Cardinal-flower for sale at upcoming plant sale at Blue Creek Metropark
BERKEY – The cardinal-flower isn’t a common wildflower, but, where it blooms it’s impossible to miss. Its time is now, from late summer into early fall. The spikes of deep red flowers stand on stalks up to four feet tall, typically in wet woods, along streams and other places where it can keep its feet wet.
It’s an ideal plant for attracting hummingbirds, which enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship with this deep-tubed wildflower. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are attracted to the red flowers and enjoy a fine nectar meal. In doing so the forehead of the hummingbird brushes against the male part of the flower, depositing pollen on the bird’s head. The hummingbird pollinates the plant when it visits other cardinal-flowers.
This attractive member of the bellflower family is an ideal plant to incorporate in rain gardens. Look for it at the upcoming wildflower plant sale at Blue Creek Metropark in Whitehouse, Ohio on Sept. 14-15. It’s an ideal opportunity get acquainted with other wildflowers for your home garden, as well.
