false heather // mexican heather

order: myrtales
family: lythraceae
genus: cuphea
species: hyssopifolia

First Story

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10 february 2012

False heather, also called mexican heather, is an evergreen that grows to about 30 cm. I love this plant because of its tiny purple flowers that show up throughout the growing season. Both flowers and leaves are small in size. The plant has very dense branching, which makes it attractive when planted as bed or border. It also looks great in a stone garden when shaped into low cushion. Though it's not a very frost hardy plant. So you might want to dig them out and keep them indoor before the first frost hits. Many treat them as annual, but I hate to recommend this. In winter with low light condition, the growth comes to a halt, and the flowers wear off. Though this plant does not need a cold dormancy to do well, since it is a tropical plant. As soon as the day becomes long enough, fresh green leaves emerge from just about everywhere on the plant. A few weeks later, the flowers start to appear as well. It's a very easy plant to keep. Summer outdoor; winter on a bright window sill. It likes to be misted every now and then, especially when kept indoor. I mist it early in the morning and after sun down to avoid sunburn. The only drawback I see in this plant is its relatively short lifespan of 30 years. I would have liked it to live a little longer than that. By the look of my plant, I think it's between 1 and 2 years old.

From my earlier experience with this plant, it's very easy to propagate by cuttings. You get a lot of those in summer while shaping your bush. Since the plant will push out continuously during the growing seasons, you'll do this several times a year.

Update

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24 august 2015

In this update, you can see that after 3 years, the plant is still growing nicely. The result of overwintering the plant that most people treat as an annual is a small bush measuring 50cm across, which is absolutely rare in our continental clime. Throughout these 3 years, my mexican heather has regrettably dried out numerous times due to delayed waterings, which caused diebacks of many young twigs. It would take 2 to 3 months of summer growth to regrow the lost compactness. Overall, it could be slightly more compact, especially in the lower and inner section. Generally, the sunnier where it stands, the more compact it becomes. But if you decide to put it in full sun, make sure the soil is constantly moist. As for me I haven't been able keep up with the frequent watering, so I keep it at a bright but not too sunny site. As for winter, it's about getting as much light as possible. It tends to loose some inner branches if the light condition is not good enough but that's not tragic. When the days get longer, they will branch out profusely from backbuds. Also to note is that, I had problem with scale insects in one winter. My plant's health deteriorated at a high speed. They're very difficult to notice on its dark brown bark but need to be checked frequently and removed immediately if spotted.