Overview

Introduce breathtaking color and life to your garden with the Lobelia Cardinal Flower live plant. This exquisite perennial, also known as Lobelia x speciosa or Cardinal Flower, is a hybrid offering earlier flowering and superior branching compared to traditional varieties. Our well-rooted starter plants are ready to establish quickly in your landscape beds, borders, or containers, providing a spectacular show of blooms from midsummer to early fall. The Lobelia Starship series is celebrated for its compact habit and long flowering season, making it a standout choice for gardeners seeking both beauty and performance. This live starter plant is a healthy, established specimen, unlike dormant roots or seeds, ensuring a more resilient and thriving start in your garden. It’s perfect for creating a vibrant, pollinator-friendly oasis.

Key Benefits

The Lobelia Cardinal Flower live plant offers numerous advantages for any garden enthusiast, combining stunning aesthetics with practical benefits:

• Attracts Pollinators: Its vibrant blooms are a magnet for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, turning your garden into a lively sanctuary for beneficial insects and birds.
• Long Blooming Season: Enjoy continuous, vivid color from midsummer through early fall, providing extended visual interest when many other plants are fading.
• Deer and Rabbit Resistant: This resilient plant is naturally unappealing to deer and rabbits, helping to protect your garden from common pests without extra effort.
• Easy to Grow Perennial: As a perennial, it returns year after year, requiring minimal maintenance once established. It’s an excellent choice for both novice and experienced gardeners.
• Versatile Landscaping Use: Ideal for mass plantings, borders, or combination containers, its upright habit adds architectural interest and vertical appeal to any garden design.
• Superior Performance: The Starship series boasts superior branching and earlier flowering, delivering excellent production and a fuller, more impactful display.
• Moisture Tolerant: Thrives in moist soil conditions, making it suitable for areas of the garden that retain more water, such as near downspouts or natural depressions.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your Lobelia Cardinal Flower live plant is straightforward, ensuring a spectacular display with minimal effort. These plants flourish in full sun to part shade, ideally receiving at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily for optimal blooming. While they appreciate sunlight, some afternoon shade is beneficial in hotter climates to prevent scorching. The soil should be consistently moist but well-drained. Lobelia speciosa garden varieties are particularly tolerant of moist conditions, even thriving in areas with boggy soil. Avoid letting the soil dry out completely, especially during hot summer months. Regular watering is key to their success.

For soil type, a rich, organic, well-draining loam is preferred. Amending heavy clay soils with compost will improve drainage and fertility. These vibrant perennials are hardy in USDA zones 6-10, making them suitable for a wide range of climates. In colder zones, apply a thick layer of mulch in late fall to protect the root crown. Fertilize monthly during the growing season with a balanced liquid fertilizer to encourage continuous blooming. Deadhead spent flowers to promote new growth and more blooms. Watch for common garden pests, though the plant’s natural resistance to deer and rabbits simplifies care. With proper attention, your Starship Lobelia perennial will become a highlight of your summer garden.

Size & Details

This offering is for a healthy, well-rooted Lobelia Cardinal Flower live plant starter plug, ready for immediate planting. Each seedling comes in a small plug-size 1″ X 1″ X 1 1/4” container, ensuring a strong root system for successful transplanting. Plant sizes may vary slightly due to natural growth, but all are selected for vitality. At maturity, these plants exhibit an upright habit, with specific dimensions depending on the variety: ‘Starship Blue’ reaches 28-32 inches tall with an 18-20 inch spread, ‘Starship Scarlet Bronze Leaf’ grows 20-24 inches tall and 8-12 inches wide, and ‘Starship Rose’ also reaches 20-24 inches tall and 8-12 inches wide. These starter plants typically flower in their first season, providing vibrant blooms shortly after planting. Expect robust growth and beautiful foliage that adds charm and contrast to your landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: The mature size of the Lobelia Cardinal Flower live plant varies by cultivar. ‘Starship Blue’ typically reaches 28-32 inches tall and 18-20 inches wide, while ‘Starship Scarlet Bronze Leaf’ and ‘Starship Rose’ grow 20-24 inches tall and 8-12 inches wide.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: This plant thrives in full sun, which means at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. It can tolerate partial shade, especially in hotter climates where some afternoon protection is beneficial.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the Starship Lobelia perennial is known for being easy to grow and relatively low-maintenance. It requires consistent moisture and good sunlight, but is otherwise quite resilient and returns year after year.
• Q: What condition will the plant arrive in? A: Your Lobelia Cardinal Flower live plant will arrive as a healthy, well-rooted starter plug, carefully packaged to protect its roots and foliage during transit. It is ready to be planted upon arrival.
• Q: When is the best time to plant? A: These starter plants can be planted in spring or early summer after the danger of frost has passed. They establish quickly and typically bloom in their first season.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: The Lobelia speciosa garden varieties are hardy in USDA Zones 6-10. If you are in a colder zone, you may need to provide winter protection with a thick layer of mulch or consider it an annual.
• Q: Is this plant deer and rabbit resistant? A: Yes, one of the great benefits of the Lobelia Cardinal Flower live plant is its natural resistance to deer and rabbits, making it an excellent choice for gardens prone to these visitors.
• Q: What type of soil does it prefer? A: It prefers rich, organic, and consistently moist but well-draining soil. It can even tolerate somewhat boggy conditions, unlike many other perennials.
• Q: Does it attract hummingbirds? A: Absolutely! The vibrant, tubular flowers of the Lobelia Cardinal Flower live plant are a favorite of hummingbirds, as well as bees and butterflies, making it a wonderful addition for pollinator gardens.
• Q: Can I grow it in containers? A: Yes, due to its upright habit and manageable size, the Starship Lobelia perennial is an excellent choice for growing in containers or large pots, adding a dramatic vertical element to your patio or balcony.