Peter Kalm, the eighteenth-century Swedish natural historian, reported that native Americans used this perennial as a remedy for venereal disease. Carl Linnaeus therefore named it siphilitica. Although grown in European gardens earlier, it was sold by Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon in 1804.Great Blue Lobelia grows to three feet and produces an elegant blue, sometimes white, flower in mid to late summer.

Visit Monticello’s Online Shop to check for seeds or plants of Blue Lobelia.


Bloom Dates: Late July - mid-October
Growth Type:  Perennial
Color(s):  Blue
Hardiness Zones: Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8
Location at Monticello: West Lawn
Planting Conditions: Shade