Lobelia is a large and varied Genus
that contains the well known half hardy summer bedding plants in shades
of blue and purple that adorn so many hanging baskets and other
containers so admirably.
Less well known are the perennial Lobelia
species and varieties which are quite different in habit in that they
are generally large upright plants from 12 to 36 inches in height. The
flowers are unusually shaped and on closer inspection the family
resemblance can be seen with the annual varieties.
They may be grown in full sun to partial
shade, though most do better with some shade during at least part of the
day. The exceptions to this are the semi-aquatic varieties that happily
grow with permanently damp to wet roots. Unsurprisingly, no members of
the group are really drought resistant.
Propagate by seed or division in spring.
