Cigar plant

Cuphea ignea

Mexican and Central American compact subshrub with small dark green leaves and continuous bright orange tubular flowers with black-and-white tips that look like miniature lit cigars.

Hardiness ratings

Cigar plant hardiness across the four zone systems
SystemRatingTemperature rangeHow to read it
USDA hardiness zone Zone 9–11 −6.7 °C to 10 °C Plant tolerates down to this zone
RHS hardiness rating H2 1 °C to 5 °C Plant needs at least this level of cold tolerance
Canadian plant hardiness zone Zone 9 −1 °C and warmer Plant tolerates down to this zone
Australian (ANBG) zone Zone 3–7 −5 °C and warmer Plant tolerates down to this zone

Growing notes

  • Native to Mexico and Central America
  • Outstanding hummingbird forage in its native range — flowers continuously over a long season
  • Frost-tender — perennial only in zone 9 and warmer, grown as warm-season annual or under glass elsewhere
  • Cut back hard in spring for compact bushy growth
  • Not reliably hardy outdoors in Canada — Canadian zone values shown represent the system maximum and do not imply garden cultivation north of the warmest coastal pockets.

Categories

Related plants

Cross-check Cigar plant against your zones

Reference

Cigar plant on Wikipedia