Ornamental · Lythraceae
Cuphea
Cuphea ignea
Give it full sun and a few well-timed pinches, and cuphea blooms nonstop from spring to frost.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
USDA 9–12
2–3 ft · 0.5–0.9 m
Overview
Cuphea is a heat-loving flower that earns its keep from late spring until frost. The cigar flower form, Cuphea ignea, gets its name from inch-long tubular blooms in reddish-orange tipped with white and a dark ring, looking for all the world like a tiny lit cigar. It belongs to the Lythraceae family and grows as a tender perennial, hardy in zones 9 to 12 and grown as a warm-season annual everywhere colder.
What makes it a garden workhorse is the sheer length of bloom. The flowers come almost without a break through the whole warm season, and because the plant is self-cleaning it tidies away its own spent blooms with no deadheading. Hummingbirds work the tubular flowers all summer, which is reason enough to tuck a plant near a patio or path.
Cuphea stays compact, running 1.5 to 3 feet (46 to 91 cm) tall and about as wide, so it fits a border, a mixed container, or the front of a bed. It asks for little beyond sun, steady moisture, and the odd pinch to keep it full. Skip the pinching and it grows leggy and open, with the flowers stranded at the tips and bare stems below.
Care
The short version: full sun, evenly moist but well-drained soil, and a balanced feed through the growing season, with a few pinches to keep the plant bushy and dense.
Light
Cuphea flowers hardest in full sun, which also keeps it dense and compact. It will take partial sun or light shade, but a shadier spot trades away blooms and leaves the plant looser and floppier.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist in well-drained ground, watering roughly every 3 to 7 days depending on heat and how fast the bed dries. The plant turns somewhat drought tolerant once established, so the real danger is the other way: avoid waterlogging, which rots the roots.
Soil
Plant in organically rich, well-drained loam or sand that holds moisture without going soggy. A pH from 5.5 to 7.5 covers it, so most garden beds will do with some compost worked in.
Temperature
This is a warm-season plant, comfortable in heat up to about 95°F (35°C) and damaged once temperatures drop near freezing. It can scrape by down to roughly 36°F (2°C), but frost ends the show, so treat it as an annual where winters bite.
Humidity
Average outdoor humidity suits cuphea fine, with no number to fuss over. The plant is easygoing here as long as it has decent airflow.
Feeding
Feed every two weeks through the growing season with a balanced water-soluble fertilizer, or work in a slow-release granular at planting and let it carry the plant. Steady feeding keeps the long bloom run going.
Pruning
Pinch the stem tips back several times during active growth to head off legginess and build a fuller, bushier plant. There's no deadheading to do, since cuphea is self-cleaning and sheds its own spent flowers.
Size & spacing
Plants reach about 1.5 to 3 feet (46 to 91 cm) tall and spread to a similar width. Give each one room to match that mature spread so air moves freely and the plant fills out evenly.
When to plant
Cuphea wants warmth and won't take a frost. Start seed indoors well ahead of the last spring frost, then set plants out once the cold has gone and the soil has warmed, and they bloom from late spring through fall until the first freeze.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 10 to 12 weeks before the last spring frost
- Plant: After all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed in spring
- Harvest: Blooms almost nonstop from late spring through fall until first frost
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 9–12
Temperature: down to -7°C
Troubleshooting
Cuphea is an easy plant with few real problems. The handful you might meet are simple to read, from open growth to a winter dieback. Match what you see below and act early.
Sticky leaves, twisted new growth, or insects on the foliage
Mealybugs, thrips, and whiteflies are the usual culprits, and they show up most on plants grown indoors or under glass. Check the leaf undersides and growing tips for cottony tufts, tiny flyers, or stippling. Rinse off a light hit with water, then move to insecticidal soap or horticultural oil if the bugs keep coming.
Fix:
- Rinse off light infestations with water
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil as needed
Stems blacken and die back over winter
Cuphea is a tender perennial, so frost or a hard freeze blackens the stems and collapses the plant. In zones 8 to 9, mulch the crown well and it usually resprouts from the base in spring. Anywhere colder, grow it as a warm-season annual or root some cuttings to carry indoors over winter.
Fix:
- Mulch well so the plant can resprout from the base in spring in zones 8 to 9
- Grow as a warm-season annual or overwinter cuttings indoors in colder regions
Open, floppy growth with bare lower stems
A cuphea left unpinched stretches out and goes leggy, with all the flowers crowded at the stem tips and bare wood below. Too little light pushes the same thing along. Pinch the semi-woody stems back a few times through the season and grow the plant in full sun, and it fills in dense and bushy.
Fix:
- Pinch back the tips of the semi-woody stems a few times during the growing season
- Site in full sun for denser, more compact growth
Toxicity
Good news for households with pets and small children: cuphea is non-toxic straight across the board. No part of the plant is known to harm cats, dogs, livestock, or people, so you can plant it near a play area or a pet run without a second thought.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Cuphea carries no known toxins, so a curious cat that nibbles a leaf or flower has nothing to fear here.
Dogs None
Dogs can brush past or chew on this plant without trouble, since it isn't listed as poisonous.
Horses Safe
No part of the plant is known to harm horses that graze near it.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can sample the foliage without risk, as cuphea holds no compounds that would upset them.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep face no poisoning from this plant in the pasture or border.
Birds Safe
The tubular flowers draw hummingbirds, and the plant poses no threat to garden birds at all.
People Safe
Cuphea is regarded as non-toxic, so there's no worry if children handle the leaves or blooms.
Varieties
Cuphea covers a wide group, from low purple-flowered shrubs to fiery firecracker types. These are the ones you'll meet most often.
Cuphea hyssopifolia (Mexican heather, false heather)
A densely branched sub-shrub of 1 to 2 feet covered in small lavender-purple trumpet flowers, with pink and white cultivars also around.
Cuphea ignea (cigar flower)
Its inch-long tubular blooms glow reddish-orange tipped with white and a dark ring like a lit cigar, and hummingbirds chase them.
Vermillionaire (Cuphea hybrid 'Cupver')
A vigorous firecracker-type hybrid that throws masses of orange tubular flowers and shrugs off real heat.
How to propagate
Cuphea multiplies easily, whether you sow seed in late winter or root tip cuttings to carry a favorite through the cold.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Take tip cuttings in fall and root indoors over winter for overwintering · A few weeks to root
To carry a plant through winter, take tip cuttings in fall and root them indoors, which takes only a few weeks. Ease off the watering through the fall and winter while they settle in, since cool, damp conditions invite rot.
SeedEasy
Start indoors 10 to 12 weeks before the last spring frost · Germinate and grow on for transplanting after frost
Sow seed indoors 10 to 12 weeks before your last spring frost, then grow the seedlings on for transplanting once the cold has passed. If that feels like a long head start, purchased transplants take just as well.
Myths
Cuphea must be deadheaded to keep it blooming.
These plants are self-cleaning and drop their spent flowers on their own. They bloom right through from spring until the first frost with no deadheading from you.
Cigar flower can only survive as a houseplant in cold climates.
It is a tender perennial, hardy in the ground through zones 9 to 12. In colder regions you simply grow it as a warm-season annual or overwinter a few cuttings, no windowsill required.