Today at one of the local nurseries They had one of these and saved it for me. I also got a greggii plant that was just marked autumn sage red.


I dont believe its david verity but at least Mr Cigar. I saved his plot in hopes I would find him. Grows really well right there.












Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

Steve
It doesn't have the dark tips like the species. It appears to be a David Verity at least to my untrained eye.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

After checking last years plant the flowers look the same and those were david verity.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

I sure wanted to suggest David 'verity".

Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

The species ignea would have had a black tip on the flower like a burnt ash

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Good looking plant. I am glad you were able to get one.

Penny-- Yes I have a plant of the species with the burnt looking tip and that plant has small growth habit pretty much ignored by hummers.

Linda-- Yes, I was very lucky, this certain nursery which I know gets them in, I kept bugging them , anyway they dont last long as they sell out . so this time when I called they had one left and asked them to save it for me which they did.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

I got 10 "David Verity" Cupheas from Bustani this year and all are blooming like crazy now. Hummers definitely seem to like the larger flowers over previous cupheas I've planted. Definitely a good hummer plant!



Wilmington, Delaware
USDA zone 7a
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 32

It is pretty much the perfect hummingbird plant, fairly fast growing, easy to propagate, prized by hummingbirds. There were forty plus left over from this spring's plant sales and they are all in the garden. That is far too many, but the single male that haunted the garden for the past two months hasn't complained.

If there existed an "International Czar Of Nectar Plants" and he/she declared that "Every citizen shall have no more than one plant in their garden that is attractive to hummingbirds..."

... I would choose Cuphea ignea 'David Verity'.

- It blooms profusely all season-long with little care other than watering.
- It's great in a container or in the ground.
- Easy to grow from cuttings or over-winter indoors if your climate demands it to be an annual, and it often re-seeds on its own.
- Rapid, up-right growth.
- The hummingbirds seem to spend a great deal of time at each bloom and the carpenter bees haven't yet figured out how to rob the nectar.
- It's a cool-looking and photogenic plant





Bud
Southwest Ohio
USDA Plant Zone 6a

Camera: Pentax K20D
Lens: Pentax DA*300 f/4, Sigma 180 f/3.5 Macro
There's 1 or 2 more hummingbird / butterfly pics located here...
http://www.pbase.com/budohio

Vud
That is interesting that David Verity resseds so much for you. I don't think it has for anyone else. I thought I had one seedling this spring but I was mistaken

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

It didnt reseed for me last year but it is definate hummer fav along with cuphea shumannii.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

My mistake... temporary cuphea confusion... we have seedlings from Schumannii popping up all over the place... the plants that I incorrectly remembered as David Verity seedlings are, in fact, cuttings that I took from an over-wintered plant in March.

So many plants... so few good brain cells left...

I have not unlocked the secret to David Verity seedlings...

Bud
Southwest Ohio
USDA Plant Zone 6a

Camera: Pentax K20D
Lens: Pentax DA*300 f/4, Sigma 180 f/3.5 Macro
There's 1 or 2 more hummingbird / butterfly pics located here...
http://www.pbase.com/budohio

Bud thanks for clarifying. Well it seems that Schumannii is a good reseeder for several folks which is a good think especially if your plants are in the ground and you don't get around to taking cuttings or don't have room to overwinter plants indoors. Another reason to include this particular cuphea in our gardens

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Bud,

The reason Cuphea "David Verity" doesn't reseed is that it is a hybrid, and as such, the plants are often sterile (and if they DO produce seeds, they won't be true "David Verity" form).

This is a hybrid between Cuphea micropetala (often referred as Giant Cigar Plant) and Cuphea ignea (the dark-tipped Cuphea species referred to earlier). The C. micropetala flowers are huge, and it's not a bad hummer plant on its own.

"David Verity" seems to inherit its vigor, the overall size of the plant, the nectar volume, and the larger flowers from its C. micropetala parent, while it gets its coloration and leaf shape more from its C. ignea parentage.

Of course, they don't have to cross-pollinate to produce every single example of "David Vertity" out there - it does grow readily from cuttings. But I don't think you'll ever find it growing true from seed.

Personally, I'm lousy at starting cuttings - I'm not particularly skilled as a gardener in general. But if I were, the six or so "David Verity" in my yard could easily produce a hundred or more cuttings a year. It seems like a very easy plant to grow, at least this far south.

Kevin
Most of the time C. ignea 'David Verity' is super easy to grow from cuttings even up here in the colder Northeast. Last year I had over 20 rooted cuttings by spring from the one plant I overwintered. This year was another story. Only two of my cuttings rooted and then they struggled. There must have been something in the air as I had trouble with everything I tried this past winter.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Last year I took an even amount of cutting of david verity and shumannii and it was the shumannii that prevailed not one of the david verity rooted. But I shall try again this year. I just wish the jap beetles didnt like the leaves of shumannii so well. They get those every year.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

David Verity is the only plant whose cuttings often root within a week when bottom heat is used. I don't recall ever having a seedling from David Verity itself. The seedlings occurred from back-crossing with the parent ignea. I will look for carefully for seed set this summer since there are so many DV to check this year. One of those ignea x DV back crosses is being tested in the garden this year and the little row of them is getting attention. The plant otherwise is no big deal since it is terribly close to David Verity and probably not an improvement.

Cuphea Shumannii also roots very quickly.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

Another beautiful shot, Bob. Thanks!

Joan Garvey - Metairie, LA Zone 9

I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but during rainy periods Cuphea becomes the number one hummingbird plant. Presumably this is because their flowers hang down and aren't flooded by rainwater.

Nope haven't noticed that.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Just back me up Penny, don't worry about the truth.

Err Yep, Cupheas are definitely the first plant they go to Lwhen it is raining out LOL! I better start watching because it is pouring out here right now but I need to put jeans and a sweatshirt on first.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Hmmm, yup that makes sense Ward. But around here when its raining they just flock to feeders mainly. But I will keep an extra eye out next time it rains.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

I have the dark tip version too. The only hummer I´ve seen using it is the Western Emerald which is quite small. At my place the plant is kind of a plague, spreading like crazy. I have to weed it out of my gardens. The temperature here is middle fifties to middle sixties year round and it seems to thrive on that.