Cuphea ignea

This is such a fabulous little shrub and I don’t understand why it isn’t more widely grown. You hardly ever see it in nurseries these days. It is a little bit frost-tender and earns its common name as the small orange tubular flowers have white and black tips that make them look like lit cigarettes! In our garden it seems to always be in bloom and is at its peak in Winter when it brightens up the border. I prune in later Winter after this flush to keep a compact shape.