Firecracker Cuphea
Cuphea purpurea 'Firecracker'
Height: 14 inches
Spread: 14 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 8b
Description:
A smaller, more compact variety with unusual tubular flowers lipped with outward facing scarlet petals and deep purple centers; great for bedding, shrub borders, and containers in warm climates
Ornamental Features
Firecracker Cuphea features showy scarlet tubular flowers with purple throats and curiously fluted burgundy tips along the branches from mid spring to mid fall. It has green evergreen foliage. The pointy leaves remain green throughout the winter.
Landscape Attributes
Firecracker Cuphea is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Firecracker Cuphea is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Planting & Growing
Firecracker Cuphea will grow to be about 14 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 14 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Firecracker Cuphea makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
