Blue Lobelia: A native plant perfect for late summer colour
What plant combinations work well with Blue Lobelia?
The tapestry created by Black-Eyed-Susans, Blue Lobelia and Bee Balm is beautiful to look at but even better for the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
The combination of our native Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica L.), Black-Eyed-Susans and Monarda is a match made in heaven in my garden.
I love the natural look the plant combination creates, but no matter how much I enjoy looking at this combination, it’s the native bees (especially bumblebees), butterflies and hummingbirds that really reap the rewards of this trio of native wildflowers growing together and creating the most lovely tapestry.
Create a pollinator paradise with Blue Lobelia
Add to this trio, four or five Cardinal flower stems shooting up just a foot or two away and you have a perfect pollinator paradise.
And, keeping the entire group happy and thriving is not too difficult.
Our native Blue Lobelia is a low maintenance, moisture-loving plant that does well in shade or full sun. It flowers late in summer into the early fall along with the tough, hard-working Black-Eyed-Susans that are happy in most situations including part-sun to full sun.
It’s not hard to fall in love with the Blue Lobelia. I planted it for the first time in our woodland this year and without a doubt, it has become one of the stalwarts of our garden in just its first year.
This bumble bee was caught climbing into the lobelia to feed.
The Blue Lobelia’s stems produce lavender-blue, tubular flowers that grow close together on the upper parts of the stems. The showy, bright blue flowers grow in the axils of the plant’s leafy bracts forming an elongated cluster on each stem. The flowers have two lips – an upper lip sporting two segments and the lower lip, three.
If you are looking for more information on growing native flowers, you might be interested in going to my comprehensive article: Why we should use native plants in our gardens.
Blue Lobelia’s love of moisture also makes them a nice companion with the Cardinal flower. I have them growing in a part-sun, part-shade area beside our patio where I can keep them well watered along with Cardinal flower and native Bee Balm.
For more on photographing flowers in your garden, check out my comprehensive post on Flower Photography.
Great Blue Lobelia is a tough perennial for the woodland
Let’s take a closer look at this often-overlooked native perennial wildflower that’s at home in hardiness zones 3-7.
The Blue Lobelia is part of the Campanulaceae (Bellflower Family), and is a highly desirable plant for woodland gardens.
It grows from 1-3 feet tall and blooms from July through to October depending on where it is planted. In nature, you are likely to find it growing wild in open, wet woods where sun is able to penetrate to the forest floor. It also grows along stream banks, marshes and open meadows.
Lobelia growing conditions
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade , Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist , Wet
Drought Tolerance: Low
Soil Description: Clay, Loam, Sand
Conditions Comments: Keep the soil moist around it by watering it regularly if necessary.
How to propagate Blue Lobelia
The best way to propagate this attractive plant is to divide the clumps in the spring. It’s also possible to plant the stratified seed lightly on the soil surface. Seeds need to be cold stratified (less than 40 degrees) in a moist environment for about two months. A cold winter in Ontario or north-eastern U.S. would get the job done.
Great blue plants for your garden
Blue plants are not easy to find. In fact, only about 10 per cent of the flowering plants worldwide are blue. So finding one that is native to our area and brings with it so much value to native wildlife makes this plant a real bonus and one that needs to find a place in all our gardens.
Five blue flowers to add to your garden
If you are looking for a few more blue flowers to add to your landscape, consider the following:
Delphiniums: a popular wildflower that grow tall on hardy spikes and add a lovely soft blue to the landscape.
Love-in-a-Mist: A spring bloomer that will be at home in a variety of soil types is a generally sunny location.
New England Aster: Another native plant that is a favourite for butterflies, native bees and birds.
Forget Me Not: These charming, little early spring wildflowers are at home in damp, shady areas of your woodland garden. Easy to grow and quick to spread when they are happy.
Blue Columbine: Native columbine tend to be red-yellow combination but the blue columbines are exquisite and still a favourite of hummingbirds.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something Blue
It’s not hard to fall in love with the Blue Lobelia. I planted it for the first time in our woodland this year and without a doubt, it has become one of the stalwarts of our garden in just its first year.
The tall spikes of blue flowers are not only a beautiful addition to the garden, they are also a favourite plant of our native bumble bees.
Teamed up with an older drift of Black-Eyed-Susans, these new blue flowers cool down the colours and create a lovely tapestry along with the reds of the bee balm.
If you know someone with a clump of these native flowers, be sure to borrow some either by asking for a clump via division or getting some seed.
You too will soon be wedded to these native blues.