Cigar plant ( Cuphea ignea )
Cigar cuphea - butterflies love this bush Aug 17th '09
The plant has wonderful long, bright orange flowers. I purchased it as an addition to my bee pocket garden. Butterflies and hummingbirds will also be attracted to this plant. I’m told hummingbirds love this plant so much they will fight over it. The name comes from the flowers which look like the burning end of a long cigar. This is a shrub which will grow to about 3′ tall and about 3′ across.
Pinch back stems occasionally to keep it from getting leggy.
Cuphea prefers moist soil, but will tolerate drier soil once established. It is often found growing along the edge of streams so it is a good choice for the wetter parts of your garden.
Cuphea prefers full sun, it will tolerate some shade. It will become fuller and busier the more sun it receives.
Flowers will appear sporadically in the spring, then profusely late summer into fall.
Cuphea is very cold sensitive, it seems to only grow well in California, Texas and Florida. I’m told it will come back in the spring after a minor cold spell. Tips of the plant may freeze if the temperature drops to 20′F. It is rated for zones 10-12 only. So if you are in north west Houston like me, you’ll be pushing the edge a bit with this plant. It’s so cool I figured I’d take a chance on it.
More information:
Floridata: Cuphea ignea
See also:
Cuphea lluvea
5 Responses to 'Cigar plant ( Cuphea ignea )'
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This is one of the few plants still blooming after last weeks very cold ( high 20s’F ) temperatures. I love it.
I think I’ll plant some more for winter color.
admin
7 Jan 08 at 1:48 pm
This plant gets lots of sun, the garden is more dry than wet but not excessively so. This plant does not bloom as prolifically as the other butterfly plants. It seems to cycle rather than bloom continuously.
ljmacphee
25 Aug 08 at 12:54 pm
This died after Ike, I’m not sure what the problem was nothing near it fell. I’ll probably replant another one.
ljmacphee
26 Mar 09 at 8:10 pm
It arose from the dead, filled out and is a lovely bush. When Fred is not around it is covered with hummingbirds.
Drought tolerant, prone to reappearing from the dead.
timestocome
9 Sep 09 at 5:44 pm
Looks dead after the great freeze of 2010, will give it until May to revive itself.
timestocome
21 Jan 10 at 11:17 am