What it is
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is in the Campanulaceae family. An intense scarlet native for damp, shady spots — a hummingbird favorite where most natives want it dry.
How to grow it
It wants part shade, water it high — likes wet, and give it rich, moist soil. Target a soil pH around 6.0–7.0. Space plants about 12–18 in apart. Expect roughly Blooms summer. Hardy native perennial.
How it's used
Cardinal Flower is used: ornamental; pollinator.
🔎 How to identify it
- Lance-shaped toothed leaves
- Tall flower spike
- Brilliant red tubular flowers
Not for eating
How to grow & propagate cardinal flower
Everything I've worked out about starting this one, keeping it alive through a Texas year, and turning one plant into many — free.
How to propagate cardinal flower
Cardinal Flower is grown from seed. Start it in the season it favors, keep the seedbed evenly moist until it's up, and thin to give each plant room to size up.
Growing cardinal flower in Texas
Give it part shade and rich, moist soil. Match the spot to the plant and most of the battle is already won.
Time your planting to our long warm season and watch the frost dates at both ends; the live weather tool on this site is built for exactly that.
Keep moisture even, especially while it's young — deep, less-frequent soaks build better roots than a daily sprinkle.
Harvesting
Figure on roughly blooms summer before you're harvesting.
Making more for free
If you want more, let your healthiest plants mature fully and collect the seed once it's dry on the plant — then store it somewhere cool, dark, and dry until next season.
Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.