• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
House of Hawthornes
  • DIY & Crafts
  • Gardening
  • Home Decor
  • Thrifting
  • 📝SUBSCRIBE
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • DIY
  • Gardening
  • Decorating
  • Thrifting
  • By Holiday
  • 🛒 Our Amazon Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Flower Growing Guides

    Lobelia Love: Tips For Growing Lobelia Plants

    Published by Pam Kessler | 377 words. · About 2 minutes to read this article. - 40 Comments

    Lobelia is one of my favorite plants to grow each summer.

    I am head over heals in love with it.

    I planted a six pack of them in this basket a few weeks ago and they just keep blooming and blooming.

    Blue Lobelia care

    How To Grow Lobelia

    • If growing by seed indoors, start plants 10 weeks prior to last frost date for your area.
    • Can be a little difficult to grow from seed though, so most gardeners buy in 6 packs from the local garden center.
    • Plant in full sun to part shade. In hotter regions, less sun is preferred to keep them blooming longer.
    • Grows 8 to 10 inches in height.
    • Lobelia is grown as a tender perennial in zones 10-11, but as an annual from zones 2-9.
    • Although they come in other colors, the blue and violet colors of lobelia are the most popular.

    Lobelia plant care

    How To Care For Lobelia

    • Lobelia is generally a low maintenance plant.
    • Keep plants well watered especially during the mid-summer heat.
    • Cutting back the plants after the first initial batch of blooms have faded will promote additional flowers.
    • You can fertilize with an all-purpose liquid fertilizer ever 3-4 weeks, but it is not absolutely necessary.

    Growing Lobelia in containers

    They look great planted in the ground or in a container. The trailing nature of this lobelia would make it PERFECT for a hanging basket.

    Lobelia erinus (edging lobelia) is the type I have grown most often and produce these vibrant flowers. These are the ones you most often see in the garden centers.

    I've also tried the newer heat resistant lobelia and tend to stand up to the intense mid-summer heat quite well (I talk about the Techno Heat Lobelia in my post on Container Gardening Made Easy).

    This lobelia plant is actually an inexpensive hanging basket that I removed the plastic hangers from and just plopped down in an old wooden crate.

    It doesn't get much easier than that!

    Lobelia hanging basket used as a planter

    If you've not tried growing lobelia before, you really need to give it a go this summer. You won't regret it!

    Blue Lobelia is a wonderful annual to add to your garden this year. It comes in VIBRANT shades with loads of blooms and grows in full sun to part shade.

    How To Grow Lobelia

    New For Spring 2021:

    Purchase printable garden planner

    Other post you may enjoy:

    Black Eyed Susan Vines AKA Heaven On Earth
    How To Grow Peonies Your Neighbors Will Envy
    5 Easy Steps To Beautiful Garden Planters
    Gardening Tutorials And Ideas

    « Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Show
    Junkin Finds »
    65.4K shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nanniepannie

      June 24, 2011 at 5:01 pm

      Love your basket. Our color theme on the porch is red yellow and blue, Lobelia works so well in our porch boxes. It's a must for every garden...a great pop of blue.

      Reply
    2. poppilinnstudios

      June 24, 2011 at 5:36 pm

      How pretty! Love the color of the Lobelia. Looks great in a basket.
      -Lynn

      Reply
    3. Bohemian

      June 25, 2011 at 7:59 pm

      What a vivid shade of color they are... love it!

      Dawn... The Bohemian

      Reply
    4. Pamela @ FlowerPatchFarmhouse.com

      March 31, 2015 at 11:05 am

      I love Lobelia too, especially the trailing lobelia for baskets and hanging planters. I always try to put them in transportable containers so when it gets too hot for them I can keep them in a shadier location and they last all summer. On another not, I love the font in your Header, could you tell me what it is?

      Reply
      • Pam

        March 31, 2015 at 11:37 am

        The font is called Brannboll and you can find it on DaFont. It comes with different "tails" too 🙂

        Reply
        • Pamela @ FlowerPatchFarmhouse.com

          April 01, 2015 at 12:32 pm

          Thank you so much!

          Reply
    5. Mary

      April 28, 2016 at 6:15 am

      Hey Pam, I love lobelias but I have had no success with them. Temperatures here get as high as 39 degrees. I am totally in awe at yours . You must have grown from seedlings ? I have tried from seeds ? Any advice for me ?

      Reply
      • Pam

        April 28, 2016 at 4:56 pm

        I have not grown from seed before Mary, I normally pick up the little cell packs at the local nursery. I have heard from other gardening friends that they do grow easily from seeds, but most people agree that they don't like to dry out in the heat of the summer, so keep them watered. I normally grow it in a container (basket,hanging basket or something like that, so I'm watering it daily anyhow).

        Reply
    6. Mary

      May 07, 2016 at 9:42 pm

      I just bought this plant. I put it in a hanging container with white trailer. Should be Really pretty together. Can't wait until it gets bigger. I love it also.

      Reply
    7. Barb

      June 03, 2016 at 9:40 am

      Lobelia is gorgeous ,if you can keep it alive through the summer ,. Never had luck with it .

      Reply
      • Pam

        June 04, 2016 at 9:43 am

        They have a new variety called Techno Heat lobelia and I just planted some for the first time this year. It's supposed to take the mid-summer heat much better than the traditional variety. A friend in North Carolina planted it last year and she said it flowered all summer long so I thought I'd give it a try this year!

        Reply
        • Barb

          June 04, 2016 at 10:15 am

          Thanks so much for the heads up on the new heat tolerant lobelia , I love those gorgeous flowers ,can't wait to get to garden center to find me some . Thanks again Pam ,,

          Reply
    8. Beth

      May 24, 2019 at 9:13 pm

      I just love lobelia but have a hard time keeping them going in July and August in upstate NY. I have a Bs in horticulture from Cornell, so I'm not a novice. I stopped myself from buying them today because they always fail maybe not enough water. Nice post.

      Reply
      • Pam Kessler

        May 25, 2019 at 5:24 am

        Have you tried the Techno Heat variety yet? They tend to be a little more heat tolerant.

        Reply
    9. Chris

      May 31, 2019 at 4:28 am

      Hi Pam,
      Love your post and ideas for using vintage finds for your garden and porch.
      I’m always a bit envious of the treasures you find at the yard sales - living in UK, we don’t tend to have these so much - antiques stores we have, but pricey!

      But I spent a few days in Sonoma county recently and was delighted to find a selection of reasonably priced antique/collectors outlets all clustered together ....... needless to say I had buy a few items to bring back to UK for souvenirs 🤣

      I’m off to the garden centre to find some summer bedding plants to put into a crate, hopefully it will look as good as yours when done!!

      PS: hoping your son continues to do well after his surgery!

      finds

      Reply
      • Pam Kessler

        May 31, 2019 at 10:30 am

        Thank you! He's doing great! And I'm glad you were able to find some treasures!

        Reply
    10. Susan

      June 09, 2019 at 9:12 pm

      Lobelia do not like hot temps., which is why we all lose them.

      Reply
    11. Cindy

      February 07, 2020 at 1:00 am

      My favorite annual. I don’t think they like humidity. I have better luck some years.

      Reply
    12. Jo Ann

      March 31, 2020 at 12:51 am

      Love the basket. Did you put a liner in it before planting the lobellas??

      Reply
    13. Tammy

      May 08, 2020 at 9:25 pm

      So I'm new at this and just bought my first Lobelia's. You mentioned that you need to cut them back after the first set of blooms. Can you help me with how far to cut them back. I would love to see them flourish in the next few weeks.

      Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Learn how to create a budget friendly home you'll love using repurposed thrift store finds, easy DIY & craft projects and seasonal gardening tips.

    Trending Content:

    • DIY Industrial Pipe Shelves
    • How To Grow Peonies - A Complete Guide
    • How To Paint A Front Door Without Removing It
    • Homemade Squirrel Repellent Recipe
    • DIY Earring Holder
    • How to Make A Penny Bowling Ball
    • Top 10 Thrift Store Shopping Tips
    • Blueberry Crostata Recipe
    • How To Make Winter Porch Pots
    • How To Grow Hydrangea In Pots

    About Me

    Pam Kessler | Author of House Of Hawthornes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Web Stories
    • Blog

    Let's Connect

    • Subscribe
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Facebook

    Shop

    • Amazon Favorites
    • Shop The Look

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 House Of Hawthornes, LLC

    🍪 We use cookies to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Do not sell my personal information.
    I Accept Read Privacy Notice
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled

    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

    Non Necessary

    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.