A small Southwest native perennial with spikes of red, tubular flowers and soft, fragrant leaves. Hummingbirds find it quickly. It is one of the better flowering choices for the filtered shade under desert trees.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the shrub schedule in our Landscape Care guide. It is a native, but it comes from moister canyon settings and blooms best with regular water through the warm months. Good drainage matters more than heavy watering.
Pruning
Snip spent flower spikes to keep blooms coming. In late winter or early spring, cut it back to clear out frost-damaged growth.
Heat
Full afternoon sun in a Phoenix summer is hard on it. Shade from a tree canopy or an east-facing bed suits it better.
Wildlife
Hummingbirds and other pollinators visit the flowers. Rabbits tend to leave it alone.
How our designers use it
Under desert trees
It adds color beneath mesquite, palo blanco and other light-canopy trees where sun-loving shrubs fade.
Hummingbird gardens
We combine it with autumn sage and Mexican honeysuckle for flowers across most of the year.
Front of the bed
Its low, mounding form edges a shaded walkway or patio planting without blocking views.
Good to know
Around the pool
Small, clean and thornless, with little litter. Bees and hummingbirds will visit while it blooms.
