Bat faced cuphea ( Cuphea lluvea )

Bat faced cuphea is easy to grow and will bloom for all the warm season. This plant makes a good addition to a hummingbird garden. The ruby throated hummingbirds especially seem to enjoy this plant. It is easy to grow and drought tolerant. In colder winters it may die back to the ground but will reappear in the spring.

Blooms more in spring and fall than summer but cycles between leaf growth and blooms for months.

Bat faced cuphea prefers full sun and moist soil but will survive in light shade. It is prone to root rot in especially rainy years. So raise it up a bit if you can. Arizona gardeners claim it loves shade. Mine is more in shade than sun so time will tell.

Cuphea will get to about 3′ tall. Pinch off ends occasionally to keep it bushy and prevent it from getting leggy. If it is getting too little sun it can get quite scrawny. Prune in the early spring / late winter.They also do well in hanging baskets. It will reach a little more than a foot tall planted in the ground.

Some gardeners recommend this as a companion plant to place near roses. Hummingbirds like the plant and eat aphids. You should plant it about a foot away so that light and air movement still get to the roses.

Like many plants this one died after Ike of unknown causes.