A shrub from Baja California with fine, deep green leaves and bright red, tassel-like flowers for much of the year. It is one of the most reliable hummingbird plants in the Valley and handles full sun and reflected heat on modest water.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the shrub schedule in our Landscape Care guide. It is drought tolerant once established, but a little extra water in the hottest months keeps it blooming through summer.
Pruning
Prune in late spring, removing dead wood and shaping lightly. Heavy pruning or shearing cuts down on flowers.
Cold
A hard freeze can cause leaf drop and some dieback. Wait until new growth starts in spring before trimming out damage.
How our designers use it
Hummingbird gardens
Hummingbirds will claim it and defend it. Our designers place it where it can be seen from a window or patio.
Informal hedges and screens
Planted in a row, it makes a loose, flowering screen along walls and property lines.
Sunny patios and accents
Its fine texture and red flowers stand out against agaves, boulders and desert-toned walls.
Good to know
Around the pool
No thorns, and litter is modest, but seed pods burst open and scatter seeds several feet. Spent flowers drop through the year, so keep it a few feet back from the water.
