The Hot® Lobelia, otherwise known as the Lobelia Erinus Hot® Series or Early Dutch Honeysuckle, Honeysuckle ‘Belgica’, Dutch Woodbine ‘Belgica’, is a rather well known climber plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate 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.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Hot® Lobelia Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
In order to take proper care of your Hot® Lobelia you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Hot® Lobelia prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Lobelia Erinus Hot® Series in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Hot® Lobelia in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Hot® Lobelia this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Hot® Lobelia belongs to the genus Lonicera and the species Periclymenum, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Lobelia Erinus Hot® Series (low-BEE-lee-uh EAR-rin-us).
As with other Lonicera’s, the Hot® Lobelia is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Hot® Lobelia is a plant native to the Europe north to Scandinavia, UK and south to N Africa and Greece.
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 Hot® Lobelia is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Lobelia Erinus Hot® Series will be most used to the heat zones in the 5 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5a, 5b, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Hot® Lobelia is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Hot® Lobelia? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Lobelia Erinus Hot® Series can grow up to 20′ – 25′ (6m – 7.5m) in 20′ – 25′ (6m – 7.5m) and 3′ – 4′ (90cm – 120cm) in 3′ – 4′ (90cm – 120cm).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful mounding, and trailing shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the Hot® 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 Erinus Hot® Series prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
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 Hot® Lobelia in soil with moist but well-draining to 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.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Hot® Lobelia since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Hot® 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 clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Hot® Lobelia requires soil with clay, high organic matter, 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 Hot® Lobelia requires partial 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 Erinus Hot® Series in from little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to dappled or moderate shade (under other plant’s canopy), to full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Hot® Lobelia will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (late), and during the summer (early, mid).
Flowers
You can expect your Hot® Lobelia to flower around the spring months from April to June (spring).
In particular, this climber is well known for its long bloom season and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Hot® Lobelia produces some beautiful multicolored, or gold/yellow,purple/lavender, cream/tanpink, and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Hot® 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 Erinus Hot® Series to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Hot® Lobelia is well known for being able to attract hummingbirds and birds, 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 Erinus Hot® Series will be fine.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Hot® Lobelia will look best in it.
Most Lobelia Erinus Hot® Series owners agree that this climber will look great in most cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of coastal garden, and in informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Hot® 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 edging, border, mass planting, container, ground cover, or a rock garden.
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Hot® Lobelia, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
