Lobelia tupa - advice please

[AndyC]

Last year I grew some Lobelia tupa from seed and kept them in their pots over winter in the green house. They have leafed up again nicely and will be planted out once I have decided on a suitable spot.

The general recommendations for Lobelia are that they are planted in reliably moist soil but I've also read that L.tupa is drought tolerant. Can anyone advise as to the best conditions for this plant please?

[simon]

Andy, mine appeared to cope fine with the dry conditions in the first part of last years growing season but when it turned exceptionally wet it went down hill fast. The leaves turned yellow and the stems flopped. It was happy in that spot for two years before this, so whether it was the two extremes it couldn't cope with or just the outright wet soil of the latter part I don't know. Probably the usual 'moist but well drained' is the way to go, what ever that means.

Mine is no more. The roots completely rotted in the ground.

[charlie]

Self seeds here into the tops of pots, so must like good drainage, but seems to thrive where it gets regular wet in summer. Watch for slug damage as they emerge in spring

[LONGK]

I mulched mine using the Swamp Cypress needles (my thoughts were that they would insulate the crown, but remain "airy") which worked well. It now stands over 10cm high with many stems (was a first year seedling in 2012). Of the two that I lifted and put in the greenhouse, one is half that size and the other is yet to re-emerge.

Not sure how others think about this, but I leave the spent stems on all my Lobelias over the winter. Having hollow stems I think that this stops moisture penetrating the plant during the cold resting period.

[Mark]

Mine sits under the large Abies in the garden and it had survived another winter ok. It is very dry there and when it starts flagging during the summer a just stick the hose on it for a while. Mine never got very tall so maybe a move to a damper part of the garden would give it more moisture and a greater height.

[AndyC]

Thanks for the tips guys. My soil is very free draining so water logging is never going to be a problem here. I think I'll go for a spot on the sunny side of a clump of Miscanthus sacchariflorus.
One of the websites I looked at for information on growing the Lobelia (an American site I think) recommended leaving the old stems on over winter but I can't remember which site or why it was suggested. Perhaps to provide snorkels in very wet conditions? :lol:

[LONGK]

One of the websites I looked at for information on growing the Lobelia (an American site I think) recommended leaving the old stems on over winter but I can't remember which site or why it was suggested.

My Queens Vics had a habit of turning to mush until I left the stems on one year. Think that the chap at my local nursery may have suggested it to me...............