Herself’s Houston Garden

Bat faced cuphea is easy to grow and will bloom for all the warm season. This plant makes a good addition to a bee/butterfly/hummingbird garden. The ruby throated hummingbirds especially seem to enjoy this plant. It is easy to grow and drought tolerant. In colder winters it may die back to the ground but will reappear in the spring.

Bat faced cuphea prefers full sun and moist soil but will survive in light shade. It is prone to root rot in especially rainy years. So raise it up a bit if you can. Arizona gardeners claim it loves shade. Mine is more in shade than sun so time will tell.

Cuphea will get to about 3′ tall. Pinch off ends occasionally to keep it bushy and prevent it from getting leggy. If it is getting too little sun it can get quite scrawny. Prune in the early spring / late winter.They also do well in hanging baskets. It will reach a little more than a foot tall planted in the ground.

Some gardeners recommend this as a companion plant to place near roses. Hummingbirds like the plant and eat aphids. You should plant it about a foot away so that light and air movement still get to the roses.

See also:
Companion plants add beauty to rose beds
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

This had totally taken over one of the flower beds when we moved here. I’ve beaten it back to the edges of the garden and kept it there. Last February I cut it back almost to the ground to keep it from getting out of hand again. The bees love it and the cats spend hours hiding in it hitting the bees.

It grows to between 1′ and 2′ in mounds and loves humidity.

It likes light to medium shade and doesn’t seem to mind the dry areas, it does not like wet areas.  It does well in shade and can be used as a ground cover under trees.

It is deer resistant, so they have to be very hungry to munch on this one.

Heather can be found in most mountain ranges worldwide.  It was brought to North America by Scotsmen who wanted a reminder of home.  While the Scotsmen consider heather their own, most varieties of heather are found in South Africa.  Very few South African varieties of heather are found far from home.

I find this to be invasive so plant with caution.

This is a plant well loved by bees.  All summer it is covered with bumble and honey bees.  Consider it as an addition to your bee or butterfly garden.

It is often used to edge beds, especially butterfly beds.