Justicia spicigera     
Mexican honeysuckle   
Acanthaceae Family     

Form: herbaceous round shrub
Seasonality: evergreen
Size: 3-4ft, spread 4-6ft
Leaves: simple, velvety, ovate, slender, 3in long
Flowers: bright orange, tubular, on branch terminals, to 1.5in long; bloom from early spring through summer for a period as long as 9 months
Fruit: not significant

young blooms

Stems/Trunks: soft, tender look; not ornamental
Range/Origin: Mexico and South America
Hardiness: to low twenties; may freeze to ground but recovers quickly

LANDSCAPE VALUE:

• attracts hummingbirds
• color, long bloom period
• good in containers

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Exposure: full to part sun; in poor locations gets leggy and doesn't flower well
• Water: supplemental; best on once per week in hot part of year
• Soil: prepared
• Propagation: vegetative cuttings or underground shoots
• Maintenance: low; benefits from being pruned back to clean out woodiness

NOTES:

Justicia spicigera

aka Firecracker bush

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This page was first created August 24, 2001 and last modified July 29, 2005.

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Web page design and photographs by Toni Moore, Master Gardener
email to: tmoore1@flash.net

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