The Fan Blue Lobelia, otherwise known as the Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ or Honeysuckle ‘Gold Flame’, Gold Flame Honeysuckle, Coral Honeysuckle, is a rather well known climber plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this climber will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Fan Blue Lobelia Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Fan Blue Lobelia can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Fan Blue Lobelia needs water regularly, at least once a week. Increase watering in hot conditions. Allow a little drought when the plant is established.
- Light: Keep your Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ in an environment where it can receive partial shade to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Fan Blue Lobelia in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of loam and clay.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Fan Blue Lobelia will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Fan Blue Lobelia belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family, and the genus Lonicera, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ (low-BEE-lee-uh spee-see-OH-suh).
As with other Lonicera’s, the Fan Blue Lobelia is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Fan Blue Lobelia is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 6 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8a, 8b and the ideal climate zone is between 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1, H2.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Fan Blue Lobelia is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Fan Blue Lobelia actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ can grow up to 10′ – 15′ (3m – 4.5m) in 10′ – 15′ (3m – 4.5m) and 3′ – 6′ (90cm – 180cm) in 3′ – 6′ (90cm – 180cm).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the Fan Blue Lobelia is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ needs water regularly, at least once a week. Increase watering in hot conditions. Allow a little drought when the plant is established.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Fan Blue Lobelia in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, moist, and occasionally dry properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Fan Blue Lobelia is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Fan Blue Lobelia prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, and occasionally dry properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of loam and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Fan Blue Lobelia requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Fan Blue Lobelia requires partial shade to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this climber will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Fan Blue Lobelia will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Fan Blue Lobelia to flower around the spring, summer and the fall months from April to June (spring), from July to September (summer), and from October to December (fall).
In particular, this climber is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Fan Blue Lobelia produces some beautiful violet-blue, or pink, gold/yellow and purple/lavender flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Fan Blue Lobelia have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Fan Blue Lobelia is well known for being able to attract butterflies, birds and hummingbirds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Fan Blue Lobelia? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Lobelia X Speciosa ‘Fan Blue’ owners agree that this climber will look great in most contemporary and cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Fan Blue Lobelia’s best location within your garden is in pergolas, wall-side borders, arbors, trellises, and in walls and fences, others use it for landscaping in a container, mass planting, border, cutting garden, or a woodland garden.
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Fan Blue Lobelia in your garden or home.
