Hamelia Species, Firecracker Shrub, Hummingbird Bush, Mexican Firebush, Scarlet Bush

This plant has to be container grown and brought inside for the winter in my zone 6 garden. It also needs nice loamy well draining soil....Read More They start out slow from seed but after the first year they seem to take off. Make sure the container isn't too big for the plant's size or it will hold too much moisture and eventually develop root rot.

Fantastic hummer plant and easy to grow from seed

I just planted a firebush in corpus christi z-9b . I'm still trying to figure it out.I have about 90 potted plants and more in the ground...Read More.I've heard this is a rapid grower but it has'nt taken off yet.It's planted in a 16in. pot so I know I have to bring it up ( pot size) but the leaves have a red tint and small spots on some of them. These leaves are falling off and I don't know why ?? Maybe someone else does .thanks

Zone 8a here. The first winter I had one in a container, I let it die to the ground. It came back, but late - first signs of life were i...Read Moren early May, and it did not flower well until October, despite six hours of direct sun a day. This year, it was spared the cold but did die back from lack of sun in the shed I was using to keep tropicals. However, I was rewarded by having signs of growth by the second weekend in March, and hopefully will get more flowering this year.

I, too, have noticed that the plant is much more drought-tolerant once established. I bought it while in SW Florida for vacation, never having seen it before. I have seen a handful of small specimens (4" pots) in local nurseries since, although very few people know about it here.

All of the documentation I have read on hamelia patens says it gets berries and yet mine has not ever produced berries. Now I'm wonderin...Read Moreg if this plant is doiescious and there are male and female plants. Does anyone know? Perhaps I have the male.

I have two firebushes. One was actually pulled up by one of my dogs last year but after some TLC came back well. The hummingbirds love it...Read More and come out every morning during the spring and summer.

One of my container plants doesn't have as much foliage as the other which is planted in the garden. It flowers well and receives full sun. It has well drained soil and I use a time release fertilizer.

I know this plant by the name Mary's Tears. There is also a yellow variety that I just bought to see how it performs. It seems to like to...Read More dry out between waterings, too much water makes it very unhappy. It grows prolifically in Jamaica on limestone cliffs in poor soil, blooming its little head off.

In addition to all the information provided by others, I would like to add that Hamelia transplants easily. I mistakenly planted 3 of th...Read Moreem on a southwest wall for shade, but they grew so tall that my husband could not see out his office window. I had to prune them several times every season, which reduced the amount of berries produced. After 3 years in the ground, I dug up the plants and moved them in November. It is now April, and I am happy to report that all 3 are showing new growth. Now they can grow freely! I live in zone 9b.

I've had two of these for many years. It's truly amazing how little care they need. They're outside my fence in full sun, rarely receive ...Read Moreany watering...pretty much just what nature provides. Drought tolerant, have survived winter temperatures in the mid-teens and they come back every spring and grow into nice good-size shrubs. Heat doesn't seem to faze them. Flowers summer to fall. Butterflies and hummingbirds love the blooms.

I have a zone 8b garden near Gainesville, Florida. This is perhaps my favorite garden plant, which I have used extensively in a variety o...Read Moref situations throughout my garden. Here are a few interesting notes: (1) expect it to die back even after the lightest frost (be sure to cut back dead stems), (2) expect it to come back very slowly in spring, (3) expect it to gain density each year, (4) water it at least weekly the first year as it establishes its roots (don't let it stay in a wilted state for more than a day or two; if it does not regain composure after you water it, it may be waterlogged. It likes fast-draining soil), (5)expect it to be extremely drought tolerant after establishment, (6)expect it to attract a wide variety of wildlife, including butterflies and hummingbirds, (7)expect it to be adaptable to almost any exposure (I have plants that thrive in full, broiling Florida sun and in deep, live oak shade), and finally (8) DO NOT expect it to be bothered by any disease or pests. In all my years of growing this plant, I have never once seen any example of it with any problem beyond minor leaf damage from grasshoppers.

Gorgeous plant. Easy care. Planted one at two foot high in July. Now about nine months later it is over five foot high and just about as ...Read Morewide. Prolific bloomer and drought tolerant to boot. I did water every day for the first month after planting then every other for the next couple. Now I don't water at all. It survived our extreme winter drought with little help.

I've had my hummingbird plant for 2 years in Houston. It gets the west sun in the evening. Light frost will stunt it but it bounces rig...Read Moreht back. It grew to about 6 ft. tall before the frost got it last year. I just trimmed it down to about 1 foot and now it's back to 5 ft. tall. Still haven't had any luck propogating it. Would like to have more plants from this bush. Never have seen any seeds. When the hummingbirds migrate at the end of August they love it.

I've had this plant for 6 years and it is 7 feet tall. It is the easiest plant to care for. The hummingbirds love it! I cover it when it ...Read Morefreezes so it will bloom in time for the hummingbirds in the late summer.I have mine in full sun and have had no problem with wilting. It does not like a lot of water. I might water it once or twice a week during the hottest months.

This is the first one I have tried. Kept it in a pot sitting in shallow water at the base of my waterfall. Did not touch it all summer. G...Read Morerew up to about three feet an bloomed all summer in morning sun only. Love it.

This is planted in sandy soil however it is in an area that gets a fairly good watering once per week. It's in dappled shade and is now ...Read Moreabout 6.5' tall, no joke. In fact, I've seen this plant in the Florida Aquarium standing well over 7' tall. It's a vigorous grower and has no problem with dry weather. It's great because you can trim it into a nice, round shrub or into a tree-like shape, giving other plants a semi-shady spot to grow underneath.

I'm still having difficulty figuring out how to get seeds from the plant. Each time I try, the seeds are really tender and break apart. Any suggestions, please let me know.

I give a big thumbs up to this plant. Not only does it brighten up an afternoon shaded spot under a big crepe myrtle, it has such a love...Read Morely shape and growth habit. I've had my two since midsummer, and they've yet to stop blooming. Even though the plant tag listed "full sun," my bushes thrive in the southeast morning sun, and protection from the hot Texas sun in the afternoon.

I have a small garden in Zone 9b so I just planted this plant in a fairly large container. I'm hoping to be able to keep this plant prun...Read Moreed regularly to keep it in check.

I live in the Texas Hill Country on the north side of Canyon Lake. My yard is a work in progress of mostly Texas native/zeriscape plants....Read More As I do not want to install a drip system, I'm planting what can survive on their own once established. I planted 8 Firebush this spring and watered them once a week only. They looked a little puny at first, and one lost almost all its leaves, so I relented and gave it a little more water and it came back.

All survived the summer, and since about the middle of August I watered every other week. Starting September I stopped all watering. Now that its cooler and the rains have started, I won't water unless we have a very dry spell next summer. I grew these in Round Rock, TX and they did die completely back in the winter. I mulched them well, and though they gave me some anxious moments until the first leaves pushed their way up through the mulch in late April, they came back every year and grew 4' tall & wide.

These plants are gorgeous, TX hardy, and I must agree with "htop" that perhaps the folks in Dallas could be over-watering or growing them in poorly drained soil.
HillCntryGrdnr

Native to Central and Southern Florida. Highly attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. Leaves turn more red in full sun and stay gr...Read Moreeen in shade. Will bloom in shade but blooms better in full sun.

These plants took a couple of years to get established, but are now growing about 5 ft high in mostly shade. I don't seem to have much o...Read Moref problem with wilting, possibly due to shady location, but the shade may also reduce flowering. I've not yet had flowers on my Hamelias this year.

Jeremy

It would also grow from cuttings-I had several cuttings last Fall and all did very well in plain soil in a small pot outside....

San Antonio, Tx.
After transplanting, firebush needs to be watered weekly during the first year until it sets its roots. It needs...Read More well drained soil. Perhaps the plants given plenty of water but still wilting metioned above are because the soil is not draining well. During severe heat, the plant, when young, will wilt in full sun and needs a little extra water. I found that as the plant matures and the roots spread, it does not wilt as much.

Allow plenty of room for it in temperate zones. Mine is 5.5 feet tall and equally wide after trimming it back some in July. Of course trimming back cuts off new terminal blooms, but it grows so fast new blooms return quickly. In cooler zones it does not become this large. It will not bloom as well in partial shade. It has not experienced any disease or insect problems. The leaves turn a beautiful reddish color in fall when the temperatures cool, and if a quick drop in temperature occurs, the foliage is a bright red.

I just planted 3 plants, in full sun, and then it rained for 2 1/2 days right after they were planted. Three days later, the top soil is...Read More dry, the plants are wilting, but the dirt underneath is still quite moist.

I am zone 9a. Very prolific plant here. Blooms right at Christmas. Goes beautifully with holiday yard decor. My husband, thinking it was ...Read Morea weed, uprooted it from the yard & threw it on the side of the road for the trash man. Luckily the trash man didn't pick it up & the pile he threw out grew into a huge bush. The area in the yard that he uprooted also grew back. It gets partial sun & tolerates the heat much better than the one that is on the roadside which only gets part shade but they've both done beautifully. A hard freeze wilts the leaves & tender stems but bounces right back in the spring.

Grew very well the first year. Great shrub. Saw butterflies and hummingbirds enjoy it. Planted in direct sun and did wilt if not water...Read Moreed a little every day. I plan to plant more next spring.

I live in zone 7, and I have the Firecracker in full sun, but it is wilting badly. It perks back up after the sun is down, but lately it ...Read Morehas stopped perking back up and is drooping all the time now. It gets plenty of water.

This plant is susceptible to even light frost, but comes back from the roots each spring, stronger than ever.

Firebush is a very attractive shrub. Butterflies, especially Zebra Longwings, and hummingbirds are attracted to the tubular-shaped red f...Read Morelowers. Once in the ground, the shrub will grow quickly to its mature size. Foliage color is affected by the amount of sun the plant receives. Leaves are bright green if it is in a mostly shaded area, green tinged with scarlet if it's in partial sun, or deep scarlet if the plant is in full sun. The plant will die back in a hard frost but recovers quickly. It can be pruned as needed. The fruits are eaten by birds and other animals.

I live in Zone 5b. This plant grows very well in many situations. Have owned it for 3.5 years now. I have put it out in the spring and...Read More taken it in each fall - usually before the first frost. It stays fairly compact - 2ft. by 2ft., but still flowers beautifully. This is the first year I will have to cut it back to bring it in. I just lift it out of the ground and put it in a pot with regular potting growers mix and bring it in.

It will drop many leaves and look pretty sickly by March, but once returned to the ground, it comes back to life and grows vigorously from previous foliage. There seems to be little or no root stress from handling, and transfer is easy. Next year I plan to attempt propagation from cuttings and leave all but one plant in ground under 12-18" dry mulch (straw, leaves contained by black plastic forms). Other zone 8 plants have survived in this area that way.

I replanted for the 2003 growing season, and even after cats mamed it, it came back beautifully. It is now 3/2004. I left it in the ground this last year, due to no inside storage space thanks to construction. I'm anxious to see if it comes back after being fully mulched.

Vigorous grower in the summer months in Central Florida. The flowers are profuse and there is some problem with free seeding. If you wa...Read Morent to enjoy the flowers make sure to give this bush lots of elbow room so you don't have to clip it back off of sidewalks and doorways each month.

Very drought tolerant and will grow most anywhere. Find that there are some differences in leaf color, frequency of flowering and tightness of flower clusters between the plants. But I haven't seen any botanical differentiation yet.