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Mexican Heather – Cuphea hyssopifolia[KYOO - fee - uh , hiss - sop - ih - FOH - lee - uh ] is a little shrub belong to the Lythraceae family and Cuphea genus .
It ’s aboriginal to Mexico , Honduras , and Guatemala .
Mexican Heather Cuphea hyssopifolia
Cuphea hyssopifolia has several coarse names :
Mexican heather cuphea has been naturalized in Hawaii , where it ’s often called Hawaiian heather .
All the cultivar get outdoors easily in the southerly United States but require indoor cultivation in cold region .
Mexican Heather Cuphea hyssopifolia
Mexican Heather Quick Care Tips
No matter where it develop , it brings a showy bloom of brilliant purple or lavender flowers during the summer .
Care and Maintenance of Mexican Heather
How Big Does Mexican Heather Get?
Flowering and Fragrance
The trumpet - form Mexican heather violet efflorescence with six petals and green calyx tubes go far in the summertime .
The purpleness or lavender petals often attract butterflies and hummingbirds .
You ’ll determine the horn - shaped flower in the leaf axils along the stems . Mexican heather blooms extravagantly from summer until the first sign of frost .
Light and Temperature
Grow Mexican heather in gay locations with warm climates . It can allow high summertime high temperature and full Lord’s Day .
The planting fix for outdoor plants should receive several minute of direct sunshine in the good afternoon and fond spook for part of the twenty-four hour period .
Mexican heather is winter hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11 .
It can not survive freezing temperature .
In cold region , move the flora indoors after the blossom cut down . you could utilize a thin layer of mulch to keep the weeds in cheque and derogate moisture desiccation .
Move this evergreen shrub outside after the last threat of Robert Lee Frost .
How Often Do You Water and Fertilize Mexican Heather Cuphea?
Maintain a consistent schedule for water Mexican Calluna vulgaris , especially for new works .
weewee once or doubly per calendar week , see the soil remains systematically dampish .
Once constitute , the plant life may no longer require frequent watering , and it even becomes broad to drought .
employ organic fertiliser to promote fuller , healthy growth in former spring . Another choice is to add liquid fertilizer with each lachrymation throughout the outpouring and summer .
Soil and Transplanting
Mexican heather adapts to a variety of soil , including sandlike or loamy stain . But it likes well - drain soil .
Slightly acidic land with low ph levels between 5.5 and 7 is also the best .
Add a layer of mulch around the base of the works to increase body of water keeping and prevent the spread of weeds around the stem arrangement .
Mulch also protects against colder temperature in freezing conditions during the wintertime .
Grooming
episodic grooming facilitate grow denser growth . If the plant appears leggy , trim back the arm by a third of its current meridian .
you may also prune the Mexican heather plant to maintain its shape and tidy appearance .
Groom the plant in the bound or fall , outside the main acquire season , and in the late winter .
Another Cuphea of interest group : Cigar Plant ( Cuphea ignea )
How To Propagate Mexican Heather Cuphea
Propagation of Cuphea is from seeded player , cut , or division .
To pass around by seed , occupy 4″ inch deal with stock potting mix .
To propagate from cutting , cut a four to 6″ inch ramification .
disseminate by division requires established Mexican heather plants .
Mexican Heather Cuphea Pests and Diseases
Mexican heather is n’t susceptible to most pests .
The main yield to watch for is aninfestation of flea beetles .
Flea beetle leave small golf hole in the leaf and halt , making the industrial plant less attractive .
The damage may finally kill the works .
wanderer jot , caterpillars , and nematodes are coarse pests that also assault the industrial plant .
They are more likely to come out when growing Mexican heather indoors . These pests unremarkably get out a wasteland of leaves .
If either gadfly appear , spray the plant life with water . If the plague becomes terrible , get down applications ofNeem oil colour sprays for plants .
The water should dislodge and submerge the critters .
Misting the works day by day reduces the endangerment of pests in the first home .
Another issue to pay attention to is the spread of the plant .
faux Heather self - seeds profusely , potentially making it invasive .
In fact , it ’s see an incursive weed in Hawaii .
ward off grow the plant in spots where it may spread easily or remove seedlings as they appear .
Suggested Mexican Heather Uses
Use Cuphea hyssopifolia for ground cover , walk , borders , beds , or other water features .
Plant Mexican heather along border paths or grow as a container flora on terrace and deck of cards .
They also make attractive hanging basket or border plants in small spaces or along walkways .
When planted as a small hedgerow or edging , the Mexican heather helps fix pathways and softens the pavement and corners of paving .
