Virginia ecotype
Duration: PerennialHabit: Upright, clumping, naturalizing
Size: 1 – 6 ft. tall, usually shorter
Flowering time: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Bloom color: Scarlet red
Habitat: Ditches, streams, bogs, wet woodsMoisture: Average to wet, poor draining
Light: Full sun, part sun, shadeSoils: Clay, loamy, sandy, gravely
Uses: pollinator and hummingbird gardens, cottage gardens, lakes/ponds, water gardens, riparian areas, aquariums
Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower)
Lobelia cardinalis is a riparian and wetland species known for its brilliant red spikes of tubular blooms, known also as cardinal flower, possibly after the color as the vestments worn by Roman Catholic cardinals. Some white and pink mutations occur naturally in nature.
Lobelia cardinalis overwinters as a clumping rosette to send floral spires up to 6 feet tall from late summer to early fall. This plant grows in marshes, ditches, rivers, and streams. Fun fact: this plant is commonly used as a specimen in aquarium plantings, as it can grow underwater just as well as above the surface!
While this plant prefers dampness, if established in fall or early enough in the year it can grow just fine in medium soils, as long as the ground doesn’t dry out completely. This makes it a wonderful rain garden plant, or in an area that gets occasional drainage, such as by a downspout.
Lobelia cardinalis depends on hummingbirds for pollination, as only they can reach the nectar. Butterflies with their long tongues can also access nectar but are poor at pollination. Once finished blooming, cardinal flower developes into seed pods packed with thousands of dust-sized seeds. An ounce can contain around 400,000 seeds, so the species is able to readily self-seed itself in optimal conditions.