AnnualsDiscover the right annual plants for your garden.
Vermillionaire ® large firecracker flora ( Cupheahybrid ) . Photo by Proven Winners .
Are you tired of planting the same humdrum mix of annual in your garden bottom and containers year after twelvemonth ? If so , Cuphea is just what you need to break out of your groove and rev up your summertime people of color palette .
Cuphea is gaining far-flung collection because of its usurious array of blossom colours and profiles . Although the flowers are small , they are abundant , and their brilliant colors and scented nectar make them absolutely resistless to hummingbirds , butterflies , and other pollinators .
Cuphea loves summer sunlight and heat , and when grown as an annual , it will bloom nonstop until the first frost . If you live in a frost - liberal climate , you could also maturate it as an evergreen perennial . In recent year , stock breeder have introduced Modern cuphea loanblend with showier blossom on more compact flora , giving you even more option and gloss combinations to opt from .
On this page : Basics|Types|Planting|Care|Cuphea Pictures|Landscaping Ideas
BASICS
Botanical name:
Cuphea(KOO - fee - ah )
Common names:
banger plant , cigar peak , Mexican cigar industrial plant , squash racket flower , bunny rabbit ears , false ling
Plant type:
Tender perennial , farm as an annual in most climate .
Zone:
8 - 11
Height/spread:
1 to 3 pes
Bloom time:
Late spring until frost
Light preference:
Full sunshine
Flower colors and characteristics:
Both sides of the color cycle are represent , from lovesome and spicy reds and oranges to cool pink , lilac , and purple tones . Cultivars with pure whitened blooms are also available . The blooms are typically tubular in shape , but some sport auricle - shaped petals that give them the impulsive appearance of diminutive mice , bats , or bunnies .
Foliage:
Bright green to blue - greenish , typically glossy and oblong
Special features:
TYPES OF CUPHEA
There are more than 250 metal money ofCuphea , most of them native to Mexico and Central and South America . However , only a smattering are cultivated for ornamental use . The following types are among the most popular and are usually available at local nursery or by mail - order , either as seeds or potted plants .
PLANTING
Where to plant:
In full sun or part nicety in compost - deep , well - drained soil . Where summers are hot and dry , cupheas do good from a bite of shadiness .
When to plant:
In late spring , after all danger of rime has pass .
Growing from seed:
you’re able to sow come directly in the garden after the soil has warmed in the spring or start seed indoors 10 to 12 hebdomad before the last frost . seminal fluid need light source for germination , so do n’t pass over them up with soil ; just press them thinly into the control surface . Keep the filth moist until sprouting hap , commonly within 8 to 10 daylight .
Although cupheas are comfortable to set out from ejaculate , the germ wo n’t germinate outside in temperatures below 70 ° F. Unless you live in a temperate clime , you ’ll have better results purchasing container - grown plants or pop out seed indoors .
CARE
Watering:
Water on a regular basis until plants become well established , keep the grease evenly moist but not soggy . Once they take root , plant can tolerate siccative get conditions .
Fertilizing:
To keep your cuphea plants blossom vigorously all season , fertilize them regularly with awater - soluble fertilizer , or once in the spring with aslow - discharge granular fertilizer . Potted plant may require more frequent applications .
Pruning and deadheading:
Cupheas are ego - cleaning , so no deadheading is needed to ensure continuous flush yield . If you want to make your plant life bushier and more compact , you may crop or pinch them back in tardy fountain to encourage more branching and , in tour , more bloom .
Common pests and problems:
Although cupheas are more often than not pest resistant , they may occasionally be bothered byJapanese beetles , whiteflies , andaphids .
CUPHEA PICTURES
Photo : Proven victor
Vermillionaire ® Large Firecracker Plant — Buy now from Proven WinnersCuphea igneahybrid
Height:
18 to 28 inch
Spread:
12 to 24 column inch
like to ‘ David Verity ’ but with some celebrated enhancement , including larger , more abundant reddish - orange flowers and a tidier , mound habit , making it a great improver to containers .
picture by : Proven Winners .
' Flamenco Samba'—Buy now from Proven WinnersCuphea llavea
8 to16 column inch
12 to 18 Inches
This show - stopping bat - faced cuphea feature turgid flowers with dark over-embellished centers and frilly scarlet - crimson petal that depend like enormous squash racket spike . Vigorous and well - branch , with gravid heat tolerance and a sprawl ontogeny habit . Also tryTiny black eye ® (C. llavea ) , a slightly smaller plant ( about a foot high and wide-cut ) with petite red - eared blooms .
Photo by : yakonstant / Shutterstock .
' David Verity’Cuphea igneahybrid
2 to 3 feet ( 4 to 5 feet in climates where it is wintertime dauntless )
hummingbird flock in droves to the tubular , impassioned orange blooms of this showy cultivar , which is also called cigar flower because of the somewhat flared , yellow tips that resemble a lit cigar . Prominent empurpled filaments and reddish stanch complement the brightly colored flowers . make a beautiful haven for hummingbird by growing ‘ David Verity ’ with some of their other preferent nectar sources , suchsalvia , genus Agastache , andcrocosmia .
Photo by All - America Selections .
FloriGlory ® DianaCuphea hyssopifolia
10 to 12 inches
15 to 18 in
boast five time the bloom ability of traditional Mexican heathers , this 2018 All - America Selections winner , breed by Westhoff , is shroud in intensely colored Battle of Magenta bloom from spring well into surrender . Although not actually a penis of the heather family , it bears a close resemblance , with its finely textured , shining greenish leaves and flushed pinkish flowers . Other colors in the FloriGlory ® serial include bloodless and lavender . Plant a mixture of all three chromaticity in a mint or hanging basketball hoop for a knockout container system .
exposure by Rock Giguere / Millette Photomedia .
Sriracha ™ VioletCuphea llavea
14 to 18 inches
12 to 14 inches
fetch on the heat ! The capably named Sriracha ™ series of cupheas produce a profuseness of vibrantly colored blossom throughout the dog Clarence Shepard Day Jr. of summertime on compact plant under 2 foundation tall . Sriracha ™ Violet features dazzling flowers . Other hues in the series let in pinkish and rose . The container - friendly size is just right for adding smart pops of color to terrace , balconies , and smaller gardens .
LANDSCAPING IDEAS
If you love warm , citrusy colors , try Vermillionaire ® in thiscontainer recipefrom Proven Winners , along with Superbells ® Dreamsicle ® and Superbells ® Double Amber calibrachoas .
There are many ways to include cuphea in your garden , here are a few suggestions :
