Virginia ecotype - Caroline County
Duration: Perennial
Habit: Upright, clump-forming
Size: 2 to 3 feet tall; 1 to 1.5 feet wide
Flowering Time: July to October
Bloom Color: Violet to bluish-purple
Habitat: Moist meadows, streambanks, wet open woods, low thickets, and ditches
Moisture: Average to wet; prefers consistently damp soils but tolerates some dryness
Light: Full sun to part shade; performs best in higher light but needs more moisture
Soils: Loamy, sandy-loam, or silty soils; thrives in moist, fertile, well-drained soil
Uses: Rain gardens, average to wet meadows, pollinator gardens, pollinator plantings, naturalized borders
Lobelia puberula (Downy lobelia)
Lobelia puberula is known as the Downy Lobelia, owing to its soft, lightly hairy stems and leaves when most other lobelia are smooth in texture. It's often confused for other blue-flowering Lobelia, and is the most commonly occurring in the southeast. While downy lobelia also grows in moist areas, this species has surprising tolerance of mesic (average) soils, and sun.
Downy lobelia blooms late summer into fall with narrow spires of tubular flowers, ranging in hue from light lavender to deep violet. These flowers are attractive to long-tongued bumblebees, moths, butterflies, and of course to hummingbirds.
Downy lobelia produces lots of tiny dust-like seeds that will keep the population going if the ground around it is not mulched too heavily. Gently disturbing the ground near the base of the plant each fall will encourage new seedlings.