Here is a discovery I made this year: Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) can be planted in an outdoor container and left there all through a zone 5 winter. The following spring, it will wake up cheerful and raring to go.
The Great Blue Lobelia in our shady Back Garden seem to positively love this treatment. They have been thriving in their pots all year, reaching heights of 4-5′, and blooming profusely.
They are sharing the containers mainly with Caladiums. They make a nice combinations, I think.
I love the tall racemes of violet-blue flowers.
And so do the bumblebees. Though I’ve noticed that sometimes the bumblebees seem to struggle with squeezing between the upper and lower lips of the flowers.
Instead they try to gain entry from the side, or at least that’s what it looks like they are doing.
More slender native bee species, on the other hand, can crawl in and out with apparent ease. If you enjoy bee-watching, Great Blue Lobelia can provide lots of entertainment. Hummingbirds are also drawn to this plant.
And another thing: the Great Blue Lobelia is self-sowing into a part of the Back Garden that I’m allowing to grow wild into a sort of shady glade. Not what I had expected but not a bad thing either.
As with so many other plants, Great Blue Lobelia seems to have a mind of its own as to where it will be happy.
gardeninacity 
The blue lobelia is a beautiful plant, Jason. I have a cardinal flower here in a pot, another member of the lobelia family.
Nice! Love those caladiums, too.
I like your Great Blue Lobelia however your description of it having a mind of its own reminds me of a few plants in my garden that are taking over .. just this morning I cut back a blue Salvia (African Sky) … looks lovely and flowers about 9 months of the year but is now taking over all the spring flowers and it sure does have a mind if it’s own!
It does look exceptionally happy in those pots! Not a bad deal to have blue spikes of flowers self seeding around the garden.
NICE! I have put them on my wish list. Thanks for sharing!
I have this growing in my garden too but in the ground. What kind of pots do you use to leave out all year? I have seen bumble bees make a side entrance to deep hosta blooms. Then the hummingbirds come along and use the hole the bees make too. Team work. ha…
Those close-ups of the flowers and bees are great! I’m sure I hear an OOF from those bumblebees.
I hope these beautiful plants still are standing after yesterday’s storm. I suspect your bumblebees are engaged in what’s called nectar robbing. Here’s a nice, short explanation of it.
What a beautiful plant the blue lobelia is! Looks great with the caladiums, too.
Lovely shots and beautiful garden!! You have some appreciative bees, I see!
I’ve searched for this plant in the wild for years and have never found it, so maybe I’ll grow it in a pot. I certainly have the shade.
They are beautiful. Loved seeing all the pollinators.xxx
Sometimes a plant can surprise us at its hardiness. I am glad they survive in pots for you. They really are lovely flowers and if I ever have any shade in my garden I would like to try growing them. 😃
Thanks so much for this. I plant all sorts of natives in containers but it never occurred to me to try one of my favorites – blue lobelia. Inspired!
I love the plants you use in your garden, especially these tall ones. I had only heard of Lobelia erinus – for borders and hanging baskets. In addition, it is very hard to find plants that will be happy in the shade. I fear this would not survive in my dry garden but I would love to try it in a big container in the spring. Amelia
Lovely with those caladiums
?! This is one I have never encountered before!
Such a beautiful colour! The plant itself looks very attractive too.
We have only the Lobelia erinus (an annual in the pots) and, as I have now learnt, the aquatic Lobelia dortmanna on sandy lake-shores. 🙂
The comments are very interesting too. I wonder how it would feel to live in an area where a flower blooms for 9 months a year. 😀
Stay safe and well!