Cuphea Plant Info Growing And Caring For Bat Faced Plants

Grow bat-faced cuphea in full sun in the ground or in containers. Provide regular moisture, although plants will tolerate dry conditions occasionally. Fertilize plants in containers several times during the summer months. Pinch back or shear if plants become too leggy later in the growing season.

How do you take care of Cuphea?

Grow in full sun in average, well-drained soil that stays evenly moist. Once established, plants can tolerate dryer growing conditions. Fertilize twice a month in summer with a water-soluble fertilizer (such as 15-30-15) to keep plants flowering all season long.

How do you propagate bat face cuphea?

Bat-face cupheas are easy to propagate with short tip cuttings in late spring or early summer or seed head/pod collection when flowers fade. If you choose to use seeds, for best results, start to dry cuphea seeds indoors 10-12 weeks before the last frost.

Are Cuphea annual or perennial?

Cuphea loves summer sun and heat, and when grown as an annual, it will bloom nonstop until the first frost. If you live in a frost-free climate, you can also grow it as an evergreen perennial.

Can you grow Cuphea indoors?

It produces clusters of frilly orange or yellow flowers all season and shiny, dark green leaves. When frost threatens, you can bring it indoors and grow it as a houseplant, too, where it will flower on and off all year if it gets enough light.

Do hummingbirds like Vermillionaire?

Hummingbirds loved the vermillionaire but BEWARE so do the Japanese Beetles!

How do you prune Cuphea?

Can I prune back cuphea to keep it smaller and more compact? You can encourage bushyness by pinching back the growing tips of your Cuphea. If the plant is severely overgrown, prune it back hard and it will develop new stems and leaves in the springtime.

How do you propagate a Cuphea plant?

Cuphea is relatively easy to propagate from stem cuttings. Simply cut a 3-4" length from the tip of new stem, strip the leaves from the bottom inch, dip the cut end in rooting hormone and place it in a container of moistened potting soil.

Is bat face cuphea deer resistant?

This plant has no serious insect or disease problems. It is deer-resistant.

How do you propagate bat plants?

Most bat flowers are propagated by division of the rhizomes. In the spring, before new leaves appear and you are repotting your rhizome is a good time to divide it. Carefully break off a few pieces and plant them in their own containers. The original rhizome can be replanted in its container with fresh soil.

How tall does Cuphea grow?

Bat-faced cuphea produces many stems (L) with pointed, hairy ovate leaves (R). Plants can grow up to 2½ feet tall, but when grown as seasonal annuals generally only become 12-18 inches tall with an equal spread. They have a rounded, bushy habit and the foliage remains fresh all season if watered sufficiently.

Is Cuphea a hardy?

It's not the most wonderful plant, but it's elegant and charming in the right situation.. but my interest is that it is technically a tropical plant, and surprisingly, it is borderline hardy.. It can stay evergreen to -5C and comes back from the roots to -10C apparently. Also it seems to enjoy coolish weather.

Is Cuphea an evergreen?

The Cuphea is an evergreen shrub of tropical and subtropical origin.

Is Cigar plant a perennial?

Cigar plant is a tender perennial in frost-free regions, but in most parts of the country it's considered an annual. The plants grow 12 to 18 inches tall and work well in almost any type of container.

Is Cuphea frost tolerant?

Tiny Mice (Cuphea 'Tiny Mice')

'Tiny Mice' likes a position in full sun or part shade, and is frost and salt tolerant. It is useful as an accent plant in garden beds, in containers, or for poolside or seaside plantings. Plants die back in winter but regrow in spring. 'Tiny Mice' will grow anywhere in Australia.

How do you grow false heather?

Although false heather can tolerate full sun, the color of its foliage reportedly remains a richer green in partial shade. Try placing it on a windowsill where it will receive about four hours of direct sunlight per day, preferably in the morning or afternoon to protect it from the most intense rays of midday.

Is the firecracker plant a perennial?

Firecracker Plant is a perennial from tropical America that blooms continuously from spring to frost with showy reddish-orange tubular blooms. It has a mounding habit and grows to 30 or more inches tall and 2 feet wide.

Do hummingbirds like Cuphea?

Hummingbirds adore it. (Candy Corn Plant) Due to their bright colors and rich nectar, Cupheas are magnets for pollinators, including butterflies, honeybees and hummingbirds. That's certainly true for the orange and yellow, candy-corn colored flowers of Cuphea micropetala.

Do firecracker plants attract hummingbirds?

Firecracker plant is a small plant that can have an explosive impact in your garden, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. ... Firecracker plant typically blooms year-round with a profusion of red, tubular flowers. Yellow and salmon forms are also available.

How big do cigar plants get?

Each plant can grow up to 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide. Cigar flower plants look great when planted in groups or mixed with other plants that produce red, yellow, or orange flowers.

How do you care for firecracker plants?

A firecracker needs regular waterings to thrive and look its best. If you have to hand water or you're on an irrigation system better timed for drought-tolerant shrubs, plant with water-retention crystals to keep the plant hydrated during dry spells. (See Watering for more information on these magical little crystals.)

What does a cigar plant look like?

It is a small, multi-stemmed shrub with prolific red blooms that seem to burst like fireworks. These small red flowers have black and white lips and a tubular shape similar to that of a cigar. The white rim gives the appearance of the cigar being lit, hence the common name.