Great Lobelia

Blue flowered Great Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica is the more robust cousin of the scarlet  Cardinal Flower, as well as those dainty blue and white cascading lobelias so popular for hanging baskets.  While Cardinal flower is showier (nothing glows like a Cardinal Flower blooming in a shady swamp) Great Lobelia is much easier to grow.  In fact, almost too easy.  Since I planted my first one a few years ago, it has appeared everywhere.  It self sows prolifically, but the new plants move easily.  Unlike its red flowered cousin, designed to be pollinated by hummingbirds, Great Lobelia flowers have a handy landing pad for insect pollinators.  Like most blue flowers, Great Lobelia is visited by bumblebees.  It seems to have few pests.  I've never found insects on mine, even when aphids cover my swamp milkweed.  As you might guess from the species name, it was once believed that it could be used as a treatment for Syphilis.  It doesn't work.  The milky sap is toxic, so home remedies from lobelias should be avoided.  The plant produces multiple stalks covered with clear blue flowers.  Unlike Cardinal Flowers, the stalks has leaves between the flowers that slightly diminish the impact of the flowers.  The stalks also have a tendency to flop over and send up lateral shoots, resulting in a shorter but bushier plant.  A more industrious gardener might stake the main stems, but I don't bother.  I do, however, deadhead regularly to reduce the number of tiny seeds dispersed throughout my garden.  This guy also goes through the winter with a rosette of dark green leaves rather than dying to the ground.  I love a plant that marks its own location so I don't have to hunt for it in the spring.  While it is fond of non-acidic boggy soils, I have it growing in standard garden soil in both sun and shade.