Cardinal Flower - A Plant of the Campanulaceae Family
Published · Flower Resource
Cardinal flowers are named after the vivid color of Roman Catholic cardinal’s robe. They are intense red blossoms during the summer heat when other perennials are declining. These flowers are wonderful flowers for perennial borders, naturalizing and wildflower meadows. Cardinal wildflower is native to Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. These lobelia flowers are brilliant red with tall spikes and trumpet shaped flowers that rise above the dark green foliage. Cardinal flowers begin blooming in early summer and to its peak in mid to late summer. This flower belongs to Campanulaceae that is Bellflower family. They are about 3 to 6 feet in height. Their leaf are dark green in color and the fruit is blue colored.
The biological name of these flowers is Lobelia Cardinalis and they are form lobelia genus. They are mostly known for their striking red tubular flowers in an elongated cluster. The flowers also have brilliant scarlet, pink or white flowers and it is a campanulaceous plant of the North America.
Uses of Cardinal Flower
- The finely ground roots of this flower were earlier traditionally used as love potions and aphrodisiacs even though the plant is toxic in large quantities.
- Ornamentally these flowers are used for its aroma, color, show and for perennial gardens.
- Amerindians use root tea for stomach ache, typhoid, syphilis and worms.
- Leaf tea is also used for colds, nosebleeds, fever and rheumatism.
Interesting Facts
- Cardinal flowers depend on humming birds for fertilization as most insects struggle to navigate the long neck of these trumpet shaped flowers.
- In southern Arizona its corolla is red with yellow colored lobes or all yellow.
- These flowers attract birds, butterflies and even birds.
Soil Needed
- The cardinal flower needs a moist, fertile soil to perform best.
- They require full sun to partial shade.
How to Plant?
- The flowers are propagated by seeds, division and stem cuttings and they should be spaced 1 to 2 feet apart.
- You can sow the seeds indoors some eight to ten weeks before last frost and seeds would ripen in the fall about seven weeks after forming.
- The easiest way to get the new plants is through separation; every year new plantlets develop and grow around the crown of the existing plant. You can separate these smaller plants from mother plant and replant.
- You can also propagate these plants through standard division, divide the flowers periodically in spring or fall and replant the divisions 12inches apart.
- Through stem cuttings it is very challenging to grow this new plant, cuttings are successful when they are made from actively growing plants.
Maintenance and Care
- Water the plant deeply in absence of rain.
- Fertilize the plant in fall with general purpose fertilizer.
- A layer of organic mulch around the plant will help to prevent water evaporation.
- Cut the spent flower spikes just above the leafy part so that the new spikes take their place.
- Never let the soil dry out completely.