Virginia ecotype
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, stream banks, 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 among 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. It grows in disturbed areas such as roadside ditches, as well as open forests and stream banks.
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.