true to a certain extent, but I have had this seed into the most unlikely and inhospitable places and it may not reach it's full potential but it grows and flowers gosh darn it! So, let's just say quite adaptable, but not particularly drought tolerant.

Common names: Blue Lobelia, Great Lobelia, Great Blue Lobelia 

Family: Campanulaceae

Origin/Distribution: New England to the barely southeastern edge of North Dakota, parts of Wyoming, south to Georgia, Texas, and Colorado. According to Go Botany this plant is native to Maine, but may have been extirpated, so potentially any extant "wild" colonies may have been introduced, by escaping from cultivated gardens, of example.

Habitat: low, damp, dappled shade spots such as forested swamp edge, ditch, any wet margin, flood plain, but see my comments in the "Basics" section.

More: Bumblebees are the main pollinator. L. siphilitica makes a good amount of seed and it can pop up in surprising places. It is deer tolerant. The leaves and roots have been used medicinally, but is also potentially toxic, so proceed with caution.

This plant has an unusual growth habit and I was seeing it in wintered over stock and have since learned a bit more about it. It is not a true perennial. The growing shoots and the leaves associated with them die each season. But what happens is that new shoots grow from the lower leaf axils, quickly forming roots, and from this action the new plant forms near the mother plant. In a nursery pot, it is really clear that something different is occurring and the plant is not coming back from the original crown, but in situ, this is probably harder to see. If you feel your blue lobelias are gradually walking about, that is because they are.

Source: Van Berkum

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons