Cardinal Flower

Northeastern native wildflower with tall spikes of brilliant scarlet flowers from midsummer into early fall. One of the best plants you can grow for ruby-throated hummingbirds, and a striking partner for Blue Lobelia in moist borders and rain gardens.

Cardinal Flower is a medicinal plant with a long history of use. The Cherokee used the root and leaves for colds, fevers, croup, and stomach complaints, and the Iroquois and other Native nations valued it as well. Herbalists have used it as a gentler relative of Lobelia inflata, with antispasmodic and expectorant qualities for the lungs and tight muscles. Like all lobelias it contains potent alkaloids, so it is used in small amounts and is best taken with the guidance of a trained herbalist.

Grows 2–4 feet tall in full sun to part shade and wants consistently moist to wet soil; it does not tolerate drought. Hardy in Zones 3–9. Blooms July to September. Native to much of North America, including Pennsylvania, where it grows along streambanks and in wet meadows. It is a short-lived perennial that keeps itself going by forming new offsets at the base and by self-seeding, so leave some bare, moist ground nearby.