If a flower was ever designed to fit a hummingbird's needs and tastes, Lobelia tupa is it. Its brilliant scarlet, weird-looking blossoms attract the human eye as surely as they draw dozens of eager hummers. Could any flower be more ideally shaped to suit a hummingbird's long, needle-thin beak?
I grow very few perennials any more, because my garden is small and they take up more room and require more tending over the years. But a single plant of Lobelia tupa is so stunning it more than earns the space it takes up, which is more vertical than horizontal anyway. The contrast of the large, soft, blue-green leaves with the intense red of the spidery flowers, its height of 4-5 feet, and its exotic looks yet dependable hardiness make this beauty indispensable in the garden.
Plant Lobelia tupa where it gets plenty of sun and warmth, give it free-draining soil, mulch lightly to protect it from winter cold (but not too much or it'll rot). It's a strong growing and free-flowering plant which will make you as happy as it does the bees, birds and butterflies...mine is flowering late, like everything else this year, and just coming into bloom this week...
Mine is later than yours! Still in bud, it's younger than yours with only 4 bloom spikes, and the leaves are a bit crisped around the edges, so it might want afternoon shade here in zone 10. Yours looks incredibly happy and healthy.
Posted by: Denise | August 06, 2011 at 08:50 AM