Guide to growing garden plants - Cuphea (Cigar plant)
Plants of the genus Cuphea include the cigar plant, firecracker plant and the Mexican cigar flower.
As you can probably tell by the common names the flowers of Cuphea are often long and cylinder shaped like cigars; usually of a dark red colour.
That said some varieties of Cuphea have wheel shapes. They tend to flower from the summer until the first frost of the winter.
How to grow Cigar plant (Cuphea)
It is best to start growing cigar plants indoors first. They should be planted on the surface of the soil, in a light lit area with a temperature of about22 degrees Centigrade. Cuphea usually take about 10 days to germinate. They should be grown for a further ten weeks then transplanted outdoors in the middle to late spring with a spacing of 25 to 30cm. They prefer to grow in a partially shaded or sunny part of the garden that has a heavy soil that rich in humus.
Caring for Cigar plants in the garden
Once the cigar plants have settled they should be pinched back at the growing tips, this will promote branching of the plant and lead to more flowers. If you require more cigar plants then cuttings from the roots can be taken in the autumn. Alternatively the plant can be grown as a perennial by overwintering the plants indoors.