cardinal flowers

This page for Virginia Bluebell seeds and my other seeds is not current... rather, please go to THIS PAGE  » »

Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis
_____________________________________________________________________________________

CARDINAL FLOWER SEED FOR SALE

~500 Cardinal Flower Seeds $20 postpaid
Sales tax and postage are included in seed price.

Horticulture of
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis
Cardinal flowers are absolute knockouts in the garden or the landscape! The eye-popping red is unlike any other; the intensity is bound to catch not only your eye but also that of hummingbirds, who will set up a territory and fiercely defend their plants!

Cardinal flowers grow easily from seed if you have the right conditions. They enjoy moist soils, and will even tolerate very wet soils that temporarily flood. You will notice them self-sowing in wet and moist areas. If you have drier soils, don't dismay, because you can very easily start plants in flats or pots and then later transplant them into your garden where they will grow very nicely for years to come.

Cardinal flower seeds need to overwinter before they will sprout; seeds that are planted one year will sprout the following summer, and bloom the summer after that. Now you see why cardinal flowers are so rarely found in commercial greenhouses!

Plant the tiny seeds on damp, open ground in late spring or summer, or in pots. Do not cover seeds with soil; simply loosen the soil, then tamp down after sprinkling the seeds. You may want to clip weeds down to the ground that first year as the tiny plants are getting started. Another way to plant your seeds so that weeds won't be such a problem: spread a layer of newspaper and then a one- or two-inch layer of weed-free potting soil on top of your exisiting soil--and THEN sprinkle the seeds on that.
Keep area constantly moist. Seedlings are very tiny at first. If weeds are kept at bay, each cardinal flower seedling will become a 6-inch diameter rosette by late fall. Will bloom the next year and all years thereafter.

Cardinal flowers are technically not perennials. The flowering stem and the roots associated with that stem die after setting seed. But the plant is in effect perennial as long as the lowermost leaves are allowed to grow new offsets from their axils.
Click photo to enlarge.

To facilitate this process and to keep your cardinal flower blooming year after year, keep them free of debris and competition so they will establish those new roots before winter. The low rosettes remain fairly green throughout the winter, ready to sprout their new stems in the spring. They will bloom in July and August, depending where you live.

A group of blooming cardinal flowers looks brilliant when planted in front of a dark background such as evergreens. Cardinal flowers prefer light shade, part to full sun. Zone 3-9. Blooms in late summer and early fall, for 3-4 weeks. 2 to 4 feet. These seeds are tiny, but if you plant them with just a little care, they will deliver a tremendous red glow to your garden or yard for many, many years!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
~500 Cardinal Flower Seeds $20 postpaid
Sales tax and postage are included in seed price.
Janet Wissmann
Please phone me to order seeds. These seeds are available any time of the year.
9am - 9pm CST ~ phone 608-624-5511
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________