LOBELIA LAXIFLORA SUBSP LAXIFLORA

Description

One of the most lovely garden flowers and completely hardy, this rarely-seen beauty displays its narrow, flared, fiery red and orange trumpet flowers, much loved by bees, above clumps of fine foliage. At the bud stage, the flowers are tubular and red over most of their length, fading to yellow toward the tips. When they open, the tips curl back in a two-lipped fashion, showing off the yellow interior. Completely vice-less, and rarely setting any good seeds, it will very slowly spread over the years making a solid clump in the garden.

Sowing Advice

For best results, sow immediately onto a good soil-based compost. Cover the seeds with fine grit or compost to approximately their own depth. They can be sown at any time, and germination can sometimes be quicker if kept at 15 to 20 degrees C. We sow most seeds in an unheated greenhouse and wait for natural germination, as many seeds have built-in dormancy mechanisms, often waiting for natural spring germination, hence giving them a full season of growth. The fine seed has a large proportion of fine sand added to it to enable easier handling and sowing.

Key Facts