Cardinal Flower Other Common Names: Cardinal Flower Scientific Name: Lobelia cardinalis  Native to Alabama: Yes
	Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center R. W. Smith Click on image to enlarge it

 Learn more about...
 

 

Basic Plant Information
	I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous. I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous. I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial. I can grow 2 - 4 feet high and 1 - 2 feet wide.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Stephanie Brundage Click on image to enlarge it

 
























 

---

  

Ecological Benefits
This plant provides food for:
Butterflies		Other Birds
Other Plants Found in Alabama with Similar Ecological Benefits:
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)		Pale-spike Lobelia (Lobelia spicata)

 
  

---

   

Maintenance Notes
Dormant in winter. Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase. Deadhead to improve appearance and encourage rebloom, but don’t cut back plants in the fall. Can be propagated by bending a stem down into the mud and fastening it with a rock or sticks.
When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds.  Water should reach all roots. Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves. Requires moist to wet soil at all times.
Moist to wet soil at all times: water three times per week.

 

---

  

Habitat Requirements
This plant prefers:
Full Sun (6+ hours of sun per day) Part Sun/ Shade (2-6 hours of sun per day) Shade (Less than 2 hours of sun per day)		Prefers moist to wet soils at all times	Sandy, Loamy, Clay, Limestone, or Moist Soil

 

---

   
  

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification
LEAF DESCRIPTION						Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Stephanie Brundage Click on image to enlarge it
Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)
Shape: Lanceolate		Margin: Serrate		Arrangement: Alternate	Form: Simple
Description:
Dark green leaves are pointed at both ends and grow up to 4 inches long; lower portion of unbranched, erect stem lined with leaves

FLOWER DESCRIPTION							Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Steve Faucette Click on image to enlarge it
Flower Shape Chart (JPG)
Color: Red; or blue for Great Blue Lobelia - Lobelia siphilitica	Shape: Tubular		Bloom Months: May - Oct
Description:
Terminal raceme (compact cluster of small flowers attached by short equal stalks at equal distances along the end of a stem) up to 8 inches long; flowers are 1-2 inches long, resupinate (twisting as they open) and have 2 lips with the upper portion two-lobed and the lower divided into three parts and spreading, all parts uniting into a tube at the base

SEED DESCRIPTION					Minnesota Wildflowers Peter M Dziuk Click on image to enlarge it
Type: Fruit - Dry Seed Pod		Description: Capsule is two-celled, holding many small golden seeds, opening at the top	Months in Seed: Fall
Plant spreads by: Seeds

 

---

 

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle: All plants start life as a seed. The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots. The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground. After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers. After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed. When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again. Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

General Plant Life Cycle - Dreamstime Click on image to enlarge it

 

---

Quick Fact Sheet (Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign: Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign: Editable Word Doc

QR Code (Links to this Webpage)

---

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Plant Database		USDA Plants Database
Native Plant Trust Go Botany		North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Missouri Botanical Garden		Minnesota Wildflowers

.