LOBELIA erinus Lobelia ____________________________________ Type: Annual Height: 4" (10cm) Flowering Time: Summer Flower Colour: Blue, white, pink ____________________________________ Botanical Classification: Class: Angiospermae (Angiosperms) Subclass: Dicotyledonae (Dicotyledons) Superorder: Asteridae (Daisy Superorder) Order: Campanulales (Bellflower Order) Family: Campanulaceae (Bellflower Family) Genus: Lobelia (Lobelia) Species: erinus (like the plant Erinus) ____________________________________

Lobelia erinus has long been a popular edging plant for summer borders, providing a neat hump of bright blue, often with reddish-tinged stems and leaves, throughout the summer. With the increasing popularity of hanging baskets and patio pots, new pendent varieties have become the mainstay of these summer containers, and these can trail for over a foot.

As well as royal blue, Lobelia is now commonly found in all shades of blue, and from pink to deep red, as well as white.

The seedlings are very small, so it is easier to transplant them in small clumps rather than individually, which also makes it easier to produce a multi-coloured display.

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Harvesting and Growing from Seed:

	Seed Pod The seed pod is a long thin cylinder with tails.
	Seed The seeds are tiny black balls. There are many seeds in each seedpod.
	Seedling The leaves are tiny and rounded, often tinged red.
Seed sowing and Germination Spring: Seeds sown outside in spring germinated in 21 days.