I think the most stunning plant in my yard is the Compact Firebush (Hamelia
patens). I just love to walk out
back in the morning to be greeted by the red and green of my compact firebush
plants. The leaves are a gorgeous
emerald green and it has fiery deep red tubular flowers from late spring til
first frost. Hummingbirds and the gulf
fritillary and zebra wing butterflies love this plant! It is the larval host for the Pluto sphinx
moth. It is drought and heat tolerant,
and best of all it has not serious insect or disease problems. My four plants have been remarkably
easy-care. In the fall, it gets red
berries – the mockingbirds love them in my yard, but they are eaten by lots of
birds and small mammals.
It may grow as tall as 15 feet. It
can be pruned to keep it in the 5’-8’ height. But this is NOT a plant to be
pruned back “hard” or frequently. This will limit the
production of flowers. You can propagate firebush by seed or by cuttings.
RESOURCES:
https://www.fnps.org/plants/plant/hamelia-patenshttps://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/firebush.html
September 2019 – I have three compact firebush
in the center of my
backyard
June 2019
2018 October
Compact Firebush flowers with berries
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