Lobelia erinus seed

LATIN NAME: Lobelia erinus

COMMON NAME: Edging Lobelia

Few garden flowers pack so much blue into such a small plant as the edging lobelia. The low, mounded annual is smothered through the summer in the small, two-lipped flowers of the deep, rich blue with the white throats, and the fine, narrow leaves keep the mounds dense and neat. The plant is one of the great edgers and basket plants of the summer garden, and the blue spills over the path edge, the pot rim and the window box from the early summer to the frost. It is a plant of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The edging lobelia is a long-standing favourite of the plant science, studied for the small, two-lipped flowers and the low, dense mounds. The way the blue flowers keep coming on through the long season has been studied closely, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the bedding plants, the basket plants and the easy annuals. The fine, narrow leaves and the neat, mounded habit have also made it a fine garden plant, and the edging lobelia is a regular presence in the studies of the bellflower family and the summer bedding.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The edging lobelia is a fine worker of the summer border and the wider world. The low mounds of the deep blue flowers edge the path, the border and the bed with a crisp, clean line, and the plant is one of the great choices for the basket, the window box and the container, spilling over the rims through the season. The flowers draw the bees and the small flies of the summer, and the plant stays neat without the dead-heading. It has been written about in the horticultural papers for the intense blue and the tidy, long-flowering ways, and it is a fine, easy plant of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.

The edging lobelia is one of the great blue plants of the summer garden, and the low mounds of the deep blue flowers with the white throats edge the path and the border with a crisp, clean line. The plant is a fine, easy choice for the basket, the window box and the pot, spilling over the rims through the long season.

To grow the edging lobelia from seed, scatter the dust-fine seeds over the surface of a pot of moist, free-draining soil, leaving them uncovered to the light, keep the pot in a bright spot and water gently. The seedlings appear within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the well-drained ground, the blue mounds will carry on through the warm season.

Season: Annual
USDA Zones: 3 – 9
Height: 4 – 5 inches
Width: 6 inches
Bloom Season: Summer through fall
Bloom Color: Mixed
Growth Rate: Moderate
Environment: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Well-drained soil, pH 5.5 – 6.5
Deer Resistant: Yes
Temperature: 72F
Average Germ Time: 14 – 21 days
Light Required: Yes
Depth: Press lightly into the soil but do not cover
Moisture: Keep soil slightly moist, but not wet until germination
Plant Spacing: 6 inches