Hummingbirds love its long, late season!
The combination of big, wide-open, butterfly-shaped scarlet blooms and near-black stems is electrifying on this compact, free-flowering Lobelia! More tolerant of wind and shade than others, it is a joy for the perennial border and the vase, with a long, late season of bloom.
Starship Scarlet earns its name with the eye-catching shade of red borne on its blooms, but its merits go far beyond beauty. It is a hummingbird magnet, and because it flowers from midsummer into mid-fall in most climates, you get a longer season of winged visitors! Also, it is simply more floriferous than most others, with a columnar habit that packs a lot of color into very little garden space. Although Starship Scarlet is 20 to 24 inches high in bloom, it's seldom more than 8 inches wide. Very effective in small gardens and tight spaces!
This Lobelia is a hybrid of several species, with the best characteristics of each. It thrives in moist soil, but does not mind dry conditions, especially after it's had a season or two to establish in the garden. (Wet soil it will not tolerate.) A good choice for containers, its straight up-and-down habit complements all the mounding and trailing varieties out there today.
And Starship Scarlet is easy to grow from our pelleted seed. Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before planting out, and do not plant out until nighttime temperatures are reliably 60 degrees F or warmer. This Lobelia starts later than many, but finishes long past others, too! Enjoy its beauty for years in your sunny to lightly shaded garden and containers. Zones 6-10.
Genus | Lobelia |
Species | x speciosa |
Variety | 'Starship Scarlet' |
Item Form | (P) Pkt of 20 seeds |
Zone | 6 - 10 |
Bloom Start to End | Mid Summer - Mid Fall |
Habit | Compact |
Seeds Per Pack | 20 |
Plant Height | 20 in - 24 in |
Plant Width | 6 in - 20 in |
Additional Characteristics | Bloom First Year, Butterfly Lovers, Flower, Free Bloomer, Hummingbird Lovers, Long Bloomers, Season Extenders |
Bloom Color | Red |
Foliage Color | Black, Burgundy |
Light Requirements | Full Sun, Part Shade |
Moisture Requirements | Dry, Moist, well-drained, Wet |
Resistance | Cold Hardy, Drought Tolerant, Heat Tolerant, Humidity Tolerant |
Soil Tolerance | Clay, Normal, loamy |
Uses | Border, Containers, Cut Flowers, Outdoor |