Cardinal Flower is the only red Lobelia in existence. It is native to most of the Eastern half and Central United States, as well as Central Canada. Largely due to innocent but short-sighted over-picking of the flower, it’s become far more rare, and recent efforts have been enacted to attempt to repopulate this uniquely beautiful food source for both hummingbirds and larger butterflies – particular among them being Swallowtails.

In the wild, one might be lucky enough to spot the rich scarlet flowers and deep green foliage calling out on a walk through the woods, hovering over the edge of a temporal pond. Cardinal flower savors wet conditions, and as such, makes a great rain garden plant, as well as one that can bring vibrancy to a low-lying wet area such as a drainage ditch.

Being more typically a woodland or bog plant, where ever you may choose to grow Lobelia cardinalis, ensure that it has plenty of humus dressing the soil, and if not in a particularly wet area, receives regular watering.

Cardinal Flower can be divided every 2 or 3 years, and doing so will help it to maintain peak blooming, while also further aiding in the re-population of this valuable species. More and more visits from our hummingbird and swallowtail butterfly species will be your reward, and their reproduction a benefit to us all.

Additional Care:

Cardinal Flower is very flexible in terms of soil types, but is far more picky about light. It can tolerate up to about a half day of sun, but needs more moisture in such cases, so it’s especially critical to select a wet location if providing 4-6 hours of direct sun. In more shady locations, with enriched soil, avoiding total drying out or drought can be sufficient.

Dress your Cardinal Flower with an inch of humus each autumn to help give it winter production it is more naturally accustomed to, as well as feed for the following year. It will reward you handsomely.

Went dividing Cardinal Flower, ensure that each division has ample roots. It’s very happy to be divided, with ample roots. Water heavily upon division, and the roots will take quickly.

Thank you to Bill Buchanon (hummingbird w/) and Josh Mayer for their respective photo contributions.