Latin name: Lobelia tupa
by Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association
Looking for a stately plant for the back of a mixed flower border?
Lobelia tupa, a native of Chile, is a robust, upright, clump forming perennial. The stems are red-purple and the leaves lance shaped, downy and grey-green. The flowers are narrowly tubular, two-lipped in shades of brick red. These are borne on long racemes, above tall stems from mid-summer to mid-fall.
Cultivate in fertile soil with steady moisture, located in sun to part shade.
At Milner Gardens & Woodland, a maturing clump can be found across the Grand Lawn in the border running along the top of the steep bank.
It will be displaying its delicate flowers from mid-June on.
Photos courtesy of: Angela Einarson
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Attribute |
Description |
|---|---|
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Form: |
Herbaceous perennial. |
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Foliage: |
Ovate to lance shaped, stalk-less, downy, simple leaves; 9 inches (22cms.) |
|
Height/Width: |
Mature plants can have flower spikes up to 4 feet (1.2 m) and a width of 2 feet (60 cm.) |
|
Hardiness Zone: |
Zone 4 - 8. |
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Exposure: |
Full sun to part shade. |
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Flower colour: |
Brick red with a purple calyx. |
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Leaf colour: |
Grey-green. |
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Flower time: |
Mid-summer to mid-fall. |
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Preferred soil and Watering: |
Fertile soil with consistent moderate moisture. |
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Other: |
All parts of the plant are considered poisonous. Divide mature clumps in early spring. A striking plant for the back of a mixed border. Varying greatly in size and flower colour, Lobelia plants have common features in simple often stalk-less leaves and two-lipped flowers. |