Lobelia cardinalis and a few other photos

15 years ago

I have 2 clumps, wintersowed last year, blooming now.

This one in my back yard looks weird- just a few, fat thick stems.

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This one in the front yard I pinched when about a foot tall. It has lots more blooming stems and I like it so much better. Have to remember to do this next year if they make it through another winter.

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Hummer feeding- sorry it's blurry. She wouldn't pose

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Side of house- butterfly weed covered in bloom, 2nd time this summer

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Karen

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Comments (7)

tiffy_z5_6_can
15 years ago
Nice Karen.

I have to say I'm drooling over the Asclepias Tuberosa. I thought I had some in the gardens but the seeds which were given to me were mislabeled and were actually Incarnatas. That's OK because my Monarch Caterpillars are devouring the Incarnatas so I can't have enough.

My 13 year old daughter saw a Tuberosa at a garden center last week and she loves the orange hue so we bought it. Hoping to get seeds from it. It truly is a vibrant plant! Is that just one plant or a couple? Winter Sown? How many years to full size? I want MORE!!
kqcrna
Original Author
15 years ago
Tiffy: What you see there is one plant, wintersown, now in it's third year. It was covered with blossoms like that for a long time in early summer. When the blooms faded and pods started to form, I removed all of the pods and it rebloomed.

As soon as I get pods the milkweed bugs come so I decided not to let the pods stay. I didn't know it would rebloom.

Karen
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I'm thinking the same thing as Ted. Campanula punctata has much wider lower leaves, and it doesn't develop a stalk like the plant in the photo does. Lobelia does have stalk like that. Also Campanula punctata has fine hairs on the stems. They seem to be absent in your photo above. The leaves to the right do look like Campanula punctata lower leaves. I'm wondering if the campanula has grown over to the plant in the photo and is co-mingled with it. Lobelia is not blooming here yet so it would still be unnoticeable. This is a pic of my 'Little Punky'. It is the best pic I have of leaves as opposed to flowers. It is a dwarf, but the larger forms look the same. Remy
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I'm happy to share, Kioni! I think Malva may be hardy into zone 3... but I'm not certain. It's a tall plant, and the flowers are actually rather small compared to the plant, itself... it does make a wonderful companion plant within a perennial border, though! The praying mantises range from about 3 inches in length, as adults, to over 6 inches! Some are huge! I found out that their egg cases can survive winter temperatures way below zero, and I also found out that as soon as they breed, the female kills and eats her mate! Poor guys! Apparently, the father's last contribution to his offspring, is himself as dinner to help make the eggs grow! Nature is both weird and wonderful!
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Looks like you got a mix of L. cardinalis and L. siphilitica seeds in your packet. I shared some L. cardinalis seeds in a SASBE on the seed exchange a couple years back, and the recipient ended up getting a L. siphilitica seedling too. And they were commercial seeds, so the mix up was not my fault! I am little jealous, I only get L. cardinalis seedlings. But not too jealous, they are both gorgeous plants!
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Comments (2)
good thinking...I replanted the root wad off the first clump to die off in a different area, hoping it might yet come back. I will have a closer look at the remaining ones, though the leaves only look severely sick, not full of holes, nor are there any visible entry holes on the stems. I did a search on "chlorotic lobeblia" and right away I discovered there is a mosaic virus like the one that attacks cucumbers...and the symptoms smatch mine pretty closely. THe odd thing is that the plants just look very sick but are still attempting to flower, and that it's just the two plnats, the others are a healthy green. All soil, sun, water, etc etc conditions are the same for all 5 plants (I replaced the one that died with a self-grown seedling from wild collected seed) so whatever this is, only a few have it.
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highalttransplant
15 years ago
I love your Lobelia, and wish I could grow it here, but it's too dry, and I don't have enough shade. Are those Zinnias mixed in with it in the second photo?

Your Asclepias tuberosa pictures have made me decide that I am definitely wintersowing some more of that this year! I left the pods on, so that I could collect the seed, but I have noticed some weird bugs on mine too. Will they eat the seedpods?

Yesterday, when I was working in the garden, a hummer was just 3 or 4 feet from me, happily drinking out of the Agastache 'Apache Sunset', and I was wishing that I had my camera with me.

Thanks for sharing your photos with us!
Bonnie
kqcrna
Original Author
15 years ago
Bonnie: Yes, they are zinnias in the 2nd photo.

Are those bugs red and black? Yes, they eat the pods and seeds. See link.

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: Milkweed bugs
mnwsgal
15 years ago
Do you pinch the asclepia also? Seems like the ones I had years ago were much taller and not as full.

My cardinal flower is in mostly shade so has stayed under 12 inches tall. I will pinch them next year to get fuller plants.
kqcrna
Original Author
15 years ago
I think I pinched a few stems on the butterfly weed, but don't think it was all of them. I most likely did. I am a firm believer in pinching plants, chronically unable to control myself. I find it makes plants so much fuller and prettier.

I could pinch myself for not pinching my zinnias this year. The weather was so cool, I was too anxious for blossoms.

Karen
rosepedal
15 years ago
Thanks karen for the tip of pinching. You have one beutiful garden. Barb

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Lobelia cardinalis and a few other photos

Comments (7)

tiffy_z5_6_can

kqcrna
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highalttransplant

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Lobelia cardinalis and a few other photos

Comments (7)

tiffy_z5_6_can

kqcrnaOriginal Author

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highalttransplant

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mnwsgal

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rosepedal

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