Isn't it Joe Pye Weed.?????..JPW...PLEEEEEZE don't tell me I have some new invasive thing..... It's just that the dead flower heads are usually neat round semi circles....this one doesn't look like that....maybe a deer stepped on it.

Hello Karen....I posted a response on the House Plant forum several days ago, but for some reason, several of my posts never appeared, assuming it's technical difficulties with GW. Anyways, congratulations on your beautiful KQ, superior clone. I, too, have this variety and it grows fast and enormously...mine is so heavy that I had to remove it from the hanging pipes and place it on a plant stand....it was literally pulling the pipes down. Good selection, my friend...and please enjoy!! Fondly, Patrick

I am SO glad I saw this! We have the native Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower)and the nativar Lobelia cardinalis "Black Truffles" planted beside Impatiens capensis (Jewelweed) and hummingbirds love all of them and we see them all the time! Unfortunately, Mazus pumilus has grown in the favorable conditions and took over last year. So we dug up the plants, transplanted and 'solarized' the weedy soil down to a depth of one foot. Added new soil, replaced the plants and the weeds started up again this year, although not as badly. Last year we had a "spring-fed" stream installed in the back yard with a waterfall of one foot which empties to a small pond of about 8" and physically connects to a dry creek bed. So, being able to root Lobelia (both types) in the stream will solve the weed issues, provided I wash the roots first. Whenever I place plants in my stream, I pot them in a plastic pot with holes and netting to prevent peat moss from escaping. This way the roots have something to hold on to. The water level is always above the top of the pot, to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in the pot water, which if above the water line, would remain stagnant. The great thing about the "Black Truffles" variety, even though it only provides 80 percent of nectar as the true native, is that it bloomed first and the hummingbirds came to that and then the true native when that one came into bloom. They both still have a lot of unopened blooms and several stalks came from each plant! The native Lobelia is 5 ft tall! The drooping stalks are "Black Truffles" and both varieties are loaded with seeds, which I hope to propagate. The Jewelweeds are 4 feet tall and as usual, the blooms hide. For the picture I attached a 3 ft yardstick to a 4 ft 'yard stick' which is easier to see in the next photo. Thanks again for the information!

It worked out very well and we did have a strong freeze here--water had a heavy ice coat. I did cover the folding doors with those felt moving blankets. The good thing about this configuration is the strong wind did not topple the structure.