AVAILABLE FALL 2025
Virginia ecotype
Duration: Perennial
Habit: Upright, clump-forming
Size: 2 to 4 feet tall; 1 to 2 feet wide
Flowering Time: August to October
Bloom Color: Deep blue to periwinkle-blue
Habitat: Moist meadows, streambanks, woodland edges, floodplains, low fields, and wet prairies
Moisture: Moist to wet; prefers consistently damp soils, tolerates seasonal flooding
Light: Full sun to part shade, performs best in higher sun but needs more moisture
Soils: Loamy, sandy-loam, or clay-loam; thrives in fertile, moisture-retentive soils
Uses: Rain gardens, pollinator plantings, wet meadows, naturalized borders, native woodland gardens, cottage gardens, lake and stream edges
Lobelia siphilitica (Great blue lobelia)
Lobelia siphilitica, commonly known as Great Blue Lobelia, is a striking late-season flower native to soggy areas. It produces tall, upright spikes densely packed with deep blue-violet to lighter periwinkle tubular flowers from late summer into fall. This Lobelia provides bold, upright color, and frequently self-sows on open ground for long-lasting populations.
Great blue lobelia is easy to grow in moist to wet soils and is commonly found along streams, in low fields, and at woodland edges, where it thrives in sun or light shade. Its clumping growth habit makes it well-suited for rain gardens, wet meadows, and naturalistic plantings. It will tolerate average garden moisture assuming it has some protection from full sun, and has been given time to establish itself before the heat of summer. They are not drought tolerant.
This species provides nectar for bumblebees and other long-tongued native bees, which are the primary pollinators capable of navigating its deep corollas. It also attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, adding diversity to its pollinator interactions.
With its showy flowers, Lobelia siphilitica is a favorite for native gardens and restoration projects that emphasize both beauty and habitat value.