by Codak Simpson

Created on: October 01, 2009   Last Updated: October 02, 2009

If you are looking to grow Lobelia (also referred to as Lobelia erinus), have no fear. For several years in a row I have had beautiful window boxes full of Lobelia. This was one of the first plants that I tried growing with my green thumb and because of the success, I felt confident enough to branch into more difficult varieties of flowers and eventually plants and shrubs, taking up orchids and other sub-tropicals that can be grown indoors. Lobelias started my love of gardening and whenever I feel like falling back on something I know to be a sure thing, I get some seeds and start planting.

I live in Nebraska so the Midwest conditions might vary slightly depending on where you live if you try to grow these outdoors but, since I grow my Lobelias indoors, chances are that you will be able to have pretty good luck duplicating these results no matter where you live. Lobelia is a relatively easy plant to grow and does extremely well indoors because of the regulated temperature, humidity and consistent lighting.

I grow these in a 3" x 11" container that has drainage holes and a drip pan underneath. Sandy soil or something that drains well works best. I usually put a couple seeds in three evenly spaced areas of the flowerpot. Once these plants start to grow they tend to like their space so don't be too overzealous, because they will spread out. Usually I start them about mid-March and see seedling pop up within about 15-20 days. They grow to about 4" high and need about 6" to grow. They can be thinned or transplanted when they get about 3" high. It takes about 60-75 days to see flowers on them but once they start blooming, I usually see blooms all the way until about September. They tend to outgrow the space so I trim them back regularly and they don't seem to mind. As some blooms die off, I cut that section off and a new section will usually grow back within a week or two with new flowers. I water them about once or twice a week depending on how much I have the air conditioning on (which can dry them out because they sit under a vent on a windowsill). They don't require a lot of light. I open the blinds occasionally but only about an hour or two of direct sunlight comes in the windowsill they sit on and they seem to do well regardless. For more growing information, visit http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/info/flowers/annu als/lobelia.asp or for a picture of a blue Lobelia plant, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lobelia_(aka).jpg

Overall, this is a very low maintenance flower that has high rewards in the beautiful blooms it produces. Hopefully with this help, you will have as much or more luck than I have had, and by mid-summer next year, you will be able to share your experience as an expert grower of Lobelias!

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