Cuphea hyssopifolia

Care Guide

Evergreen

Non-Indigenous

Shrubs

Description:

The Stardust bush is a ball-like bush has fine, twiggy growth covered in heath-like foliage and is covered with small, star-shaped purple flowers for most of the year.

Other names:

Stardust bush, False heather, Mexican heather, Hawaiian heather, or elfin herb

Other Names

Stardust bush, False heather, Mexican heather, Hawaiian heather, or elfin herb

Plant Summary

Size:

30cm (h) x 30cm (w)

Flowers:

Almost throughout the year

Growth Rate:

Fast growing

Origin:

Mexico

Maintenance

Light Preference

Watering Needs

Frost Sensitivity

Light Preference

Cuphea hyssopifolia

care guide

When to fertilise

Skip fertilising until your cupheas have established.

How to fertilise

Feed you cuphea hyssopifolia with a slow release 16-4-8 or 10-10-10 fertiliser once in the spring or fertilise them regularly with a water-soluble fertiliser (6 – 8 weeks) to ensure that they flower vigorously all season.

When to prune

Early spring or fall.

How to prune

Cuphea tends to grow into a mound but the bottoms of the stems are sometimes bare, which gives the plants a leggy look. To keep Cuphea looking attractive and full of blooms, cut it back severely in the fall or early spring. This will encourage the development of healthy new flowering stems.

Deadheading

Cuphea’s are self-cleaning, so no deadheading is needed to ensure continuous flower production.

Compost rich, well drained soil.

Can be grown in chalk, loam, or sand.

No pH preference.

Water cupheas deeply once every 10 – 14 days.

When

Nearly throughout the year.

How to encourage flowering

Light pruning will encourage the cuphea hyssopifolia to become more bushy and produce more flowers.

Also see feeding.

Cuphea hyssopifolia

propagation

Propagating cupheas is best done in early spring.

Propagating cupheas through stem cuttings

Snip a 5-cm cutting from an established plant.
Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting and dip the tip in a rooting hormone (Dynaroot #2 is my go to choice and worked well)
Place the dipped end into a container of cuttings mix (2 parts potting soil, 1 part river sand)
Place the container in a warm spot with indirect sunlight and mist the cutting daily to ensure that the soil does not dry out.
The cuttings should take root in about 3-4 weeks. Test for root growth by (very) gently tugging on the cuttings to feel if there is some resistance.
Transplant the cuttings into individual 10-cm pots.
Pinch off the very top of the cutting to encourage branching.

How to grow cupheas from seed

When to plant: Late spring (September – November) after serious frost danger has passed and before the full heat of summer rolls in.

How to plant: You can sow seeds directly in the garden after the soil has warmed in the spring or start seeds indoors 10 to 12 weeks before the last frost. Seeds need light for germination, so don’t cover them up with soil; just press them lightly into the surface. Keep the soil moist until germination occurs, usually within 8 to 10 days.

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