A soft, rounded shrub from Mexico with velvety green leaves and clusters of tubular orange flowers. It blooms through much of the warm season and is a reliable draw for hummingbirds. It is also sold as Mexican honeysuckle.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the shrub schedule in our Landscape Care guide. It looks fullest and blooms best with moderate water through summer, but soggy soil leads to root rot. It needs well-drained soil and does poorly over caliche.
Pruning
Give it room and it needs little pruning. Tidy it in late winter; heavy pruning late in the season cuts into the next round of flowers.
Feeding
A complete fertilizer once or twice a year improves leaf color and bloom.
Pests
Whiteflies can show up on the leaves, and root rot is the main risk in wet soil.
How our designers use it
Hummingbird gardens
Our designers plant it near patios and windows, where the flowers and their visitors can be watched up close.
Light shade
It still blooms under a light tree canopy or against an east wall, where many flowering shrubs give up.
Warm color
Its orange pairs well with purple trailing lantana, coral aloe and orange bulbine.
Good to know
Around the pool
No thorns and little litter. Hummingbirds and some bees visit, so keep it a step back from the edge.
