Cuphea Flower Plants

Cupheas are tender perennial plants from the same family as crape myrtle. Native to an area that stretches from the Southern United States to Central and South America, cupheas tolerate cold temperatures found in Zones 8 or 9 on the USDA Plant Hardiness Map, where winter lows reach between 20 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Of the more than 250 species of cupheas, only a handful are common in home gardens. Those used as ornamentals, however, take full sun and heat without flinching and bring brilliant color to summer gardens.

Bat Flower

Among the most drought-resistant cupheas, Cuphea llaeva bears the nickname "bat flower," courtesy of two large, round purple "bat ear" petals above its red nectar tube. The plant's trailing stems make it suitable for hanging baskets, advises the Missouri Botanical Garden. A round, shrubby plant from two feet to 30 inches high, bat flower blooms from late spring until first frost. Both hummingbirds and butterflies flock to this plant. Its flowers' red tubes appear even brighter against downy, deep green leaves. Hardy enough to withstand winter in zone 9, bat flower likes well-drained, averagely moist soil and full sun.

Black-tipped, brilliant orange tubular blooms make Cuphea ignea -- firecracker plant -- a summer garden showstopper. This low, spreading shrub is usually one foot in height, with an up to three-foot spread, notes the University of Illinois Extension's master gardener Mary Spinner. Firecracker plant's arching branches cascade gracefully over container edges, or create a soft, mounding form in the garden. Cultivars include "Petite Peach," with pastel peach blooms, and "David Verity," growing up to two feet high with deep orange-red flowers. Like all cupheas grown in containers, firecracker plant appreciates daily watering in hot weather.

The most common ornamental cuphea, Mexican heather (Cupeha hyssopifolia) grows from 10 to 36 inches high. A bush plant with dense, erect branches, it has small, glossy deep green leaves. Also called false heather, this cuphea bears a profusion of small, lavender flowers between spring and frost, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Horticulture website. Cultivars with pink or white blooms are also available. At 10 inches high, the dwarf cultivar is an excellent candidate for border edgings. The slowly growing "Gold" cultivar has pink blooms against golden-yellow foliage.

At four feet high, Cuphea micropetala -- or giant cigar flower -- is a larger cuphea. Resembling candy corn, its multicolored white, yellow and orange flowers bloom on 24-inch upright or arching stems. As with other cupheas, they attract hummingbirds. Blooming between August and November, giant cigar flower brings welcome late summer and autumn color. Easy to grow from seed, this cuphea spreads slowly to fill large areas, notes the University of Florida Extension's "Gardening in the Panhandle."