<p>{Family: Campanulaceae} It produces spikes of brilliant, scarlet-red flowers on branching stems above green or deep bronze-purple foliage, from late summer to mid autumn. It grows to a height of 3 ft (1m) and gets 1 ft (0.3m) wide.</p><p>Grow the Cardinal flower in rich, moist soil in full sun to partial shade in cool areas. If you get hot summers, then plant in partial to full shade. Propagate from seed or by division in spring or autumn. Transplant from late autumn to early spring. It is a short-lived perennial, but self-sows readily if the sead heads are left to mature on the plant. It is also easy to propagate by stem cuttings taken in midsummer.</p><p>This plant comes from Eastern and Central North America, and was first cultivated in 1626. It is named after Mathias de L'Obel (1538-1616), a Flemish botanist. "Cardinal" refers to the red flowers.</p>
