Lobelia kalmii – Brook Lobelia – 1-Quart

Some native plants aren’t grown even by native plant nurseries because they have small flowers that aren’t overly ornamental and the plants aren’t considered garden-worthy. We’ve long been interested in offering Brook Lobelia, but worried it simply wouldn’t be showy enough to garner attention. We’ve found though, when grown under garden conditions, where it can develop a full form, the clouds of small flowers are delicately beautiful in the manner of Baby’s Breath or Calamint. “It’s a sweet little thing” is an expression we often hear applied to this plant. Brook Lobelia is native to Ulster County but occurs exclusively in calcareous boggy areas called “fens” – it needs an absence of competition from more vigorous plants and an alkaline soil – if you have acidic soils typical of much our region you may have a tough time naturalizing it – you’ll need to grow Brook Lobelia in the garden in compost-enriched soils.