Plant Encyclopedia

Group/Class:  Hot Series

Brand:  Westhoff

Description:

This variety is covered with long lasting deep violet-blue flowers with contrasting white centers; looks wonderful in mass plantings along borders or in containers

Ornamental Features

Hot® Blue With Eye Lobelia is covered in stunning violet flowers with blue overtones and white centers at the ends of the stems from mid summer to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its pointy leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Hot® Blue With Eye Lobelia is an herbaceous annual with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Hot® Blue With Eye Lobelia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Hot® Blue With Eye Lobelia will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 6 inches apart. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Hot® Blue With Eye Lobelia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.