Illustration
Cuphea (Cigar Plant)
Cuphea ignea
Cuphea (Cigar Plant) blooms from May through October.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Cuphea (Cigar Plant)
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 9–11. Expect it to reach about 16 in tall and 16 in wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Pets
- No toxic listing found for dogs and cats in the sources we check.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Cuphea (Cigar Plant). That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Cuphea (Cigar Plant)
Wait until all danger of frost has passed, then plant out Cuphea (Cigar Plant) into warm soil; in most zones that means late spring. Planted then, it flowers from May to October.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 9, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 9 in February. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Cuphea (Cigar Plant) get?
16 intall5 ft 7 inan adult16 inwideSee Cuphea (Cigar Plant) in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Cuphea (Cigar Plant)
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Cuphea (Cigar Plant) about 16 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Cuphea (Cigar Plant) to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Cuphea (Cigar Plant)'s height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom color and trait tags were checked against 12 published sources on October 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionCuphea igneaheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- qualitycuttings.comQuality Cuttings wholesale catalog (Cuphea Ignea)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenCuphea igneaheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- plants.rogersgardens.comRoger's Gardens plant database, Firecracker Plant (Cuphea ignea)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Society plant profile (Cuphea ignea)height, spread, sun and bloom months and color
- University of Florida IFASUF/IFAS Extension EDIS fact sheet FP160 (Cuphea ignea)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- umass.eduUMass Extensionheight, sun and bloom months and color
- University of Arkansas ExtensionCuphea igneaheight, spread, sun and trait tags
- nparks.gov.sgNational Parks Board, Singaporewater and bloom months and color
- University of Georgia ExtensionCuphea igneaheight, sun and trait tags
- hortscans.ces.ncsu.eduMinnesota Flower Growers Bulletin (University of Minnesota author)height
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
5 more colors in the Cuphea group
Same genus, similar care - pick the one you are growing.
Every plant in the group blooms from May through October.
Compare every color in the Cuphea group
Every figure is the color's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.
| Name | Color | Blooms | Hardiness | Sun | Size (H × W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuphea (Cigarthis page | Red | May–Oct | Zones 9–11 | Full sun | 16 in × 16 in |
| FloriGlory Cuphea | Red | May–Oct | Zones 8–11 | Full sun | 14 in × 16 in |
| Mexican Heather | Purple | May–Oct | Zones 8–11 | Full sun | 12 in × 16 in |
| Pink Mexican Heather | Pink | May–Oct | Zones 8–11 | Full sun | 12 in × 16 in |
| Vermillionaire Cuphea | Orange | May–Oct | Zones 9–11 | Full sun | 20 in × 20 in |
| White Mexican Heather | White | May–Oct | Zones 8–11 | Full sun | 12 in × 16 in |
Good to know about Cuphea (Cigar Plant)
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Worth knowing
Each slender orange-red bloom has a white-rimmed mouth and a tiny dark tip, so it looks like a lit cigar with ash and a glowing ember. Hence 'cigar flower.' per NC State
Size depends on climate
As a container or bedding annual it stays compact, about 0.45 to 0.75 m; planted in frost-free Florida ground it grows larger and much wider. per NC State and University of Florida
A hummingbird magnet
The tubular, nectar-rich red-orange flowers are exactly what hummingbirds prefer; Wisconsin ranks cuphea among the best hummingbird plants for the Midwest. It also feeds bees and butterflies. per Wisconsin and NC State
No deadheading needed
It is self-cleaning: it blooms nonstop to frost without deadheading. Pinch stem tips only if plants get leggy, to keep them bushy, not to keep flowers coming. per NC State
Grown as an annual
A tender tropical perennial killed by frost, so most gardeners grow it as a warm-season annual. Start seed indoors 10 to 12 weeks before your last spring frost. per NC State and Missouri Botanical
Built for heat
NC State lists it as resistant to drought, heat, and humidity, so it keeps flowering through midsummer when many cool-season annuals fade. It is not salt tolerant. per NC State
What pairs well with Cuphea (Cigar Plant)
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Yaupon Holly
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Chinese Fringe Flower
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in early spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Indian Hawthorn
Shares full sun and moderate water; opens in mid spring and overlaps into this one's season; both are strong pollinator plants; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Swamp Sunflower
Shares full sun and moderate water; overlaps, then carries the display into late fall; both are strong pollinator plants; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Ironweed
Shares full sun and moderate water; both are strong pollinator plants; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 5 ft, for the layer behind it.
Prairie Blazing Star
Shares full sun and moderate water; both are strong pollinator plants; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 3.5 ft, for the layer behind it.
Rosemary
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; opens in early spring and overlaps into this one's season; both are strong pollinator plants; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Serviceberry
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its white flowers settle the red.
All 8 companion pairings for Cuphea (Cigar Plant) →
Try Cuphea (Cigar Plant) with its top companions in a garden →
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