LIVE PLANT 1ft Cuphea ignea - Firecracker Mexican Cigar Plant for Hummingbirds

Description: The plant I ship is about 1ft tall. The tender perennial cigar plant (Cuphea ignea) is more commonly referred to as the Mexican cigar plant or the firecracker plant. This tropical evergreen shrub has a bright red flower with white and black tips that could bear some similarities to a lit cigar. The word ignea in the botanical name is the Latin word for fire. If you live in a hot region that mimics the tropical temperatures of its native Mexico and Jamaica, this densely branched plant could appeal. Its small, bright, tubular, and orange-red flowers bloom almost year-round, and the plant is a favorite of butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. A small subshrub, it rarely grows above 25 inches in height, so some people even choose to keep it as a permanent addition to their houseplant collection. The continual flowering will add interest to your home throughout the year. Although the Mexican cigar plant doesn't grow tall, it can form in layers, creating a mounding habit. This can easily be kept under control with light winter pruning. The plant is useful as an attractive, ornamental, and bright front-positioned border shrub or bedding plant. Its neat and compact form also makes it an excellent choice for growing in containers that will add a splash of color on patios, balconies, or terraces. Just be aware that even when grown as a perennial, cigar plants are not all that long-lived. CultureWinter hardy to USDA Zones 10-12. In the St. Louis area, it is grown as an annual, container plant or houseplant. In the garden, it is best grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates part shade. It is easily grown from seed started indoors 10-12 weeks before last spring frost date. It tolerates high summer heat. It also tolerates some drought, but performs best with regular moisture. Plants can become leggy as the growing season progresses, in which case stem tips may be pinched as needed to maintain good plant form. If grown in containers, plants may be overwintered indoors in bright, sunny locations with temperatures in the 60s and reduced watering. Plants may be propagated from tip cuttings in the fall for overwintering. It is generally best to start new plants each year. Noteworthy CharacteristicsCuphea ignea, commonly called firecracker plant or cigar flower, is native to Mexico and the West Indies. It is a rounded, densely branched, bushy, evergreen sub-shrub that grows 20-30” tall and as wide. Small, tubular, bright red flowers (to 1.25” long) bloom singly in the leaf axils from late spring to frost along stems crowded with pointed, lance-shaped to ovate, dark green leaves (to 1 1/2” long). Each flower consists of a narrow, tubular, red calyx (no corolla) tipped with a thin white rim and two tiny purple-black petals, all of which is purportedly suggestive of a lit cigar (cigarette or firecracker). Flowers are attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. Genus name comes from the Greek word kyphos meaning curved or humped in probable reference to the shape of its seed capsules. Fertilizer that I include as an option is an excellent choice for professional growers or nurseries if you grow plant in a pot. I personally use it for all my plants. It has polymer coating to allow slow release during 8-9 months evenly. You don't have to worry about repotting the plant for about 1 year or worry about burning plant with your regular over the counter fertilizer. You need about 3-4oz per 3 gal pot or 4-5oz per 5 gal pot.GUARANTEED ANALYSIS Total Nitrogen (N)**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%8.0% Ammoniacal Nitrogen7.0% Nitrate NitrogenAvailable Phosphate (P2O5)**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9%Soluble Potash (K2O)**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12%Magnesium (Mg)**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3%0.8% Water Soluble Magnesium (Mg)Sulfur (S)**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9%5.93% Combined Sulfur (S)Boron (B). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02%Copper (Cu). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05%0.05% Water Soluble Copper (Cu)Iron (Fe)**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.46%0.08% Water Soluble Iron (Fe)0.005% Chelated Iron (Fe)Manganese (Mn)**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.06%0.05% Water Soluble Manganese (Mn)Molybdenum (Mo)**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02%Zinc (Zn). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05%0.017% Water Soluble Zinc (Zn)Derived from: Polymer-Coated: Ammonium Nitrate,Ammonium Phosphate, Potassium Sulfate, MagnesiumSulfate, Sodium Borate, Iron Phosphate, Iron EDTA,Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Molybdate, Zinc Sulfate;Copper Sulfate, Zinc Oxide Pictures depict grown up plants and its possible applications.Height of the plants is measured from the base of the root ball.No returns, refunds or exchanges

Price: 30 USD

Location: West Palm Beach

End Time: 2025-01-05T05:17:02.000Z

Shipping Cost: 25 USD