It is found in wet shady areas throughout most of the U.S. Wildlife needs shelter, food and water to survive. Many people are helping wildlife by supplying them with the things they need. Ponds help provide water for many kinds of wildlife. The wet areas around ponds are good for moisture loving plants such as cardinal flowers, spider lilies, buttonbush and others. Wildlife use these plants for food and cover.
Cardinal flowers grow tallest and flower best in wet, partially sunny areas.
Cardinal flowers time their blooms with the fall migration of hummingbirds, their chief pollinator . In the winter they die back to a circular ring of leaves called a basal rosette. These leaves are resistant to cold and allow the plant to continue to produce and store food. These plants survive Texas hot dry summer by living in wet shady areas. Cardinal flowers are specially modified so that they can only be pollinated by hummingbirds.