Vermillionaire® is a Cuphea hybrid 'Cupver' in the Lythraceae (loosestrife) family. The parent plant is a perennial from tropical America. Vermillionaire® blooms continuously from spring to frost with showy reddish-orange tubular blooms. It has a mounding habit and grows to 30 or more inches tall and 2 feet wide. It attracts hummingbirds and other pollinators and is tolerant of heat and humidity. Plant in average moist garden soil in full sun and fertilize monthly for best flowering. No deadheading is needed but stems may be pinched back if the plant becomes leggy. In zones 7 and lower grow it as an annual. If you live in a marginal zone area be sure to mulch it well in winter and don't cut the plant back until new spring growth appears. Grow this plant in borders, mass plantings, or containers. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems. VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Fills a similar nicheCannaIlex cornuta 'Rotunda'Lantana camara 'Miss Huff'
Full plant profile
Growing Conditions
Plant type
Herbaceous Perennial
Life cycle
Annual; Perennial
USDA zones
8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 6 in. - 2 ft. 6 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Mounding
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Glossy
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Glossy green lance-shaped leaves
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Orange; Red/Burgundy
Flower value
Long-lasting; Showy
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower detail
Produces clusters of small, narrow tubular reddish-orange flowers with yellow to white tips and dark red stamens. The pistils and stamens protrude from the flowers, which have six lobes. They will bloom all season and do not need to be deadheaded.