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Hamelia patens |
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| Common name |
firebush; scarlet bush |
| Family |
rubiaceae |
| Life cycle |
shrub (Z8-11)  |
| Flowers |
red-orange (spring-fall) |
| Size |
to 15' |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
Evergreen shrub that shows off clusters of red-orange flowers throughout the growing season. Each flower is tubular, flared a bit at the end; together with the red flower stems, the clusters pack a visual punch. Firebush is native to the tropical Americas, from south Florida to central South America. It is likely to die back to the ground in true zone 8 winters, but will return from the roots to form a small shrub, perhaps two foot tall. A mature shrub can grow much taller. Hummingbirds like the flowers, and birds like the small berries that follow them.
After a particularly hard freeze in January 2018, our firebush didn't show any sign of life even as other die-back plants were pushing up new growth, so I pulled the shrub up and disposed of it in early spring. Two years later, with other plantings having grown up around that area, I was surprised to see a firebush had returned and was flowering; apparently I left a piece of the mother plant in place, and it slowly worked up enough energy to stage a return!
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| | Return of the given-up-for-dead plant, May 2020 |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following areas: houston front yard, back fence border About my plant portraits
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