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Vermillionaire® Large Firecracker Plant Cuphea hybrid

Exposure
  • Sun
Flower Season
  • Spring
  • Summer
Mature Size
2'4" 2'
Height: 18" - 2'4"
Spread: 12" - 2'
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  • Details

    Features

    Garden VALEDICTORIAN.

    Abundant yellow orange flowers all season long; loves the heat and loved by hummingbirds

    Award Winner
    Continuous Bloom or Rebloomer
    Long Blooming
    Heat Tolerant
    Deadheading Not Necessary
    Drought Tolerant
    Attracts: 
    Hummingbirds

    Characteristics

    Plant Type: 
    Annual
    Height Category: 
    Medium
    Garden Height: 
    18 - 28 Inches
    Spacing: 
    12 - 18 Inches
    Spread: 
    12 - 24 Inches
    Flower Colors: 
    Orange
    Flower Colors: 
    Red
    Flower Colors: 
    Yellow
    Flower Shade: 
    orange with red and yellow highlights
    Foliage Colors: 
    Green
    Foliage Shade: 
    Green
    Habit: 
    Mounded
    Container Role: 
    Filler

    Plant Needs

    Light Requirement: 
    Sun

    The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).

    Maintenance Category: 
    Easy
    Bloom Time: 
    Planting To Frost
    Hardiness Zones: 
    8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
    Water Category: 
    Average
    Soil Fertility Requirement: 
    Average Soil
    Uses: 
    Border Plant
    Uses: 
    Container
    Uses: 
    Landscape
    Uses: 
    Mass Planting
    Maintenance Notes: 

    Vermillionaire®, like all Cuphea is a heat lover and will do best in warm gardens with bright light. Always keep this plant in full sun for best flowering and to avoid it stretching in the shade.

    Keep moist throughout the growing season, regular fertilizing will keep it full and constantly flowering. Once established Vermillionaire does not require a lot of water, but water regularly until it has grown a bit.

    This plant is a perennial in USDA zones 8 and higher, but should be considered an annual in colder climates. If you are in a marginally hardy area, an application of light mulch (like pine needles) about 6 inches deep and a foot wide. When the threat of frost is past, remove the layer of mulch. The plant should not be cut back in the winter.  If it has dead plant material or is leggy in spring, you can trim it back once new growth begins.

    Great hummingbird attractor! They love this plant, one of their preferred plants in most gardens.

    Vermillionaire® Cuphea hybrid 'cupver'
  • 45 Reviews

    5
    35
    4
    7
    3
    2
    2
    1
    1
    Browse reviews from people who have grown this plant.
    • How can I reap seeds from the plant. I'd like to take them from my plant to replant

      Deb L
      , Delaware
      , United States
      , 2 days ago
    • This plant is amazing. The bumblebees absolutely love this plant.

      Timothy Sullivan
      , New York
      , United States
      , 2 weeks ago
    • I love the flowers of this plant, however, it is not attracting the hummingbirds. It is however, attracting a TON on ants. Every time I go to water the Vermillionaire, I end up getting covered in ants.

      Nicholas Cole
      , West Virginia
      , United States
      , 8 weeks ago
    • Zone 7 here. Discovered this plant several years ago and the hummingbirds are daily visitors every summer now. I put them in hanging baskets around the yard and watch for the hummingbirds. A few times I have been able to over winter the plants, but they need a good south facing window for light. I love this plant. It’s changed my gardening and birdwatching for the better!

      J. Kirsch
      , New York
      , United States
      , 21 weeks ago
    • Proven Winners - Vermillionaire - Cuphea is a GREAT plant, especially for the hummingbirds. It has excellent mounding properties and is very easy to take care of in the flower bed. Just give it four to six of full sun, bi-weekly fertilizing for the blooms and regular watering. It that EASY!!! Happy Gardening!!!

      Wiz Kid
      , Maryland
      , United States
      , 1 year ago
    • I absolutely adore this plant. Not only does it look healthy, and nice and abundant; but my hummingbirds love it and visit it daily. We live in zone 6A, so this is an annual for us. By the end of the season it grows into a bush from just a small plant. It does like more water than most, but that might be because we plant four of them in a very large pot. You can always tell if it’s not getting enough water because it will let you know. But once you water it, it bounces right back.

      Monica
      , Indiana
      , United States
      , 1 year ago
    • Vermillionaire® Large Firecracker Plant just blooms and blooms, hummingbirds love it. It received more compliments than any other plant in my yard. Will buy it again!

      Jacob Palmer
      , Oklahoma
      , United States
      , 1 year ago
    • Have been growing this plant for years as a 24' border for my deck. Plant 15 and they fill it out completely. It's September 30th and the hummingbirds are swarming over them, preferring them over my feeders in preparation for their migration south. Highly recommended!

      Michael Borkowski
      , New York
      , United States
      , 1 year ago
    • I planted Vermillionaire in the spring of ‘21. It has grown about 3’ tall and is treated like a border wall in my flower beds. I have some awesome pictures and videos of the hummingbirds that have been attracted by the blooms. Highly recommend this if you are looking to attract hummingbirds! Fingers crossed it makes it through the winter (North AL).

      Hunter Coggins
      , Alabama
      , United States
      , 2 years ago
    • I bought this plant in 2019 and getting hummingbirds ever since in my zone 6B garden. It easily overwinters as an indoor plant in my dining room (by a SE facing window). Love this easy care and beautiful plant. Highly recommended for the uniqueness and ability to attract hummingbirds. This year it started blooming from early June…right now covered in flowers. Lots of buds still in making. I wanted to add a picture of my blooming plant but not able to see an option.

      MD
      , New Jersey
      , United States
      , 2 years ago
  • 13 Awards

    Award Year Award Plant Trial
    2022 Top Performer UGA
    2022 Top Performer, A Consumer Top 10 University of Florida - Fort Lauderdale
    2022 Perfect Score University of Tennessee - Knoxville
    2022 Top Performer - Beds, Best of Breed - Beds North Carolina State, JC Raulston Arboretum
    2022 Top Performer Mississippi State University - Poplarville
    2021 Top Performer - Perennial Mississippi State University - Crystal Springs
    2020 Top 12 Performer University of Florida - Fort Lauderdale
    2020 Top 10 - Beds North Carolina State, JC Raulston Arboretum
    2020 Perfect Score Mississippi State University - Poplarville
    2020 Top Performer University of Georgia
  • 11 Recipes

  • 1 Video

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