Make It Green Garden Center

Welcome to our plant search tool. This database contains many of the thousands of plants that we carry. There are some notable exceptions. Hundreds of new perennials come out every year and Make It Green has been a leader in making them available to you. Eventually the recent introductions will make it to our plant search tool but every year there will be a lag between our in-store plant selection and this search tool. Unfortunately this search tool can't cover everything that we will carry this year. We also carry over 100 varieties of rare and unusual evergreens and over 100 varieties of hard-to-find shrubs many of which are not in the plant search. Click on the Plant List button for a list of nearly all the woody plants (trees, shrubs and evergreens) that we have ordered or already have in stock for this coming year.



perennial

Blue Cardinal Flower

Lobelia siphilitica

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Blue Cardinal Flower (Lobelia siphilitica) at Make It Green Garden Centre

Blue Cardinal Flower flowers

Blue Cardinal Flower flowers

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Blue Cardinal Flower (Lobelia siphilitica) at Make It Green Garden Centre

Blue Cardinal Flower in bloom

Blue Cardinal Flower in bloom

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Plant Height:  24 inches

Flower Height:  3 feet

Spacing:  16 inches

Sunlight:  partial shade 

Hardiness Zone:  4a

Description:

A wonderful form with true light blue flower spikes, excellent in the shade garden or containers; maintains a good form throughout the season and is excellent in a border planting

Ornamental Features

Blue Cardinal Flower features showy spikes of powder blue tubular flowers rising above the foliage from early to mid summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its pointy leaves remain green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Blue Cardinal Flower is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Blue Cardinal Flower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

  • Mass Planting
  • General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Blue Cardinal Flower will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity extending to 3 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 16 inches apart. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should be grown in a location with partial shade or which is shaded from the hot afternoon sun. It prefers to grow in moist to wet soil, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by division.

 
 
Hardiness Zone Plant Height Minimum Sunlight
Characteristics
Massing  Garden 
Applications
Flowers  Attracts Wildlife 
Ornamental Features