Plant Care Library

Other Names:  Mexican Cigar Plant, Cigar Flower

Brand:  PanAmerican Seed

Description:

Small, mounded and trailing shrub or subshrub producing vivid red-orange tubular flowers with purple throats and white tips; flowers year round in warmer climates; a great garden accent or container plant

Ornamental Features

Dynamite Firecracker Plant has red tubular flowers with orange overtones, purple throats and white tips along the branches from mid spring to late summer, which are interesting on close inspection. Its pointy leaves remain green in color throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Dynamite Firecracker Plant is an open multi-stemmed annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Dynamite Firecracker Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Dynamite Firecracker Plant will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 10 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider covering it with a thick layer of mulch in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Dynamite Firecracker Plant is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.