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LOBELIA GUIDES

potted lobelia with blue and white flowers growing outside in front of a brick wall

Container GrowingSowingVarieties

Lobelia is a popular pick for garden in the UK .

There are a figure of unlike species and hybrid type that you could grow , with blossom in an enticing range of colours and tones .

purple and pink flowering lobelia growing in a green container outside

Of course , lobelias often make good border plants , but you might be wonder if you’re able to farm these beautiful perennial in potbelly .

Can You Grow Lobelia In Pots?

Lobelia of many dissimilar types can make excellent industrial plant for container gardens , as both annual and perennial types can be grown in pots .

Some of the most democratic for container horticulture areLobelia erinuscultivars .

These half - intrepid annuals are often give chase and are ideally suit to growing in pots or advert containers .

first flowers from a seedling lobelia growing in a raised planter

However , recurrent type and their loan-blend can also be grown in pots , as long as the correct conditions are provide .

I really grow lobelia from seed last year and plant them out in one of my promote planters .

you’re able to see the result ( at dissimilar stage of the flora ’s flowering cycle ) in my images below :

progress in growth and many emerging blue flowers of lobelia plant

As you could no doubt see – what starts off as just a few flowers slowly morph into a flurry of blooms that lasts throughout summer .

More tender types may sometimes be grown in container so that they can be proceed indoors or undercover during the cold months .

Choosing A Container

When choosing a container , the first thing to decide is whether you will choose a hanging basket or a container that will sit on the ground .

drag lobelia can look lovely when in an rarified container , and hanging containers can help you to make the most of your space .

However , keep up with tearing need may be a little more challenging .

lobelia flowering profusely in late summer, with many small blue flowers

When you take your container , remember that you want to provide moist but free - draining conditions for yearly case , so adequate drainage holes are essential .

However , some perennial type will like damper and less free - draining condition , so make certain you think about which particular character of lobelia you have chosen to grow .

Choosing A Compost

The potting mixing or growing medium that you take will also depend in part on which type of lobelia you are grow .

That being order , all lobelia will be given to revalue a growing medium that is relatively rich in constitutive matter and capable of retaining moisture sufficiently well .

A multi - purposepeat - gratuitous compostwith some homemade compost or well - rotted manure added in will work well .

two purple flowering lobelia growing in pots inside

“ For plants like Lobelia , I make a H2O - retentive potting mix of one - third vermiculite , one - third coir and one - third good - quality peat - costless compost , ” shares Master Horticulturist Dan Ori .

A loam - free-base option is in the main safe for perennial types that will remain in a container over a recollective period of time .

Potting Up

When planting lobelia in pots , verify that you place potted specimens at the same depth that they were planted at in their previous pot .

Make a planting gob magnanimous enough to accommodate the root system or the works or plants , identify the plant into the trap and then firm back the spring up sensitive around the exterior .

It is also a good approximation to add mulch or organic matter over the Earth’s surface of your container so as to keep back moisture , which is all-important in lobelia cultivation .

the roots of a potted purple flowering lobelia plant

How many lobelias you could found per pot will obviously reckon on the size of the container and , again , on the type of lobelia you have chosen to grow .

It will also depend on whether you will be growing the lobelia alone or immix it with other flora in a interracial display .

yearly lobelias can look big alongside a stove of other annual beddingplants ordinarily rise in container and hanging baskets .

potted lobelia plant bearing purple flowers growing outside in front of a garden bench

If you are growing one-year lobelia in a container , each one should usually be send around 10 - 15 cm apart .

recurrent types typically ask space of around 30 centimetre .

Ongoing Container Care

shoes container in full sun or fond shade reckon on the sort and where you live .

In hot summer areas , partial nicety can be expert for some type , helping them last for long .

Water well and on a regular basis .

blue and white lobelia plants that have been potted in decorative watering cans hanging from a white painted tree brach

Keeping up with pee prerequisite is the most important thing when develop lobelia in corporation .

“ It is potential you will need to irrigate your containers at least once a day in the summer , so placing your containers in trays of water will often help – I use grow handbag trays , ” explains Dan .

“ If your container dry out and plant start to wilt , water the surface of the pot slowly and then settle it into a pail of H2O until submerge , when the breeze bubbles stop breaking the water surface .

blue flowering lobelia plant growing in a wide container

“ The planting mix should be rehydrated , but be warned , as you may require supporter since the muckle will get heavy as they hit it up up the water . ”

think back , all lobelia like moist term , so never have the grow mass medium wholly dry out .

commend that more steady tearing is ordinarily require for plants produce in pots or hang basket than for those growing in the primer .

Mulch upon planting and replenish mulch around perennial plants each twelvemonth .

fee with a potassium - deep organic liquid feed every pair of week through the blooming period for good issue .

Keep an eye out for bullet , snail and other pests and check that to protect or move tender perennial type in wintertime .