David Verity Cuphea Live Plants – Set of 2 – 4-6″ Tall – Attract Hummingbirds

Overview

Introduce a splash of vibrant color and a haven for local wildlife to your outdoor space with the David Verity Cuphea live plant. This offering includes two healthy starter plants, each standing 4-6 inches tall, ready to be established in your garden or containers. Known for its striking tubular flowers, the ‘David Verity’ Cuphea is a compact, sun-loving perennial that promises continuous blooms from spring until fall. It’s a fantastic choice for gardeners seeking a plant that is both beautiful and beneficial to the ecosystem, drawing in hummingbirds and butterflies with its rich nectar. This particular variety is celebrated for its hardiness and ease of care, making it suitable for both experienced gardeners and those just starting their green journey. Often referred to as the Firecracker plant care is simple, making it a popular choice.

The ‘David Verity’ Cuphea (Cuphea ignea ‘David Verity’) is a hybrid known for its vigorous growth and abundant flowering. Its unique flower shape gives it common names like ‘Firecracker Plant’ or ‘Cigar Plant’. These plants are shipped bare-root, carefully packaged to ensure they arrive in excellent condition, ready for immediate planting. With a little care, these young plants will quickly establish themselves and begin to produce their characteristic bright, tubular blossoms, transforming your garden into a lively sanctuary, full of activity from beneficial insects and birds.

Key Benefits

The David Verity Cuphea live plant offers a multitude of benefits for any gardener looking to enhance their outdoor environment. From its aesthetic appeal to its ecological contributions, this plant is a true garden asset and a fantastic hummingbird magnet plant.

• Attracts Pollinators: The tubular flowers are perfectly shaped to attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, making it an excellent hummingbird magnet plant and a vital component of any pollinator friendly perennial garden. You’ll enjoy watching these fascinating creatures visit your garden daily, contributing to local biodiversity.
• Vibrant, Continuous Blooms: Enjoy a long season of interest with bright, eye-catching flowers that bloom from spring through fall. The constant floral display adds dynamic color to your garden beds, containers, or borders, ensuring your outdoor space always looks lively and inviting.
• Low Maintenance: Once established, this low maintenance flowering plant is remarkably easy to care for. It tolerates heat and drought conditions, requiring minimal attention beyond regular watering and occasional feeding, making it perfect for busy gardeners or those new to gardening.
• Versatile Garden Use: Its compact growth habit and consistent flowering make it ideal for a variety of landscaping applications. Plant it in patio containers, mixed borders, or dedicated pollinator gardens for maximum impact and enjoyment.
• Hardy & Resilient: Thriving in USDA zones 8–11, the ‘David Verity’ Cuphea is a robust perennial that can withstand a range of environmental conditions. Its resilience ensures a lasting presence in your garden for many seasons.
• Enhances Biodiversity: By providing a consistent food source for local pollinators, this plant actively contributes to the health and biodiversity of your local ecosystem, supporting crucial insect and bird populations.
• Adds Architectural Interest: The unique tubular shape of the flowers and the plant’s bushy habit add interesting texture and form to your garden design, creating visual appeal even when not in full bloom. This makes the David Verity Cuphea live plant a standout choice.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your David Verity Cuphea live plant is straightforward, ensuring a rewarding gardening experience. These plants thrive with adequate sunlight and well-draining soil. For optimal growth and prolific blooming, plant your Cuphea in a location that receives full sun to partial shade, meaning at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. While it can tolerate some shade, more sun generally leads to more flowers. Ensure the soil is well-draining to prevent root rot, as Cupheas do not like consistently wet feet. A rich, loamy soil amended with organic matter is ideal for best growth. Understanding proper Firecracker plant care ensures vibrant blooms and a thriving low maintenance flowering plant.

Water moderately, especially during dry spells, allowing the top inch or two of soil to dry out between waterings. Once established, the ‘David Verity’ Cuphea is quite drought-tolerant, but consistent moisture will promote better flowering. Fertilize every 4-6 weeks during the growing season (spring through early fall) with a balanced liquid fertilizer to encourage continuous blooms. Pruning is generally not required, but light trimming can help maintain a tidy shape and encourage bushier growth. This routine will ensure your pollinator friendly perennial flourishes.

The ‘David Verity’ Cuphea is hardy in USDA zones 8–11. In colder climates, it can be grown as an annual or brought indoors before the first frost to overwinter. Protect from strong winds, which can damage the delicate stems and flowers. Watch out for common garden pests like aphids, though they are generally not a major issue for this robust plant. Ensuring good air circulation and proper watering will help prevent most fungal diseases. This plant is relatively pest and disease resistant, contributing to its appeal as a low maintenance flowering plant.

Size & Details

This offering includes two healthy David Verity Cuphea live plant starter plants. Each plant typically measures 4-6 inches in height upon arrival, providing a robust foundation for growth. These are young, vigorous plants, not mature specimens, and will require time and care to reach their full blooming potential. They are shipped bare-root, meaning they arrive without a pot and with a small amount of soil protecting the roots. This method ensures the plants are lightweight for shipping and ready for immediate transplanting into your desired location.

Once established, the ‘David Verity’ Cuphea can grow to a mature height of 2-3 feet and spread similarly wide, forming a bushy, upright perennial. It exhibits a moderate growth rate, quickly filling out garden spaces or containers. Expect the first significant flush of blooms to appear within the first growing season, with continuous flowering extending from spring through fall, especially in warmer climates. The vibrant flowers may present in shades of red, purple, or bicolored, depending on the specific plant’s genetics, adding unique charm to your garden. This hummingbird magnet plant will rapidly become a focal point.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: The David Verity Cuphea live plant typically grows to a mature height of 2-3 feet and spreads about the same width, forming a lovely bushy perennial. The starter plants you receive will be 4-6 inches tall.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The ‘David Verity’ Cuphea is primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in garden beds, containers, and borders. In USDA zones 8-11, it is a perennial. In colder zones, it can be grown as an annual or overwintered indoors.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: This plant prefers full sun to partial shade, ideally receiving at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day for the best flowering. More sun generally leads to more abundant blooms.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the David Verity Cuphea live plant is considered a low maintenance flowering plant. Once established, it is heat and drought tolerant, requiring moderate watering and occasional fertilization.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your plants will arrive as two healthy 4-6 inch tall starter plants, shipped bare-root with a small amount of soil around the roots for protection. They will not be potted. This method is part of basic Firecracker plant care during shipping.
• Q: How long until it blooms? A: With proper care, you can expect your ‘David Verity’ Cuphea to begin blooming during its first growing season, offering continuous flowers from spring through fall.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: This plant is a pollinator friendly perennial in USDA zones 8-11. In colder zones, it will likely not survive winter outdoors and should be treated as an annual or brought inside for protection.
• Q: What type of soil is best for Cuphea? A: The ‘David Verity’ Cuphea thrives in well-draining soil. A rich, loamy soil amended with organic matter is ideal to ensure good drainage and nutrient availability.
• Q: Is this plant good for attracting pollinators? A: Absolutely! The tubular flowers of the ‘David Verity’ Cuphea are specifically designed to attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, making it an excellent pollinator friendly perennial. This makes it a true hummingbird magnet plant.
• Q: Can I grow this in a container? A: Yes, its compact size and continuous blooming habit make it an excellent choice for containers and patio planters, adding vibrant color to your outdoor living spaces.