Approximately 200-300 seeds per packet
Collected: 2024
Packaged: 2025
Germination code: C60
Please refer to our germination codes and growing information for recommendations and tips.
Seed treatment recommended: this species requires a minimum of 60 days of cold moist stratification to break its natural dormancy and encourage germination. Alternatively, sow seeds in outdoor containers in the fall or winter, with germination occuring in the spring.
Surface sow only: this species has small or tiny, dust-particle-sized seeds that require light to germinate. Sown seed should only be sprinkled over the surface of pre-moistened soil, and not covered or buried beneath the soil. Water lightly with a light spray or mist to keep the soil moist. Be careful when watering before germination occurs to not bury the seeds.
Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower) Seed Packet
Virginia ecotype
Name: Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower)
Size: 1 – 6 ft. tall, usually shorter
Flowering time: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Bloom color: Scarlet red
Habitat: Ditches, streams, bogs, wet woods
Moisture: Average to wet, poor draining
Light: Full sun, part sun, shade
Soils: Clay, loamy, sandy, gravely
Uses: pollinator and hummingbird gardens, cottage gardens, lakes/ponds, water gardens, riparian areas, aquariums
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.