Cuphea

Candy Corn Cuphea

Cuphea micropetula Photograph June 22. Moore Farms, Lake City, South Carolina.

A colorful, swan of a plant that starts each spring as an ugly duckling! Lanky and course leaves emerge through the summer-- but fall, fall brings the brilliant, 5 foot tall, colorful swan!

Flowering Time: Mid October thru November.

Foliage: The gloss ygreen leaves blend into other perennials but are not especially showy.

Growth Rate: Fast enough to be used as an annual.

Ultimate Height: 5 feet.

Special Care: Best in dry spots, away from regular irrigation. You can cut them back halfway in June to increase flowers and make the fall flowers shorter.

Cut back in late December.

Gardening Tips: Plant in the back of a border or somewhere mostly out of sight and mind in the summer. You won’t notice them all summer. They’ll seem to come from no where in the fall. Best in full sun but will take very light shade.

Suggested Combinations: Put these behind plants with distinctive foliage. Silver saw palm or golden Bohemeria ‘Kogon’.

Great in flower with other fall plants such as hot colored mums, light, apple greens such as Mexican Bamboo or asparagus. Mexican lanterns or sweet grass.

Great mixed into sumac-- the sumac stems hold up these tall flowers and the sumac leaves turn red just as candy corn cuphea starts to flower.

Cigar Flower

Photo courtesy of J.C. Raulston Arboretum

Cuphea ‘David Verity’ Photograph July in Norfolk, VA & Lake City, South Carolina.

A tough perennial that fits well with lantana Flowering Time: June through frost.

Foliage: Tiny, glossy leaves add a fine texture in the garden.

Growth Rate: Fast. Can be used as an annuall.

Ultimate Height: 30 inches. and about as wide.

Special Care: This is a tough, long flowering, drought tolerant plant. It may be slightly tender so don’t cut it back until December and lightly cover with pine straw.

Flowers somewhat hidden in leaves.

Gardening Tips: Though individually, the flowers are a brilliant color, this is not a show stopper, mass of color as lantana is. The flowers and foliage are small, making for a delicate, elegant addition in the garden.

Needs full sun to light shade. It can be cut back if gets a little too tall in mid summer.

Suggested Combinations: Use as a textural contrast with broad leaved plants such as dailyness or crinum. THis is the on-going show, the thing that fills in when other plants are taking a break from flowering.

Plan for fall-- the leaves on this get a beautiful burgundy tinge in the fall and it continues flower.

Think of fall colors when placing this-- excellent three fall color combo is purple Aster ‘Jane Bath’, and yellow Copper Canyon Daisy (Tagetes.)