Cardinal Flower



Posted: Monday, October 05, 2009

by
tn nursery

Lobelia cardinalis is the scientific name of the Cardinal Flower , which is a species that originated from the Americas and is native to south eastern Canada , south western United States , Central America , Mexico and northern Columbia . It is a short lived, herbaceous , perennial plant that is often found growing in wet places such as swamps and stream banks.

Cardinal flower plants can grow up to heights of one and a half meters. The leaves of these plants are oval to lanceolate in shape and have a toothed margin. The leaves are often a bright green colour that gives a nice contrast with the flower blooms and looks very attractive. Some varieties have burgundy or purple coloured leaves. The stem of this plant grows strongly vertically and the foliage is close to the ground due to the shallow rooted clumps, and the taller flower stalks are lifted high above the foliage.

Flowers and fruits The flowers of this plant are a vibrant red in colour and have five deep lobes. They are produced as erect racemes and bloom from summer into fall. They are produced on tall stalks and sometime can be found to bloom a bit later. All the blooms are quite long lasting. There are some varieties that have pink , blue and white flowers as well.

This plant grows well in moist soil that is very rich even though most other perennials would rot in such soil. It can put up with dry soil but only with frequent watering. It prefers partial sun or light shade .

You can propagate this plant easily by dividing the young plants that form around the more mature plants every year and spreading them out. The plant is considered perennial but usually lone plants tend to live for up to seven to ten years before they die. To make sure that your entire collection of these plants do not die at the same time you need to make sure you propagate new plants using seeds at least once every four years.

These plants should be grown in rich soil that has lots of moisture in it. Depending on where they are grown, they need different amounts of sunlight. If you live in the southern regions then they will prefer plenty of shade, but if you live in a location where the summers tend to be cool, then they will want more sun. They are capable of surviving dry periods and may need some protection against slugs as they are planted in moist soils. There are no specific diseases or pests that affect these plants.

These plants are quite popular because of their long lived blooming period. The flowers look delicate but are very boldly coloured and are often placed near water features or planted in masses to bring out their brilliant colour effect. They combine well with ferns and are popular in many gardens because of the true red colour they exhibit. They thrive where other perennials would not and therefore many gardeners and homeowners make use of these plants to brighten up the shady parts of their gardens where the soil is moist.

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