How is Cuphea schumannii [Orange Cuphea] doing for you? I got my plants in early April. I know others have not had it so long, but still we should compare notes.

How are you growing it? In the ground or in a container? What size container? Is it flowering well? Hummer action?

I got 4 plants. One went to Joan Garvey and it seems to be happy in her care. One was potted into a much larger container and it has kind of flopped over. One in a not so large container has flowered brilliantly, while the last one was broken up by some unknown force overnight a few weeks after it arrived. That one just croaked.

During the northward migration, I did observe a hummingbird using Cuphea schumannii flowers. However, the real test will come later in the summer.

I find the lax growth habit a bit troubling. The stems break easily. Broken stems do provide cuttings for propagation, but I'd rather take the cuttings from parts of the plant that I choose.

Propagation has proven fairly easy. Green stems placed in water or layered root in less than a week. Green stems shoved in soil don't seem to fare as well though I have managed to start a couple that way.

One plant has not yet flowered though cuttings made from it are giving a nice modest showing. I plan to grow one in the ground to see how well it tolerates our usually mild winter. The floppy growth habit does make for a management problem, but I am sure I'll find an answer. Another plant will stay in a container so it can be protected if freezing weather threatens. The rest will go to other Louisiana humgardeners so I can elicit their opinions. Let us know how Cuphea schumannii is growing in your neck of the woods.

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí­
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

Nancy,

We purchased one plant because we were unsure how it would work out in our Northern climate. The plant is in a hanging basket on a shepard's crook (we put all of our Cupheas in hanging baskets or containers as they don't get very large for us here in the north.) So far, it is growing well (despite our cool, cloudy, rainy weather)and the flowers are quite attractive, but it definitely grows more vertically than 'David Verity.' The flowers are much larger than 'David Verity' and I did a nectar test to compare the two and it seemed like Cuphea schumannii had more nectar. We have not seen a hummer use it yet, but despite seeing at least one hummer every day, it's a slow time, so like you say, August and September will tell the story in regards to this plant.



Kathi and Michael Rock
Madison, Wisconsin
Zone 4/5

Nancy, my Cuphea schumannis are planted in the ground. They have grown a lot and now are about 3 feet tall and blooming. Blooms are larger than David Verity, but not as many.
My biggest complaint about both varieties right now is the stems are too easy to break off. Most of the stems have been broken by the water hose. Course, I have rooted some of the broken stems. But I had to trash one of the schumannis because too many stems broke. For me, the David Verity rooted faster in water than the schumanni. Also, the rooted DVs are starting to bloom and not the other.

Personally, I prefer the David Verity to the schumanni. But as you say, the real test is when my hummers start to come through next month. Which ever one the little guys like, I’ll grow again next year.

Linda313
OKC, OK
zone 7b

So far I havn't had any breakerage problems, but they are only about 18" and in pots. No hummer usage yet either, but I've got honeysuckles blooming now and their all over it.

birdlegs
zone 5
S.E. Lower MI.

Nancy, I wouldn't say mine is so happy, it's broken off more than once. I put the biggest plant in the ground and watered it and broke off another branch. Now I have about 4 or 5 little pieces in pots and one big one in the ground. We'll see how it pans out but I wish it wasn't so fragile.

Joan Garvey - Metairie, LA Zone 9

Nancy--- I had two plants gave one to my sister. Mine is in the ground and doing well not that big but has several blooms and just the other day I observed a hummer checking out all my plants with blooms and seemed to be going back and forth between the shumannii and david verity, made me quite happy.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

Nancy,
I have two plants, which are in 12-inch pots, though I will move them up soon. They are growing very well, and are taller than the David Veritys. Flowers have just emerged, and not as profuse as David Verity. I have grouped them with other plants, so the stems have remained upright. The lone hummer which has shown up for the past few evenings is going mainly to the feeder and the Million Bells next to it, so no activity on the plants yet.

Priya
Zone 7, Maryland

Nancy- I have the one plant that I ordered in the ground. It is doing nicely and has two or three blooms with new growth starting at the bottom of the plant. I too was disappointed with the stems that easily break, however they did root very well in water and are just starting a bud. Unfortunately I do not have any hummers here - that part of the tale wil have to wait till August I suppose. David verity is planted in another garden from two cuttings which I overwintered. Am so glad I did that because my local nursery does not have any this year. I am thinking though, that I will like the latter better for hummer use.

Carol
Milford, CT
Zone 6

Nancy...I am in the same boat at Priya. Growing about the same height as 'David' but not as profuse (as you can see by the 2nd pix). Both are in, I believe, 10" pots. Here are some not so great pix I took tonight as the sun was going down:

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Have only spotted 1 hummer for a brief second since early May so not sure on use yet. I plan on moving 1 of the two to my deck & leave the other on my patio when I get the rest of my winter-sowes out of the way.

Very happy with all my Cupheas (except 'Totally Tempted') so far.

Joni
Elwood, IL
Zone 5



I really am having issues with these being clickable. I never had problems in the beginning but lately....Also, I know I'm on dial-up but it shouldn't take over 7 hours to download 12 pix.

I am happy to report that this plant was thoroughly used by a hummer today. She also went to the David Verity, porterweeds, dicliptera, agastache 'Shades of Orange', fuchsia 'Gartenmeister' and Jacob Cline. Smart cookie, she completely ignored the Bonfire begonia sitting right nearby.

Priya
Zone 7, Maryland

Nancy:

I've got my one test plant in the ground next to some Cuphea 'David Verity' for comparison. It hasn't been floppy for me so far, but is only now beginning to bloom. The 'David Verity' plants are blooming very well by comparison. So far a bit smaller that the 'David Verity.' We should all revisit this thread and repost each month as the season progresses!

Donald

Zone 4 Red Wing MN

Our one Cuphea schumannii plant in a hanging basket is growing and flowering very well despite our cool temperatures and rain (today it barely reached 70 degrees and was cloudy most of the day!) This morning we saw a hummer thoroughly enjoying the Cuphea schummannii!! The hummer could have very easily gone to the Trumpet Honeysuckle or the Salvia greggii, but choose our newest acquisition instead---we were very excited!

Overall, hummers have been feeding from flowers very minimally in our yard this year (despite our huge investment of dollars....sigh!!) instead mostly going for the feeders. We are just happy that we are having such great hummer action overall!

We'll continue to keep you posted.



Kathi and Michael Rock
Madison, Wisconsin
Zone 4/5

I know I have already responded but I want to add pics this time. My shumannii is not as big as others have mentioned maybe only a foot tall, but I have not experienced the stem breakage as has been mentioned . I certainly have had plenty of wind here, but not one stem breakage, maybe some spent blooms blowing away but thats it. I had two of these gave one to my sister her's is in a pot as are most of here plants . Her plant is about the size of mine but not as many blooms as I have. In this more northern climate I will no doubt have to try and get some cuttings. I have seen it used but as has been mentioned august will be the true test. Some of my other plants , black and blue , lady in red are not faring as well so far this year, maybe not enough consistant watering ? It is also nice to see blooms from cuphea ignea which I grew from seed. Ok enough talk.



no lack of flowering power even if they lack size


dianthara pretty in pink, just had to throw this one in



Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

My Cuphea schumannii got used yesterday by a youngen.. I've had one branch break off so far.

birdlegs
zone 5
S.E. Lower MI.

My story is similar to Donald's. Schumannii only has 3 stems and is taller than David Verity, but not as floriferous. No stem breakage. Can't tell if hummers are using it because it's not in a spot where I regularly look.

Schumannii is behind David Verity in this pic. I got the DV from Bustani and these are the nicest DV cupheas I've ever had.



Judy
West Tennessee
USDA Zone 7

Finally saw my first female of the year & what was her 2nd favorite plant???
Cuphea schumannii, is right!! I noticed she had her schnoz in there for quite some time. Must have a lot of nectar as that is the longest I've ever seen a hummer on 1 blossom. I haven't had any breakage & with some of the wind these storms have kicked up....well it's been pretty tough. She didn't touch 'David Verity' but she just stayed with the pots on 1 side of the patio. 'Batface' was right next to schumannii though & she didn't touch that one, either. Justicia Spicigera is the number one this year so far. Blooming it's little stalks off. I will get pix tomorrow if not raining. She was working every little tube she could get her beak into. Since I didn't expect to see her & since she was only my 3rd sighting this year, I didn't have binocs or camera out. They will be tomorrow.!!

Joni
Elwood, IL
Zone 5

My C. schumannii was just beginning to bloom nicely over the last week. I went out yesterday morning to check my one plant out, and discovered that a deer had selectively munched off the ends of all of the flowering stems. The three C. 'David Verity' next to the schumanii were untouched, as were all the other plants in that bed.

Zone 4 Red Wing MN

My C. schumannii is making seeds, is anyone else getting them?


Nancy K. Warsaw MO Zone 6

You know it's funny, I've had seeds on the one and not even a bloom on the other plant.

birdlegs
zone 5
S.E. Lower MI.

OK, I've had Cuphea schumannii for a while now and am really pleased with it. In the ground, the plant grows nicely upright without the lax stems of the potted ones. I've sited it near a Cuphea 'David Verity' so that I can compare usage and so there will be little chance of cross pollination with other members of the genus. The largest plant is about 36 inches tall and it is producing seed. It is about 6 feet from a Cuphea salvadorensis, but that plant is only produced a few flowers.

One plant is still in a large pot and I am taking advantage of its floppy growth habit by using the stems to layer new plants. I've probably gotten 8-10 so far this season already. 1 layered start rooted to the deck in just 3 weeks, so we know this species likes to root.

5 new starts are flowering well and I have them lined up on the deck rail where I can see them from the office chair. They are getting steady usage from the young hummers that are passing through at this time. They will all be farmed out to other humgardeners for testing.

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí­
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

If anyone growing this Cuphea schumannii would consider collecting some fresh seed, I would be ever so grateful. Cuphea ignea does not cut it for the hummbrats here and 'David Verity' is not available. I can cover all shipping costs incurred as well would like to pay a top market price, you can buy more seeds, buy the kids an ice cream or give it to your favourite charity :<). I've managed to kill my micropetalas that were kindly seed shared with me, due to a bad whitefly infestation this winter and as well I'm not sure that the bloom time is right for the birds here. I also have some seeds to share but it's getting down to what is common for everyone. Let me know if you're looking for something, I might have it.
Sincerely,
Cheri
(aka hummymummy, vancouver, b.c. canada z8)

Cheri, I have your mailing address and will send some as soon as I fill another 'order'. Do you still need Cuphea micropetala?

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí­
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

I have Cuphea schumannii in pots. When the hummers visit it, which they do frequently, they stay on one bloom for some time. I have pulled blooms off to test for nectar, and find nothing, dry as a bone. Now there must be something in them, or the hummers wouldn't use it, I just have never felt such a dry flower like that.

birdlegs
zone 5
S.E. Lower MI.

Sandy, 1 flower of Cuphea schumannii yielded 28 µL of 32.0+% nectar when I tested it on 20 May. At the time, I didn't have any hummers, so I could count on the nectary being more or less full at 08:00.

When I am doing my nectar testing, I find that invariably, some flowers are dry. Sometimes it is because the flower has not matured or at other times, the flower has passed its prime or it has been pollinated. Sometimes, a flower may be empty because a hummer has just visited. For nectar testing, it can be useful to put a netting over the flowers to be tested to prevent the hummers from consuming the nectar before I can get to it.

Cuphea flowers have some unique adaptations. If you examine a flower carefully, you will see that there is a small 'pocket' behind the spot where the flower attaches to the stem. This little 'pocket' is the nectary. The ovary partially blocks the hummer's entry to the nectary, so the bird has to push its bill and tongue deeply into the flower to get past the ovary to reach the nectar. When I slip the capillary tube into the Cuphea flower, the ovary blocks the entrance so I collect only a little bit of nectar. For effective testing of quantity, I have to dissect the flower to open the nectary.

Believe me, Cuphea schumannii has a lot of good quality nectar. It is getting a lot of usage here.

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí­
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

My C. schumannii has recovered nicely (vegetatively, anyway) from the deer munching it got at the end of June, at a time when it was just coming into bloom nicely. It is about 2-3 feet tall and as wide, with beautiful leaves, but only a handful of blooms. The 'David Verity' next to it continues to bloom its head off.

Zone 4 Red Wing MN

My 3 Cuphea schumannii plants have done fine and established well in the ground but they are not blooming very much. They have mostly had "green" leaf and branch growth but not so many flowers. I wonder if they are the time of plant that flowers better in a tight container? Anyway, I'm hoping mine come around and get blooming in time for some part of the hummer migration - which I guess is already underway.

Ron, it takes a couple of weeks to be effective, but I give my plants Super Bloom if their flowering is not up to par. However, my Cuphea schumannii is flowering just fine. Is yours getting enough sun?

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí­
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

You might be on to something Ron. The one I have in a smaller pot has bloomed heavily all summer, and the other in a much bigger pot is just now starting to bloom.

Nancy, I know they have nectar in them, otherwise the hummers wouldn't be Ga Ga over them. I went out yesterday and tested more flowers from differant places on the plant, and still find them to be dry. So in otherwords this is one Flower Sucking good hummer plant, good to the last drop. I havn't had any problems with breakage on mine, and they are right in a area that gets walked by daily by 2 big Clutzis.

I highly recommed this plant.

birdlegs
zone 5
S.E. Lower MI.

Sandy, I just came in from trying to do some nectar testing and I couldn't find any nectar in the Cuphea schumannii flowers this time. In examining the flowers, none appeared to be ready to produce nectar. On those that appeared to be fresh, the purple 'ears' were tightly together. I will check again later in the day to see if the 'ears' had spread out a bit and to see if any nectar is available.

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí­
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

Nancy, I went out and looked at my Cuphea schumannii several times in the last few days. Two of the original branches are spread out and blooming. Two newer branches are very vertical and healthy looking but have not blooms. I pulled off a few blossoms and found some were sticky to the touch - mostly the ones that had the purple ears. The others seemed dry. I have a David verity right next to it but it is not very big yet. My hummer has concentrated mainly on the Lobelia cardinalis in that garden. She may have tried the Cuphea and I could have missed seeing that.

I will be paying closer attention when she decides to visit again. I can say that last year the David verity was a favorite - well visited hummer plant.

Carol
Milford, CT
Zone 6

Mine has been blooming it's little head off. The newer branches don't have as many flowers at first. I will definitely get this plant again if I don't have luck over-wintering it. This has been probably my 2nd most used plants next to Salvia Black & Blue (& the Coral Bean when it's blooming). I haven't seen one on David Verity yet!!! I have 2 females & 1 male & I seem to see them on something different every time I see them but this Cuphea & B&B are always used before flying away or to their lookout post.

Joni
Elwood, IL
Zone 5

I ordered a few of these. Before planting and not giving enough room and having to move later I was wondering if the 24in to 30in wide and 2 feet tall is a pretty accurate description especially for southern gardens. I can't tell you how many plants I've had to move around later because they got bigger than I anticipated.

I am glad I reordered this plant this year...I definitely liked it last year and want to get a better look in comparison to the David verity as for nectar usage. I was unsuccesful with getting a cutting to bring in for the winter although I had one that broke off in the summer, put it back in the soil and it did well. Now I have tried what I think are some cuphea seeds - two seedlings are coming up but I have not idea if in fact they really are this cuphea. Somehow they were mixed in with something else for which the labels just mysteriously walked away ..LOL! So until they get the second set of leaves I am anxiously waiting to see what happens.

Carol
Milford, CT
Zone 6

Christine, mine got slightly larger. It had some slight frost damage in winter and is now recovering. Currently, it is about 3 feet tall and it is struggling to burst forth from the 2 foot wide space I've given it. I don't think it will get huge, but allow it somewhat more space.

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9