Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Mexican Cigar Plant, Cigar Flower

Brand:  Ball

Description:

A beautiful trailing and spreading variety featuring interesting creamy white tubular flower over dark green foliage; flowers year round in warmer climates; an excellent choice for hanging baskets or mixed containers; heat tolerant and low maintenance

Ornamental Features

Sugarbells Firecracker Plant has white tubular flowers with creamy white overtones along the branches from early spring to late winter, which are interesting on close inspection. Its pointy leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Sugarbells Firecracker Plant is an open multi-stemmed annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Sugarbells Firecracker Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Sugarbells Firecracker Plant will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 10 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Sugarbells Firecracker Plant is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.