Hamelia patens Nuccio's Nurseries horticulturally the plant is the

horticulturally the plant is the aristocrat of the group

One of the parents behind the garden cannas

the shrub sets almost no viable seed

a member of the storax family

Hamelia patens Nuccio's Nurseries horticulturally the plant is theFirebush earns the name honestly. From late spring until the first frost, the arching branch tips carry tight clusters of slender tubular flowers in hot orange red, each one a narrow torch held out for the hummingbirds and butterflies that work the plant from morning to dusk. The foliage plays along: new leaves and stems flush bronze to burgundy, the veins stained red, so that even between flushes of bloom the whole shrub reads warm. Few plants pull