Lobelia String of Pearls mixed consists of a mixture of bright light blue, dark blue, white and light purple compact plants with little flowers on short light green stems and are surrounded by lancet-shaped thin fresh green leaves. These plants are very well suited for growing in borders, as groundcover, for growing on in flowerpots and planters on the balcony. They can also be used to fill in any empty spots in Your garden. They can witstand some cold, but don't tolerate any frosts. They have a good resistance against diseases and pests and are very easy to grow. Never let the plants dry out, because they have no resistance against drought. When deadheaded often these plants can flower till october. Very well loved by bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. Non hardy annual.
Indoor sowing: March - middle of April
Germination: 10 - 15 days
Germination temp. : 18 - 20°C
Sowing depth: shallow
Transplanting: 4 weeks after germination
Plant distance: 10 - 15 cm
Plant position: sunny - half shade
Flowering period: May - October
The seeds of lobelia are very small and should be mixed with some dry sand to make sowing easier and to prevent the forming of clumps of seedlings that are difficult to transplant. Sow indoors in seedtrays filled with moist pottingsoil mixed with sand. Sow the seeds as evenly as possible and press them gently in the sowing medium. Don't cover the seeds up because this is a light germinator. Put the trays away in a light room with a temperature of 18 - 20 °C. Keep the temperature as even as possible and don't let the temperatures drop to much during the night. Cover the trays with a lid to keep the moisture inside.
Remove the lid when the seedlings emerge. Transplant the seedlings to separate pots filled with moist potting soil 4 weeks after the germination. Harden the plants of by putting them outdoors during the day or putting them in a cold frame during 10 days in the beginning of May. Put them outdoors on a sunny plot with free draining and fertilized soil in the middle of May, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrosts. Keep the plants about 10 - 15 cm apart. Lobelia doesn't tolerate drought and must be kept moist all times.
