Cuphea

Our range of Cupheas. Known by their common names of Cigar Flower (Cuphea ignea 'Scarlet') or Mexican heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia 'Purple'), these are subshrubs of the Lythraceae family from warm climates, native to the American continent, mainly Mexico and Jamaica. The genus Cuphea consists of about 260 herbaceous species, annuals or perennials, or semi-woody shrubs. It is in this last group that the cultivated varieties are found in our latitudes. These plants are valued for their abundant and generous flowering, often attractive to bees, which can last for 6 months. The flowers emerge from an elegant evergreen foliage composed of small glossy leaves. Not very hardy, down to about -3 °C, Cupheas are cultivated in pots in our interiors or on balconies and terraces during the warm period. Only the Mediterranean offers them winters mild enough to hope to keep them in open ground. They thrive in a slightly acidic, moist but well-drained soil.