PlantFiles: Mexican Heather, False Heather
Cuphea hyssopifolia

We grow lots of this plant in Barbados, as a groundcover or a border. We call it cuphea, I guess the heather association means nothing to us. I don't find it very invasive, it self seeds, but not too profusely, and I propagate it by digging up the tiny seedlings. We also grow a type with brown leaves called 'Martinique' cuphea which is just as short but has a slightly more open habit.

Early bloomer. Almost no care needed. Likes the shade or the sun. A perfect "porch plant". Here in west Texas "Mexican Heather" requires watering daily. Temperatures in this area average 90-100 degrees F. with little humidity through the summer months and very little rainfall.

DO NOT OVERWATER this plant and keep it trimmed. One 30-min. irrigation per week is all the water it can take. I trim mine about once a month from early March to Thanksgiving. Both of these lessons were learned the hard way.

I bought 19 of these plants Jan. 2007, 6 of them are just beautiful, 3 are JUST ok, 7 are small, drying up & look horrible, and 3 are gone completely. I am a snow bird and only here for 6 months from Nov 1st to April 20th, so I don't know what is going on in the summer with these plants. The ones in the partial shade are the best & ok ones. The full sun ones are the worst. All are on the auto sprinkler for twice aweek, and I do fertilizer when here. I am going to severly trim the bad ones, give some bloom boost, treat with a fungal spray and see what happens. I was told we had an extremely hot summer, and I'm guessing it has something to do with it. If things do not improve, I will replace the bad ones with something else for full full sun. The ones that are doing well I will definitely keep as I really do like this plant.

I bought this potted plant in Crystal River Florida last winter. I brought it home to Michigan and it did very well outside all summer. I hope to save it indoors now until we return to Florida after Christmas, so far, so good.

I bought this last year, not knowing it is typically known to be an annual here in zone 7. I planted it in one of the roughest areas of my gardens, under a sparse old Carolina pine tree in dry, burnt up ground. I didn't really have high expectations; it was cheap and I bought it on almost a whim. The patch of ground it is living in isn't quite within the reach of the irrigation system and never stays consistantly moist. Last year it did okay, nothing too impressive but it was definitely healthy. Thinking it was some hardy perennial bush I left it in the ground overwinter with no mulching and it died away. Somehow it has made a recovery this year, and is back to sprouting healthy green leaves. According to info here on DG it's a tender perennial or annual. Anything that can withstand such difficult conditions is certainly welcome to stay in my garden.

At this point my experience is neutral. I've just planted 6 smaller bushes in a corner of my lot I normally call Crabgrass Corner. The ground is extremely hard and neither Bermuda nor St Augustine want to grow there. My Boxer, Harley, runs the length of the fence and ends up in that corner running after our mailman and any intruders so I wasnt able to plant them up against the fence. I am hoping that the will take root and do well. This corner is in dier need of some color;

mexican heather is a very popular groundcover in the hilton head / bluffton , s.c. area. it grows and blooms almost constantly and is completely evergreen here.

For the past 3 years I have grown Mexican Heather in a 10' diameter bed around a yard lamp. I love it. I buy plants as soon as I can fin them and usually try to get them out around the middle of March. I plant them a little more dense than is recomended (about 6 to 8" spacing). Water when I think of it, never fertilize, just enjoy the view.

Would like try to raise some from seed. Can anyone tell me where I might source some seed?

I have nothing but good things to say about Mexican Heather. I've never seen it get leggy, but that is probably because it doesn't get a chance here in zone 6B; it is full and beautiful from May until frost (which always comes too early for me). I have purchased it from a nursery for the past two years---last year I dug it out when I planted my tulips. This year, I'm going to cut it back when it freezes and heavily mulch it. I'll let you know what happens.

On the plus side, this plant blooms constantly and year round since we enjoy mild winters. However, I am bored with the look and its tendency to legginess (although an ocassional haircut takes care of that). Would yank it out, but it is not fair to get rid of a plant that is so undemanding. Definitely dislikes being overwatered. When in doubt, don't.

Have had this plant in my garden for many years. It blooms year round in Santa Barbara and does not require much attention. Bought two more today . Haven't had the invasion problems mentioned. I trim it back from time to time and like the fact that it thrives without much help from me.

I have a mexican heather in Alabama (ZONE 8A). Every year, in November, I cut it back to the ground and mulch it. We have some winter days of 10 degree weather, and for that reason, the mulch stays on until May, after the threat of frost is over. 5 years running and it has always bushed out to 10-12" wide and 8-10" tall - mounding.

I have planted two in a raised bed in Georgia (Zone 8) and will do the same over-wintering.

I live in Loganville Ga. This plant did very well. It was large and profusely bloomed little purple flowers. It was planted in full sun. (Georgia Sun!) It died to the ground on the first hard freeze. I cut it back. Today, I was out in the garden ...and saw new shoots emerging!! I bought 12 new babies from the local nursey today to plant in a new garden. I love it.

My husband loves this plant. I noticed it was looking scraggly, so I decided to pull it up. The roots were too hard for me to pull, so I just cut it back. It is back in full bloom now and doing well.

Grows well in Hawaii

This grows very well in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Winters over well too; I've seen some reports that its foliage is evergreen, but not here.

This is a great plant to use in a contained or patch area of ground, such as around a mailbox, where you can block off its spead and also plant other flowers in complimenting colors near it. If you're tempted to put it in a full flower bed, I'd recommend putting it in long window boxes towards the back of the bed, and either sinking the boxes into the ground so you can't see them, or planting other things in front of the Mexican Heather to block the window box so it's not visible. As pretty as it is, most people use it for a border, not for a main attraction--don't let it take over.

Definately cut it back when it's getting unsightly. If you're scared to cut it down to the ground (or pot), try cutting off the top third and seeing how it looks/survives. More than likely, it'll just be encouraged to grow.

I ripped 4 of these out of my yard 2 years ago because I became bored with the look. Each one was least 2 feet across. Dug up the roots and runners as well.. and boy did I dig, and dig, and dig. I had planted them in sets of 2. I ended up with 2 holes at least 5 feet across and 3 feet wide for each area . Sprayed the areas with spectracide. and after all that, it's still sprouting up about a good 6 feet from where I had originally planted it. keep it in a pot or you'll never get rid of it. Other than that, Loves the sun and not demanding of water.. Give it a REAL GOOD haircut every now and then too because foliage tends to go leggy and get ugly.

I planted this in a large pot and the deer eat the tender shoots. I can't say that a more mature plant is not more deer resistant but young plants should be protected. The deer did not touch a trailing sweet potato vine, a nemesia or some coleus in the same pot.

This plant never stopped blooming all year. Even with a few days of temps on the low thirties it never lost a single leaf. I am impressed with it and will continue to grow it all I can.

I have three mexican heather plants that I took in over this past winter and it appears that they are dead. If I cut back all the dead parts on top, will they grow back from the roots?

I was given off shoots of this plant recently and planted them in my yard. They have done well and look very nice as an edge to a new border. However, the person who gave them to me is now warning me that they can be invasive. I have searched for evidence to back that up but only found one mention this at this site:
"Once planted it can take over. Its roots are very fine and will extend out in every direction like grass."
Does anyone else have any evidence of this?
I am gardening in southern california.

I purchased this plant at a supermarket last spring. Never had encountered it before. We live in New Hampshire. It did extremely well here and was in a full sun all during a very hot summer. It seems to be thriving much more in our much cooler temperatures now. Of course, I know it won't survive our winters so I'm going to bring in inside and see what happens. I really preferred it to some of our other edging plants in the garden.

Cuphea hyssopifolia is one of those plants I refuse to garden without. I am not the most careful of gardeners, and it survives me. It can be short-lived, it can live a long time. It can stay compact, it can get 3' across. (I'm writing from west-central Florida, U.S.)

It is the ideal low constant flowering fine textured tender perennial. Right now there are only six in my new garden, but that will change. I have both the purple and the white types, my favorites. I find the white stays more compact.

Although I am new at this gardening thing, I really enjoyed my Mexican Heather from last summer. The only problem is I have been told that it is both an annual and a perennial, so I'm not sure what I should be doing next - I am ready to clean out my graden bed and not sure what to do with the dead foliage and roots.

The only problem I have encountered with these is the legginess, which is addressed in previous comments. These look great planted under red roses.

We planted 3 small plants in April, by August they were each 36 - 40 inches wide. They keep their circular form and the bees and butterflies love them.

Mexican Heather originated in Mexico and Guatemala. They have tiny lavender, purple, or white flowers and small, glossy leaves. Foliage is hardy to 28F, but will generally grow back from roots if frozen to the ground.

I cut mine back once they die down (after frost) and they come back each year, but they are an annual in cooler climates.

Sub-shrub which gets leggy and coarse if let grow. I have trimmed it to the ground and had it grow back everty time with lush growth. Once planted it can take over. Its roots are very fine and will extend out in every direction like grass. Pulled some out of the flower bed and it still keeps popping up everywhere. Small pink flowers all year except for the coldest months. fast grower.

This low growing shrubby plant has small 1/4 to 1/2 inch bright green leaves and is constantly covered with tiny flowers from spring to late fall. If cold weather didn't arrive, this native of Mexico would never stop blooming. Its texture is fine, and its flowers, though small, can virtually cover the dense, mounding shrub. The flowers are generally a pinkish-purple, but can also be pale lavender or white. Mexican heather can return from its roots if the winter is not too severe; usually considered an annual.