Cigar flower (Cuphea ignea)
Discover Cigar flower (Cuphea ignea), a low-maintenance evergreen featuring unique red, cigar-shaped blooms attractive to hummingbirds.
Complete Plant Information
Overview
The Cigar flower, scientifically known as Cuphea ignea, brings an exotic touch to any garden space with its unique floral display. This rounded, densely branched, evergreen sub-shrub is cherished for its small, tubular, bright red flowers that truly resemble lit cigars, making it a magnet for hummingbirds and butterflies. Native to Mexico and the West Indies, this plant maintains a tidy, bushy form between 1.5 and 2.5 feet tall, making it highly versatile for various landscape designs.
Cuphea ignea is valued by gardeners for its low maintenance requirements and its consistent flowering, which lasts from late spring right up until the first frost. While it is winter hardy in USDA Zones 10 through 12, it is frequently grown as a radiant annual color spot or a sophisticated container specimen elsewhere. Its tolerance for heat and its preference for average, well-drained soil further simplify its care routine.
If you seek a reliable source of late-season color that provides excellent wildlife value, the vibrant red blooms of the Cigar flower are an exceptional choice. Planning for either overwintering containers indoors or sowing new seeds annually ensures that this fantastic subtropical beauty becomes a celebrated feature in your garden displays.
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Lythraceae
- Plant Type: Broadleaf evergreen
- Native Range: Mexico, Jamaica
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 10-12
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 1.5-2.5 ft
- Spread: 1.5-2.5 ft
- Bloom Time: Flowers freely
- Bloom Description: Red
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Water Needs: Medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
For optimal growth of Cuphea ignea, plant in late spring after all danger of frost has passed, placing it where it receives full sun. While it tolerates part shade, full sun promotes the densest flowering habit. The soil should be average, well-drained, and consistently moist, relying on medium watering schedules for best performance.
Ongoing care for the Cigar flower is minimal. It tolerates some drought once established but performs best with regular moisture applications. If the plant begins to look leggy as the summer progresses, simply pinch back the stem tips to encourage a bushier, more compact form. This minor pruning ensures continuous eye-catching displays throughout the season.
Gardeners outside of its perennial hardiness range should treat Cuphea ignea as an annual. Alternatively, plants grown in containers can be brought indoors to overwinter in bright, sunny locations with cooler temperatures in the 60s and reduced watering. Propagation is also possible via tip cuttings taken in the fall.
Landscape Uses
The Cigar flower is wonderfully adaptable, serving effectively as a bright accent in borders, beds, or as edging along pathways where its unique flowers can be easily appreciated. Its neat, bushy habit also shines when utilized as a container plant on decks, patios, or porches, offering continuous color through the warm months.
For a dazzling display, group Cuphea ignea with plants that share similar sun and moisture requirements, such as Lantana or tropical salvias, creating a dynamic, drought-tolerant tropical vignette. In hanging baskets, the Cigar flower provides vertical interest contrasted against trailing foliage spillers.
Even when grown as an annual, the ability to overwinter container specimens indoors means you can enjoy the hummingbird-attracting, firecracker-like blooms of this Mexican native year-round. Focus on placement where you can observe the pollinators drawn to its specialized red flowers.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
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Fruit Qualities
- Showy
Noteworthy Characteristics
Cuphea ignea, commonly called firecracker plant or cigar flower, is renowned for its small, tubular, bright red flowers, which are tipped with a thin white rim and tiny purple-black petals, vividly suggesting a lit cigar. These intriguing blooms appear singly along the stems from late spring until frost, providing consistent visual interest. The flowers are particularly noteworthy for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies to display areas.
Tolerances
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Potential Problems
This plant generally experiences no serious insect or disease problems, making Cuphea ignea an exceptionally reliable choice for low-maintenance gardening. For plants grown indoors over winter, gardeners should monitor common houseplant issues, as listed under general indoor plant care guides. Consistent watering without over-saturating the soil prevents most potential stress.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Cigar flower suitable for?
Cuphea ignea is hardy and thrives year-round in USDA Zones 10 through 12. Gardeners in cooler regions should treat it as a delightful annual or plan to bring containers indoors for winter.
How large does Cigar flower grow?
This evergreen sub-shrub typically reaches a mature height and spread ranging between 1.5 to 2.5 feet, maintaining a dense, rounded shape.
What sun exposure does Cigar flower need?
The Cigar flower performs best when situated in full sun, although it will tolerate a location that receives afternoon partial shade, particularly in very hot climates.
When does Cigar flower bloom?
Cuphea ignea is celebrated for its persistent blooming schedule, featuring flowers freely from late spring all the way through the arrival of the first frost.
Conclusion
The Cuphea ignea, or Cigar flower, offers exotic flair, vibrant red coloration, and proven low-maintenance characteristics, making it an indispensable plant for attracting hummingbirds to sunny borders or containers. Its unique structure guarantees conversation wherever it is planted. Before planning your next landscaping project, confirm that your growing zone supports its perennial nature, or plan on enjoying its vivid spectacle as a valued summer annual specimen.
Companion Planting
When selecting companions for your Cuphea ignea, focus on other sun-loving plants that thrive in medium, well-drained soil to ensure a harmonious planting bed. Companion choices should ideally contrast with the Cigar flower’s fine texture to highlight its bushy form. Consider pairing it with the broad foliage of Geraniums or the architectural spikes of Salvia for textural variation.
These complementary planting partners allow the unique red, cigar-shaped flowers of Cuphea ignea to stand out clearly, maximizing their visual impact during the summer season. Because it tolerates high heat well, pair it with other heat-tolerant species to maintain garden integrity even during the hottest spells.
Wildlife Benefits
The primary appeal of the Cigar flower centers around its exceptional ability to draw in desirable wildlife, particularly hummingbirds. The tubular, nectar-rich red blossoms are perfectly shaped for long-billed visitors seeking easy access to sustenance. Planting multiple Cuphea ignea shrubs creates a reliable feeding station in your garden.
Butterflies also visit the flowers, adding graceful movement to the area surrounding your firecracker plants. Utilizing this plant near seating areas or windows maximizes your viewing pleasure of these frequent garden visitors attracted to the intensity of the red bloom.
