Exotic #10:
MEXICAN CIGAR
Cuphea ignea

Cigar Plant, Cuphea sp.

Photo © Art Leat

The Cigar Plant, Cuphea ignea, and its relative the Mexican Cigar, C. micropetala, are rather delicate, even in all but the most southern areas of the United States. Some hummingbird gardeners keep them in greenhouses all winter, bringing them out as container plants after the danger of frost has passed. Flowers of Cigar Plant are red and tubular (as pictured above); those of Mexican Cigar are yellow to orange with red tips. The photo was taken by Art Leat and submitted to the Operation RubyThroat Web site by Bill Wood of Keithville, Louisiana, in whose yard the plant was growing.

If you have a sharp photo of this hummingbird flower you would like to contribute for this page, please send it to PROJECTS with info about when and where the photo was taken, the photographer's name, and any anecdotal info about the plant.

CULTIVATION TIPS

Tender perennial shrub
Blooms late spring through autumn
Well-drained rich soil
Full sun
Zone 10

 
NOTE: We are not horticulturists, so we regret we can't answer specific questions about how to plant and propagate hummingbird flowers, but your local agriculture extension office or Master Gardener group may be able to help. We're also unable to provide names of sources from which you can order plants.

Back to #9 Foxglove; return to "Top Ten" Exotic Hummingbird Plants

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