Overview

Introduce breathtaking beauty to your garden with this lobelia cardinal flower live plant. Known for its striking, upright spikes of brilliant red, blue, or rose flowers, the Lobelia Starship series offers a spectacular display from midsummer to early fall. Also commonly referred to as Cardinal Flower, or by its botanical name Lobelia x speciosa, this perennial is a cultivar of Lobelia erinus, cherished for its earlier flowering and superior branching. Unlike seed packets or dormant roots, you receive a healthy, established live starter plant, ready to thrive in your garden. These robust plugs ensure a head start, providing vibrant color and attracting a host of pollinators, including hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, making your garden a lively sanctuary. This versatile perennial is an excellent choice for borders, mass plantings, or combination containers, bringing charm and contrast to any landscape design.

The Lobelia Starship series is prized for its compact habit and extended flowering season, ensuring long-lasting beauty. Whether you choose the deep violet-blue of ‘Starship Blue’, the fiery scarlet of ‘Starship Scarlet Bronze Leaf’ with its distinctive bronze foliage, or the soft pink of ‘Starship Rose’, each variety promises a stunning visual impact. This easy-to-grow plant flourishes in full sun with moderate water, making it a low-maintenance yet high-impact addition for both experienced and novice gardeners.

Key Benefits

Cultivate an enchanting garden that captivates with the addition of a lobelia cardinal flower live plant. These plants offer numerous advantages for gardeners seeking both beauty and ecological benefit:

• Vibrant Floral Display: Enjoy spectacular spikes of red, blue, or rose flowers from midsummer to early fall, adding dramatic color and vertical interest to your garden beds and containers.
• Attracts Pollinators: This plant is a magnet for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, enriching your garden’s biodiversity and supporting local ecosystems. It’s an ideal choice for anyone looking for hummingbird attracting plants.
• Deer and Rabbit Resistant: Lobelia Starship varieties are known for their natural resistance to deer and rabbits, reducing the need for protective measures and ensuring your blooms remain undisturbed.
• Easy to Grow Perennial: As a perennial, it returns year after year, providing reliable beauty with minimal effort. These well-rooted starter plugs ensure an easy and successful planting experience, making it an excellent cardinal flower starter plant.
• Versatile Landscape Use: Perfect for borders, mass plantings, container gardens, or even in moist soil areas, offering flexibility in garden design. Its upright habit creates a strong visual statement.
• Superior Performance: The Starship series boasts earlier flowering and superior branching, leading to a more robust and floriferous plant compared to traditional varieties.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your lobelia cardinal flower live plant is straightforward, ensuring a season of spectacular blooms. These plants thrive in conditions that mimic their natural habitat. For optimal growth and flowering, plant your Lobelia Starship in a location that receives full sun to part shade. Full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily) will encourage the most prolific blooming, but afternoon shade can be beneficial in hotter climates to prevent scorching. These plants prefer consistently moist, well-drained soil. While they tolerate moist conditions, standing water should be avoided. Incorporating organic matter into your soil at planting time can improve drainage and nutrient content, providing an ideal environment for your new lobelia x speciosa.

Water regularly, especially during dry spells, to keep the soil evenly moist. Do not let the soil dry out completely between waterings. A layer of mulch around the base of the plant can help retain soil moisture and regulate soil temperature. Fertilize your cardinal flower starter plant with a balanced liquid fertilizer every 4-6 weeks during the growing season to support continuous blooming. Deadheading spent flower spikes can encourage the plant to produce more blooms and maintain a tidier appearance. Lobelia Starship is hardy in USDA zones 6-10, making it a reliable perennial in many regions. In colder zones, apply a thick layer of mulch in late fall to protect the crown of the plant over winter. This plant is generally resilient, but monitor for common garden pests and diseases, addressing any issues promptly with appropriate organic solutions.

Size & Details

Each lobelia cardinal flower live plant arrives as a healthy, well-rooted starter plug, carefully packaged to ensure its safe journey to your garden. The seedlings come in a small plug-size container, approximately 1 inch by 1 inch by 1.25 inches, providing a strong foundation for rapid growth. Plant sizes may vary slightly due to their natural growth patterns, but all are selected for their vigor and readiness to establish. These live starter plants are designed to bloom in their first season, offering immediate gratification.

At maturity, the Lobelia Starship varieties exhibit an upright, columnar habit. ‘Starship Blue’ typically reaches 28-32 inches tall with an 18-20 inch spread. ‘Starship Scarlet Bronze Leaf’ and ‘Starship Rose’ grow to an average of 20-24 inches tall and 8-12 inches wide. These dimensions make them excellent choices for adding vertical elements to mixed borders, container arrangements, or as striking mass plantings. The robust root system of these starter plants ensures they are more resilient than annual bedding plants, providing lasting beauty and reliable performance across various climates. This makes them a fantastic deer resistant perennial.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: Mature size varies by variety. ‘Starship Blue’ reaches 28-32 inches tall and 18-20 inches wide. ‘Starship Scarlet Bronze Leaf’ and ‘Starship Rose’ grow 20-24 inches tall and 8-12 inches wide.
• Q: What size pot does it come in? A: Each lobelia cardinal flower live plant is shipped as a well-rooted starter plug in a small container measuring approximately 1 inch x 1 inch x 1.25 inches.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: This is primarily an outdoor perennial plant, well-suited for garden beds, borders, and outdoor containers. It thrives in full sun to part shade conditions.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: Lobelia Starship performs best with full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily) but can tolerate partial shade, especially in hotter regions.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the Lobelia Starship series is considered easy to grow. It requires consistent moisture and performs well with regular feeding during the blooming season, making it a great cardinal flower starter plant for gardeners of all levels.
• Q: Is it good for beginners? A: Absolutely! Its robust nature and relatively low maintenance requirements make it an excellent choice for beginner gardeners looking for a high-impact perennial.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your lobelia cardinal flower live plant will arrive as a healthy, actively growing starter plug, carefully packaged to protect the roots and foliage during transit.
• Q: When is the best time to plant? A: These starter plants can be planted in spring after the last frost, or in early fall. They are ready to establish and grow as soon as they arrive.
• Q: Will it bloom this year? A: Yes, these starter plants typically flower in their first season, providing beautiful blooms shortly after planting.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: Lobelia Starship is hardy in USDA zones 6-10. In colder zones, mulching can help protect the plant through winter.