PUSHING THE BORDERS

I had a wander around Fox Rosehill gardens in Falmouth this afternoon and came upon a plant that I must have seen there before but not in flower.
I think it is Lobelia excelsa ?




It is very close to the main entrance to the gardens and must have been there for some years as it has quite a large woody base and stands about 1.5M tall and wide. The leaves are almost succulent like and remind me if a Euphorbia. Stems are very sturdy and I would imagine that it stands up to the wind very well.
For such an attractive plant it seems strange that I can't find it for sale online in the UK.
Most sources suggest that it can take down to -5C for short periods but it is probably hardier than that as there is someone on the Hardy Plant Society who grows it in their garden in the North West of England.
I shall be popping over to Fox Rosehill next week to see if Matt, the head gardener, will let me take a cutting or two.

Whilst you are asking, make it 3 :D

Not seen that before, what a wonderful thing! Right up my alley.

That's a fantastic lobelia Andy, I'm a big fan of lobelias especially 'tupa'.
I Will be hunting one down now

That is an amazing plant and a brilliant spot Andy, I love the colour.
Some of the giant Lobelia are breathtaking.
I have failed with tupa several times, and excelsa would almost certainly be a step too far for me, but that has never stopped me trying impossible plants before. :roll:
As you say, it really is hard to find and considering it is such a wonderful plant, not sure why.

John, you should be able to grow this Lobelia in your garden.

There is a member of the North East Group of the Hardy Plant Society, Maggie Duguid who gardens in Northumberland and grows it.
Link here https://www.hardy-plant.org.uk/hortlib?ref=md-15

Lobelia laxiflora subsp. angustifolia is a decent herbaceous lookalike.

All my cuttings failed miserably treating them the same as Lobelia fistulosa, rotted off very quicly. If I can get some more cutting material I'll try them in pure molar clay next time.

I was so determined to own this plant that I purchased seed from RarePlants.eu (no phyto certificates needed yet) and they (50) arrived from Spain about 10 days ago and were immediately sown.
Two days ago they began to appear and now all appear to have germinated. If I can keep them alive and they turn out to be the real thing (might turn out to be cress ) I will share the love :)

You won't have far to look for donees, Andy :)

The seedlings are coming along nicely, the only problem is that the 'true' leaves are dentate in shape. I suspect that I have been sold some rubbish.
My faith in online sellers of seeds and plants was already quite low, there seem to be fewer and fewer out there with integrity :(