Lobelia.

L. inflata, Indian tobacco aka pukeweed ?

Yes, it matches L. siphilitica exactly. I was having trouble judging the scale of the flowers, which are quite pale more like inflata and spicata. Would writing the seed names with a black sharpie pen on the plastic jugs work?

Greater Blue Lobelia is usually larger (apparently..hard to judge size) and bright blue, but alba forms do exist, so pale forms probably do too.

It's also possible (as a probably unpracticed photographer) that you simply blew the blues out with sunlgiht, when actual colors are best photographed in shade.

Both the leaves and flowers of Lobelia siphilitica are larger and proportionately broader and the flowers are bluer in my garden. Also the pedicels are proportionately shorter in comparison to the flower size. So I don’t think it is great blue lobelia.

My GBL haven't bloomed yet either. From the photo I thought the flowers and leaves looked smaller than normal also. IME the plant looks as close to L. inflata, and L. spicata as it does to L. sophilitica. The O.P. specifically planted L. siphilitica seeds, so either this plant is L. siphilitica, or Rick was sent the wrong seeds. But the fact that it's in flower now makes no sense because mine aren't blooming yet either. Unkess in a microclimate that can let you grow things 5 zones warmer. Other than inflata and spicata, I know of no other similar Lobelias that bloom early. And this plant growing in Maine could look different to those in other parts, and if seed of a local ecotype was used that might also cause subtle differences in appearance, but I can't get past the flowering time anomoly. There is that L. siphilitica cultivar "Alba" with all white flowers.

Thanks, dbarron and Jay. i’m not at all sure that I planted any seedlings in the spot where this plant is growing – in May the planting of 25 species of winter-sown seedlings was a madcap affair and I honestly can’t remember where I planted everything. It was only after getting the suggestions here that it was a Lobelia that I just guessed that it was great blue lobelia because I did winter-sow that species in February. But I’m perfectly willing to believe it is a Lobelia inflata from a couple of seeds that blew in from who knows where. (That species is not typically grown as a ornamental flower, is it?)

Here are a couple more photos I took just before sundown yesterday. I don’t know if they shed more light on the subject. I do know that the iPhone does not capture blue flowers well and turns them more purple than they actually are.

The second photo could easily be GBL. I've had plants that had that paler shade of blue inflorescence. I prefer the deep blue I posted for garden plants, but seed-grown, you take what you get.

Rick, thanks for the tip about using Sharpie paint pens for winter sowing in jugs. I'm doing it for the first time this winter, and I just bought 2 paint pens.

I used Sharpies, and found that our sun (even though jugs mostly in the shade) bleached them to the point it was hard to guess what was in what, by the time they germinated.

I think putting a marker inside the jug with sharpie writing would be better.

debarron, great idea!!! Now I just need to drink a lot more milk and ice tea. Seeds, do I have seeds! The Asclepius alone will require several jugs.

I used a secret technique for acquiring plastic jugs rather than drinking more milk or iced tea: I called my local Starbucks and asked them to save their gallon milk jugs for me. Each evening I netted seven or eight, which worked well because I ended up winter-sowing 57 different flower varieties, one of which was great blue lobelia ... which may or may not be the plant I have in front of me. (And don’t ask me how many of those 57 actually germinated.)

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Rick, how many of those 57 flower varieties actually germinated??? Thanx × 2 for the Starbucks tip!

You mean I have to 'fess up? I'd say about 35. And out of those 35, some number of them produced tiny, weak seedlings that just couldn't make it in the world. But I got good, strong seedlings for some 20-25 plant varieties which are now planted all over my various flower beds.

Even given my mixed results, winter-sowing perennial seed is a wonderful and very satisfying experience, and I'll do it again this winter. I haven't entirely figured out what happened - too much water? not enough water?

If I can say in a couple weeks' time after more flowers have developed that this plant I posted about is in fact Great Blue Lobelia, it'll be another flower in my cap to feel that it was all worth it. If not, I'll just try again.

(btw, some species will produce flowers the first year of seeding when winter-sowed, and others won't.)

Winter sowing is really rewarding, good on you. We all have failures and often it is the seed itself.

NHBabs noted about the pedicel length of L. inflata. I believe that is what you have. I was just comparing it to one out in my garden when I was weeding. My L. siphilitica are not blooming yet.

So maybe we have to impugn your seed source. I had horrible luck with winter sowing last year (I blame it on up and down weather). I've had great before.

I wouldn't be disapointed that the plant turned out to be another nice native. I've tried growing L.inflata, and L. spicata from seed with no luck, but I didn't winter sow them, I just threw them.

Well since both inflata and spicata commonly occur here spontaneously, I've never thought of growing them. POF, spicata has always been somewhat of a lawn weed for me.

Jay - I guess I've been thinking of Lobelia siphilitica as a desirable cultivated species (with larger flowers?) and L. inflata and L. spicata as having smaller flowers and not so much part of the cultivated flower world and therefore less desirable. Maybe I'm wrong to think that way. I don't think I've ever seen L. inflata or spicata as weeds here, but....

Rick, L. siphilitica, and L. cardinalis look great in perennial beds, but L. inflata and L. spicata are great for native wildflower gardens and the wildlife. Smaller, paler flowers, but still very attractive.

Yes, I haven't really seen an unattractive lobelia, though that cousin may exist.

I consider the tiny flowers of this Lobelia to be unattractive .

These are native to this area and often pop up. I've placed a stem of the white flowered Lobelia inflata next to the flowers of L. cardinalis for comparison.

The second photo shows the entire plant which has since been removed.

Carol, I beg to differ, it's not unattractive, it's just LESS attractive (lol).

It's an ugly plant without garden merit. Foliage overwhelms the puny flowers. Just as there are weeds in other genera , this is a Lobelia weed. With such minuscule flowers it won't be grown in my garden. Furthermore it seeds around prolifically.

Lobelia cardinalis, puberula, siphilitica all have beautiful flowers here. This one does not.

L. spicata is much more attractive.

Anyways, you can smoke inflata. It's very good at reducing inflamation. That's why they call it Indian Tobacco. And the pollinators like it. I still like it even though it's not as showy as cardinalis or siphilitica.

They're a fairly common woodland wildflower in the northeastern US. As noted, the flowers aren't showy and the plant is easy to overlook. I wouldn't call it a weed - I've never seen that many of them - but they certainly aren't rare.

Rick I have quite a few in my garden and I pull them as weeds too.

I had a thriving population in my field and lawn in Oklahoma, I enjoyed them.