Plant Profile: Lobelia erinus

A variety of cultivars are available, including ‘Blue Moon’ with its deep blue blooms, and ‘Cambridge Blue’, which features soft, clear blue flowers on compact plants that grow 4 to 6 inches tall. ‘Crystal Palace’ showcases dark blue flowers against bronze-green foliage on similarly compact plants, while ‘Paper Moon’ offers pure white flowers. ‘Rosamunde’ presents carmine red flowers adorned with a white eye, and both ‘White Lady’ and ‘Snowball’ boast pristine white blossoms. For those seeking trailing varieties suitable for hanging baskets or elevated planters, options like ‘Blue Cascade’, the ‘Fountain’ series, ‘Hamburgia’, and ‘Sapphire’ are ideal. Notably, ‘Sapphire’ features purple flowers with a white eye and is recognized as one of the finest trailing lobelias. To promote new blooms, it is advisable to prune the plants after each flowering cycle.

Be cautious of issues such as damping-off, stem rot, and root rot, which can occur in overly damp conditions.

This plant exhibits low drought tolerance.

All parts of the plant are toxic.

Ingestion is the mode of toxicity.

Symptoms of poisoning may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive salivation, fatigue, weakness, pupil dilation, convulsions, and potentially coma.

The toxic components include alkaloids such as lobelamine and lobeline, along with a volatile oil.

The toxicity is significant only if large quantities are consumed.

This plant can be found in forests or natural areas, thriving in moist woods and fields, as well as along stream edges; it is also commonly cultivated in flower gardens among herbaceous annuals and perennials.

For further details on Lobelia, additional information is available.