Vermillionaire^® Large Firecracker Plant Cuphea hybrid

Excellent plant here in Zone 8b (Portland, OR). First grow season with this one; it came in a tiny 1 pint container, maybe 9" tall. Planted it with a similarly-sized lavender in a 20gal plastic pot, 50% sun/shade through the day. Gorgeous! After settling into the pot it's really taken off and flowered solid since April (it's October now) and still looks fabulous at almost 3 feet wide and 18" tall. With many hundreds of little red flowers, the bees and hummingbirds are still attracted to it. I can't wait to see how this overwinters here. Going to use this as a landscape border plant in a few beds next year as this has been fabulous!

These get morning and dappled sun. Full sun for about 3 to 4 hrs max in the hottest part of the day and they flourish. I'm now in a zone 7B from the 7A so it's getting warmer. They have firm stems so they don't ever flop over regardless of the wind or rain. I also plant them in 10 and 15gal (for 2 plants) fabric grow bags so they do dry out faster but keeping a dish under them really makes a difference. I can also move them easily if need be. I use Neptunes fertilizer and Espoma Biotone when needed and they love it. If I were to put them in the full sun in Virginia, it'll bake them to crispy critters so don't feel like you must put them where it's recommended because it all depends on where you live. The first ones I ever bought I did that and they just didn't do as well and died. They would probably do better with in ground planting but I have too many hungry under ground critters. I pair these with several PW Salvias and the hummers, bees and butterflies just love them all. My husband really loves to watch the hummers feed and loves that they are called Cigar flowers given that he's a cigar smoker. I these survive me, they'll survive anybody in almost any conditions. I tried without success to over winter but I know people who have. I didn't have the right amount of heat so the cold killed them. I hope my review helps others. Just to give how well they do without giving any details doesn't help me or other growers so if you do plant these and want to give a review, please share your entire experience. I almost gave up on ever getting PW because I just wasn't having any success until i did a deeper dive into others with success. . BTW, if you get ants put down Terro ant baits. I get the indoor clear tray ones and put a quart size PW container over to keep them dry. I tape up the container holes then cut 4 ant size holes around the rim and set it on an upside down terra cotta saucer then place the container over top of bait. They take it back to the nest and kills them. I weigh it down with a rock. Good luck and enjoy these wonderful plants and all they attract

Abundant flowers kept coming until frost, easy to care for, and the hummingbirds loved it. Doesn’t overwinter in my yard, but I will definitely get more this spring.

Absolutely love this plant and so do the hummingbirds. Alone or along side of blue salvia, it's always exciting watching them feed

How can I reap seeds from the plant. I'd like to take them from my plant to replant