Lobelia, Official (Lobelia inflata) seeds, organic
$3.95 – $34.10
Family: Lobelia (Lobeliaceae)
Hardy to Zones 4 to 9
(Official Lobelia, Indian Tobacco, Pukeweed) Annual, overwintering annual or biennial. Native to the central, southern, and eastern US. Diminutive plant with white flowers that have light-blue spots. These flowers give way to the characteristic “inflated” seedpods. Traditional usage: Antispasmodic, purgative. Lobelias prefer part to full sun, rich, moist soil, much water. Short-lived seed. Light-dependent germinators. Sow seed in spring or fall. Sprinkle seed on surface, tamp securely and keep evenly moist and in the light until germination. Average germ time in warm soils is 1 to 3 weeks. One very careful planting, surface-sowed under lights, came up in exactly 10 days. Water very gently. Extra advice on lobelia inflata–if you’re really trying to grow a patch for production, it makes sense to follow the natural cycles for this plant. In nature, germination is in the fall, after which the low-lying rosette overwinters, and flowers and goes to seed in the next spring to early summer. If you try to grow it as a spring annual it will probably bolt to flower when the soils warm up in the summer and give very little yield. Space plants 6 inches to 1 foot apart.
Packet contains 1000 seeds
1 g contains ~18,000 seeds
5 g contains ~90,000 seeds
10 g contains ~180,000 seeds
Certified Organically Grown
Kalili (verified owner) –
I would like to follow your sowing directions for fall planting for following year harvest. My question is if I put the seeds directly out to the garden, did I miss the time frame to naturally allow the lobelia to come up before overwintering a rosette? I live in zone 5b, we are still having warm days, soil still warm as there has not been a hard frost yet (though our USDA ‘first frost’ date is past). Any thoughts would be helpful, Thank you.
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Watch Unwatch Flag for removal
Richo Cech –
Hello Kalili, if you have even an unheated greenhouse then plant now, overwinter the rosette and plant it out to the garden in the spring. I did that last year and it was very successful. If y8ou don’t have greenhouse facilities, sice z 5 is pretty cold and its getting late, then plant the seeds in the spring. They can still size up nicely. Richo
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal
Question
Jennifer Pal (verified owner) –
Hi Richo, I want to learn to make lobelia root salve this yr. Directions in the book addresses herbs, what would be your directives on the root…first make the infused oil…dry root or fresh? About olive oil, the type for raw salads or the cooking kind as I see 2 types of oil to choose from. Thanks, I appreciate you answering my many questions
Upvote if this was helpful (2) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Watch Unwatch Flag for removal
Richo Cech –
Hi Jennifer, First the easy part. Use certified organic cold-pressed olive oil. There are some ersatz olive oils on the market but if you get certified organic it means that the processing has been overseen by a third-party agency and so it is correctly identified. As for making the lobelia oil and the salve from it, you could use the dried lobelia and process according to Making Plant Medicine page 85 to 88. I’m trying to condense a great deal of herbal pharmacy into an e-mail and it isn’t really possible. I’ll give you the result and you’ll just have to trust the process. 1) lobelia alkaloids are poorly oil soluble 2) most of us just use the alcoholic tincture of the fresh or dried plant and/or seeds for external use to relax musculature and diminish cough–it works great 3) the root is rarely used and the bruised seed contains a huge amount of fixed oil that would be oil soluble for hot oil extraction. You might consider using the bruised seed instead of the root. All parts of the plant, however, are extremely active. Even a single fresh flower is too high a dose. richo
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal
Jennifer Pal (verified owner) –
Can lobelia grow seedlings grow very close together when its transplant time or should they be separated and spaced apart a certain distance?
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal
Richo Cech –
Hi Jennifer, Thanks for writing! Lobelia plants are fairly small. Space 6 inches to 1 foot apart. When they come up in the flat, you can leave them clumped together until they get their second set of leaves, then pot up, then when they attain sufficient size, transplant to garden, fall or spring. richo
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal
S (verified owner) –
Hello,
This is my third attempt at growing lobelia from seed. They germinate in a flat but after that they’ll stay unchanged (teeny tiny seedlings) for weeks until they die. I’ve transplanted them out quickly into new pots as well as let them sit in the flat, kept them moist as well as allowed to dry out. Full sun as well as part shade. What am I doing wrong??
Another lady said she had the same trouble.
Thanks!
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal
Richo Cech –
Hello S,
Thanks for staying in touch. I checked my memory of this year’s planting as well as page 50 of “Growing Plant Medicine Vol 2” for any clues as to what might be going on there. When you mix the seed with sand before distributing, this creates the conditions for very fast darainage, which helps disallow damping off, which seems to be what’s going on. A light-dependent germinator, the plant also needs intense light during early growth phases and this may be the missing element in your system. There has been increased demand for lobelia as the commercial growers continually shy away from growing and selling this potent ally, so I’ve been growing more and more of it the last couple or years. Searching my memory as to how this works, I remember watering the flat less frequently than other flats–more or less like white sage vs. elecampane, and allowing the seedlings to really size up in the deep flat before pricking out to pots. They have a lot of root compared to aerial parts. Get ann 8-bulb T-5 grow light and set it up over a slatted bench in your greenhouse. Train the light 18 inches to 2 feet above the surface of the germinating flat. Turn it on at sunrise and off at sunset. That is the answer to almost every seed germination issue.
Richo
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal
Silpha –
Hi Richo. This is Silpha again.
What do you mean that Lobelia Seeds “need to be extracted at low concentration, and then low dosed and diluted before use”? Can you please explain? Thanks.
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Watch Unwatch Flag for removal
Richo Cech –
with potentially cathartic herbs one applies the rules of dilution and low dosage in order to increase efficacy and reduce side effects. The recipes and dosage for lobelia are given on pages 218-219 of “making plant medicine.”
Upvote if this was helpful (1) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal
Silpha –
Hi. I am planing to make a half gallon of Lobelia tincture/extract, using pure Vodka and Lobelia seeds. How much of your Lobelia Seeds do I need to purchase to make a half gallon of Lobelia tincture/extract?
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Watch Unwatch Flag for removal
Richo Cech –
hi silpha, lobelia seed is the strongest part of the plant and needs to be extracted at low concentration and then low dosed and diluted before use. see page 218-219 in making plant medicine. at 1:10 it would take 170 g to make 1/2 gal of tincture. r
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal
Question
Deb –
How often can you take Lobelia. 1/2tsp gets me breathing again but I don’t know how often I can do it
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Watch Unwatch Flag for removal
Richo Cech –
hi deb, this is a matter to discuss with your naturopath. one thing that occurs to me is that overdose of lobelia causes one to vomit… richo
Upvote if this was helpful (4) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal
Shirley Vick (verified owner) –
I would appreciate some advice. I have Multiple Sclerosis and I have learned how to use Lobelia inflate to help with spasms and muscle rigidity. I have been purchasing Lobelia inflata but I know that growing my own is better. I am in Texas, zone 8. I have sprouted Lobelia inflata but the sprouts are not growing. I even pricked them out of the coconut coir and put them into a potting soil. I keep the soil moist but not too wel. I have the sprouts in a greenhouse. I would appreciate any advice. I make my “tincture” following Ricco’s formulat of both vinegar and vodka. Please help.
Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Watch Unwatch Flag for removal
Richo Cech –
Hi Shirley, Tincturing fresh green lobelia is a good approach. You also have the option of making a tincture of the seeds, which at a 1:10 stretches pretty far, and it is strong. So look at getting lobelia seeds in bulk for the nonce. What you’re experiencing there with the plants not growing is just part of the natural cycling of the plant–it usually germinates and makes a rosette in the fall , overwinters and makes a nice flowering plant in the spring. So if you can match that cycle then you’ll have more success with growing it I think. That’s the way we do it here anyhow. richo
Upvote if this was helpful (5) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal