The Red Cardinal Flower has vibrant red blooms and tall, erect stalks. It adds color and elegance to gardens, parks, and various outdoor spaces. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, it offers several advantages, making it a popular choice for landscapers and gardeners. The scarlet-hued Lobelia cardinalis is a perennial in the bellflower family. Its tall, nectar-filled bloom spikes attract hummingbirds and create a beautiful display in your garden. The plant's common name refers to the red robes a Roman Catholic cardinal wears.
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is a Powerful Pollinator Perennial
Lobelia is native to the North and South American continents and blooms from July through September. This moisture-loving plant grows on stream banks and in low woods, marshes, and meadows across the United States.
If you want to create a handsome show in your garden, Lobelia will surely delight. The plant's fiery spires yield brilliant red blooms that open gradually from the bottom to the top of their racemes. Each long, narrow, tube-shaped blossom has two flat upper petals and three lower petals at the tips. The delicate plant crown leafy 2’-4' stems, covered with shiny, lance-shaped, bright green leaves that sometimes have a bronze or reddish tint. The leaves alternate as they climb the stems, enhancing the blooms to create a lively riot of color.
Add Color To Your Water Garden With Cardinal Flowers
is a favorite of gardeners who love adding bold splashes of crimson. This plant is perfect for shady woodland plots, wet meadow plantings, water gardens, pollinator gardens, and rain gardens. Its long stems can add height to borders and create depth when placed in the back sections of your landscape. The blossoms are most spectacular from midsummer into fall and make excellent cut blooms.
Ecology Of The Cardinal Flower
Some people say Lobelia will bring hummingbirds in from the sky. The plant's blooming period coincides with the late-summer migration of ruby-throated hummingbirds traveling south to Mexico. The birds pollinate the plant by dipping their beaks into the plants' long, red tubes. The blossoms are also beautiful to swallowtail butterflies and bees, making them a wonderful centerpiece in a pollinator garden.
Cardinal Flower Is A Bold Statement In Any Garden
When you want to make a bold, beautiful statement in your garden, include the Cardinal Flower in your plan and celebrate the summer season.
Where Do Cardinal Flowers Grow Best
Cardinal flower grows best in soil that is moist and full of nutrients and partly shaded to fully sunny areas. It typically grows along the edge of streams, at marsh, and in borders of gardens with frequent irrigation.
How do you propagate cardinal flowers?
They can be propagated from seeds, division, or even by the basal shoots. Take seeds from the plant in midsummer or clump in early spring to propagate new plants, which a moist soil should provide for root development.
How do you care for cardinal flowers?
The soil must be moist with plenty of organic content. Deadhead to foster continued flowering and add much to maintain the moisture of the soil as well as protect the roots throughout the winter.
Can You Grow Cardinal Flowers From Cuttings
It is actually possible to propagate cardinal flowers by cuttings. Buddings should be taken from a softwood during spring, put in a moist medium, and in high humidity to promote rooting.
Is the cardinal flower easy to grow?
Yes, cardinal flowers are relatively easy to cultivate. They need moisture in the soil, and grow them in partial shade; once planted in the right habitat, there is very little required care.
