Jatropha Species, Firecracker, Peregrina, Spicy Jatropha

During an unusually cold winter this plant will freeze to the ground in my zone (9A) but it promptly returns from the roots as soon as it...Read More warms up again.

I have both the pink and the red, the pink does not bloom as heavily as the red does for me although the pink appears to be hardier.

I live in Lake Mary, which is Zone 9b. I would not say this plant is hardy in this area. It dies down every winter and while it grows b...Read Moreack, it is a struggle for the plant. I unfortunately have them planted with Allamanda, which behave the same way in my yard. Waiting for my brown sticks to show signs of life...

Dead at 16f after a 3-day freeze.

I love the color of the blossoms, but the leaves yellow and drop frequently. It's in a large pot, trained as a tree, and I live in Puerto...Read More Vallarta, so it's not a climate issue. Am I overwatering it?

Bought this beautiful plant a local nursery in spring of 2008 and planted it in the ground since it said was freeze hardy to temps to 25 ...Read Moredegrees. Grew really fast that first year and had many wonderful bright red flowers. Then it froze to the ground in temperatures in mid twenties in Dec. 2008. It did come back that next spring and grew as big as it was the year before and bloomed very nicely, not as much as the year before but still striking in the garden....then it froze again when temps dipped into the upper twenties in winter of 2009. Once again is came back last spring but this year it grew only half the height of last year and bloomed only a few flowers and of course it froze to the ground again this winter when we had two nights of upper twenties for more than six hours each night. I really doubt I'll see this plant come back, the hard cold winters have taken a toll on it. If you get temperatures into the twenties I wouldn't plant this. I've seen huge plants of this in St. Petersburg, FL last summer 2010, so guess if you live south of Central FL they are ok as outdoor plants.

Love this plant as do 'our' hummingbirds.
Constant blooms even in the full sun.
kaliz9, bio-fuel is extracted from the 'see...Read Mored/nut of this plant, but another in the Jatropha family, Jatropha curcus.

this tree is wonderful but would like to know how to prune since we had 28 degree weather here in the Rio Grande Valley for over 5 hour...Read Mores 3 nights in a row covered it but have lost all of the leaves How do I prune????

I have had this plant in my yard for 2 years now in Gainesville Florida (Zone 8B). In early 2009 we had 2 nights back to back with lows ...Read Moreof 21oF (during which the plant received no protective mulching or cover) . This did kill all leaves and branches, however, by late April fresh growth emerged from the base of the plant, now in July it is almost 4 feet tall and covered in those really nice pinkish/red flowers. This plant is well worth trying north of its recommended zone 9B.

Here in San Antonio, finding a plant that flowers well in part shade is nearly impossible. Camellias yellow, hydrangeas wilt, and I did ...Read Morea lot of crying. This plant is getting about 5 hours of morning/early afternoon sun and is loving it. I know it may die back for the winter but I don't care. (Winter only lasts about 3 months here anyway.) The leaves are a dark green so they mayke a nice backdrop. I also like the way it blends with blue plumbago. Home depot carries them and I saw today the Rainbow Gardens on thousand oaks is carrying them also.

This plant is from Cuba. In climates that are frost-free it can grow beautifully as a small open tree dotted with rather evenly-spaced re...Read Mored flowers all over.

I would like info about its origin etc...is it from Africa? It''s
oil is being used as a biofuel...a farmer in Florida talked ...Read More /> about it this morning on TV...any other uses? medicinal? Folk lore etc? Is it easy to grow? Sounds like it.
from Kaliz9

These are wonderful plants. Continuous color and does better when you trim it back. I have 4 in my yard but only one is a bush the other ...Read More3 have been trained into trees. Do keep in mind that these plants are posionous.

I first had a jatropha when I lived in Miami, and I fell in love with it. Here in Mobile (AL) it grows very well from March to December. ...Read MoreThen it dies back during our short, pitiful excuse for winter (about 7 weeks) and then comes back from the root. I have 5 planted in the ground and they are beautiful.

I purchased my first plant, the compact variety, last year. It arrived in a small pot and was just a little over five inches tall. By ...Read Morethe end of summer it was over three feet tall and loaded with flowers. It is a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds. I kept it as a pot specimen and overwintered it in my garage. The leaves fell off since my garage is not heated. I cut it back in February. It has new shoots and looks great. This spring I bought another compact hybrid from Almost Eden and two from Pike's Nursery. Not sure if they are compact or standard. This is a beautiful specimen that will give you nonstop flowers.

I found this plant at a local garden center. The last one left, and I noticed mealy bugs on it. But I couldn't resist its beauty. Brou...Read Moreght it home, get rid of the mealy bugs with rubbing alcohol swap. It blooms, and yields lovely seedpods. Will update my finding with its progress as I observe it in our region. Overwinter indoor.

June 21st 2008 Update: Did well indoor, promptly resumed its exuberant growth once back outdoor. Blooming continually. It's a keeper!

In full sun the leaves maintain a lush green color and the plant blooms constantly all year in Orlando, Fl. I bought 2 potted plants and...Read More was able to separate into 4 plants which quickly grew to about 6' high and have stayed at that height for more than a year. Bugs devoured some nearby Butterfly Weed but never disturbed the Jatropha. Highly drought tolerant. Regularly available at Lowes.

With it's deep green foliage and brillant red flowers this bush is a very colorful addition to my yard. It's butterfly attracting deep r...Read Moreed flowers bloom all year giving my flying garden friends the nectar they need in the wintertime. If it's not pruned on a regular basis it will grow out of control. As a large bush it becomes top heavy with growth and flowers and barren of them at the bottom (very leggy looking.) I keep my three bushes about five to six feet tall. I did notice when I prune, shoots appear from the roots about a foot away from the main trunk. The flowers attract a variety of butterflies. They are easy to start from cuttings.

We bought and planted our Spicy Jatropha last Spring and it took off! The flowers are a really pretty color and they bloom for a long per...Read Moreiod of time. It helped to attract many hummingbirds and butterflies to the yard!

I live in Texas and I bought this plant at the beggining of the spring. I have it in a pot outside on the patio and it has grown very fas...Read Moret and has very pretty dark red blooms that the hummingbirds are very attracted to. I want to plant it in the yard but I do not want it to die back in the winter so I am going to have to keep it in the pot and bring it inside. This plant/shrub is very pretty. I have enjoyed it very much. It demands little care.

I couldn't say enough positive things about this plant. It grows quickly, looks beautiful , and is so low maintenence. The only reason I ...Read Moreever need to prune it is because I stupidly placed the stepping stones too close to it, not realizing how large it would grow. In the winter it looks a bit sad after such a happy cherrful appearance in spring, summer and fall, but you can't blame it for that. Close up those blooms are just magnificent. And from far off, the entire plant is just a show-stopper. If you need a bush to add color and little work, this is your plant. I just noticed there weren't any photos of the entire plant here so I'm going to add one. Ours is 2 meters tall and 3 meters wide now (13 months ago when we planted it, it ws only a single 60cm tall center branch with a few measly leaves sticking off of it!). Ya gotta love it!

We live in San Antonio, Texas and our Jatropha died completely back this last winter (it was 25 degrees). But, it grew back from the gro...Read Moreund and it's up and running again and growing fast. It has dark red flowers with dark green foliage. Very tropical looking.

Wonderful colorful shrub that is native to the West Indies.
The shrub is grown mainly for its spectacular year-round flower display.

Nice plant. Makes a wonderful small, or patio, tree. Here in zone 10a, it blooms almost all year.