Lobelia laxiflora, was Syphilantha
Brook Klehm (Tue, 10 Jan 2006 10:32:06 PST)

Hello,
I keep telling myself that I'll keep up to date in reading the
postings...

Lobelia laxiflora is in the trade in California and I've seen it
listed in the Pacific Northwest as well. However, the selection in the
trade is L. laxiflora angustifolia. The flowers are the same as those
pictured, but the foliage is lanceolate. And the internodes are short.
In my garden, it grew to 30" (70cm?) tall and bloomed late spring to
mid summer. It is rhizomatous and will spread far in time. I've seen
it growing through a hedge and becoming an ineradicable element in the
garden (read: weed). I've been told that it blooms non-stop in barely
irrigated sand in San Diego. The stems are frost sensitive in wet,
Northern California winters, though the roots seem hardy.
I've seen the form listed in the Plant Delights catalog while
traveling in southern Mexico, but never the selection that is in the
trade. I have trouble imagining the lanky form in a garden, but it
might settle into a casual, "wild" garden attractively.

Brook