Hi. I have the Lobelia 'Queen Victoria' if your still interested. I looked at your list and would be interested in Fragrant Angel Coneflower. Let me know. Thanks, Tina

bumping down

Marie, I planted this at a friend's house in two spots. One bed is a very dry shade bed. It is quite light, bright, high shade, with one part getting some hot afternoon sun. I've greatly improved the soil here and the lush growth of several groundcovers has helped with the dryness (like a living mulch). However, the lobelia is less than vigorous, and as you described, flops and then grows upright. I tend to think it is a moisture thing, because the other spot I have this planted in is a very wet garden - parts of the garden have standing water, and even in this drought it is damp. The lobelia here (not in standing water, but still very damp soil) is doing much, much better - fuller, bigger, more upright. Even though the planting here is newer, it is much bigger and more established-looking than the scraggly groupings in the dry shade bed. Oh, this wet bed gets about half sun, half shade. The lobelia here stands upright on its own, for the most part. I was just thinking the other day that I will most likely move the lobelia in the dry bed to another spot. It's just not liking where it is. I never stake stuff - just never get around to it. I'll walk by, make a mental note that such-and-such needs staking, and then just never get back to do it! I also have some in my own garden, in a sadly neglected shade garden that gets almost no supplemental water. This shade comes from both the house (garden is right up against it) and from trees, and it does get maybe an hour of midday sun. The lobelia here is doing better than my friend's dry shade bed, but again not nearly as well as the wet bed. So I really think moisture is the key. I do love the color of this plant. The biggest downside, in my opinion, is that it's seedlings look exactly like a certain weed, to my eye, and I can never tell the difference until they bloom, so I leave them there and hope they are the lobelia! :) Dee

No, not a joke. Some Ranunculus species can be weeds while others are planted as ornamentals. It doesn't look particularly like a Ranunculus to me, but I only know a few species. Try uploading to Houzz Photos via Your Houzz in the upper right corner and then link from there or try uploading directly here from a different browser - some forms of Internet Explorer doesn't do well with Houzz. many folks here aren't on FB. With perennials, they often need a year before performing to their best, so if they are happy with their growing situation they should perform better next season. Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium) is a spring bloomer that in my garden prefers part shade, but Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) prefers a lot of light and is dense in full sun. It doesn't like to dry out. Echinacea is another full sun plant. Also, you could ask on the Container Forum to see if you have chosen a good soil mix for the plants you are growing - often commercial potting mix doesn't work long-term since it breaks down over time.