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Great Blue Lobelia

Lobelia siphilitica

Found in bottomlands, moist forests, ditches, wet meadows, streambanks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

52
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
1.5–4 feet
Spread
1–1.5 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
July to October
Fruiting season
Fall

Recorded in 82 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 5

Moist forests

Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland
Regional / representative. Shown: Mountains of North and South Carolina; exact site not identified, a neighboring state.Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

All habitats

Care

  • Keep the soil consistently moist, especially in full sun.
Care sources
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Lobelia

  • Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
  • Enigmogramma basigeraPink-Washed Looper Moth
  • Eoparargyractis pleviePlevie's Aquatic Moth
  • Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
30BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Lobelia

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Adult butterflies / moths 1
  • Anosia plexippus

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Campanulaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–9b
Flower color
Blue
Fruit begins
Fall
Fruit ends
Fall

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources