Vermillionaire Cuphea Wins

By Norman Winter | Horticulturist, Author, Speaker

The Vermillionaire cuphea has won twenty awards, including a Perfect Score in Minnesota, Top Performer at Oklahoma State and a Perfect Score at the University of Tennessee, to name a few. It will win at your house, too!

After years of growing it, including seven at my home on a forested hillside in west Georgia, I can say this is a must-have plant.

That is a strong recommendation, and I stand by it. In late July and early August, my plants are about 24 inches tall and 36 inches wide.

The orange-red tubular flowers bloom nonstop, hundreds to a plant. Five or six hummingbirds work them at any given time, leaving now and then to go hit my giant Amistad salvia.

The bees show up in great numbers, too, and every once in a while one appears to challenge a hummingbird. The hummer usually shows who’s boss in a hurry.

The butterflies have surprised me most. Every day I see Spicebush swallowtails, Eastern Tiger swallowtails and even Pearl Crescents. This is a plant for anyone who enjoys a pollinator garden.

I have mine intermingled with milkweeds and the colorful Luscious Basket Tangeglow lantana. The combination has been pleasing and successful.

My son, whom I sometimes call the “Adventurous Color Designer,” uses them in large containers with lime-green ornamental sweet potatoes and even calibrachoas. He uses them extensively at an outdoor shopping center, where shoppers are often stunned to see hummingbirds at the mall.

Botanically speaking, Vermillionaire is a Cuphea ignea hybrid. It develops into a woody plant and, as I said, bears hundreds of scarlet-orange flowers for months.

In zones 8 and 9, freezes will knock it to the ground, but it normally returns faithfully in the spring, provided it doesn’t sit in water during the cold winter. In colder areas, grow it as an annual, much like you would a petunia.

When you find Vermillionaire cupheas, buy at least three, select a site in full sun and plant in well-drained soil. Set out plants 24 to 36 inches apart, planting them at the same depth they were growing in the container. Apply a good layer of mulch, water to get them established and then enjoy.

In early summer, pinch growth as needed and more branching will follow. My son does this religiously, while I tend to let mine grow naturally. Both methods have worked well. Even if you plant in August, you will be feeding hummingbirds and butterflies until frost.

Feed in mid-summer and again in early fall with a light application of a balanced, slow-release fertilizer. These plants are drought tolerant, but watering during prolonged dry periods will pay dividends come fall.

Plant them informally in the garden instead of in straight rows. They pair beautifully with other hummingbird favorites, such as firebush, Luscious lantana and the new Chicklet Gold esperanza.

Blue flowers, like the spiky Rockin’ Playin’ the Blues salvia, create partnerships you will want to photograph as much as the hummingbirds. Plenty of hot weather remains, and Vermillionaire cupheas would make a fine addition to your garden!

Norman Winter is a horticulturist and national garden speaker. He is a former director of the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens. Follow him on Facebook at Norman Winter “The Garden Guy.”