FIREBUSH by Peggy A. Gretchen, FNPS Member, Pasco MasterGardener

Botanical Name: Hamelia patens Common Name: Firebush Family: Rubiaceae (Madder)

Type of Plant: Small to medium-sized native evergreen shrub, multi-stemmed, spreading, with a rounded form, brownish bark, slender branches, and opposite or whorled foliage. Cold-tender. Height: 3 – 10 ft., taller (15 ft.) in Southern Florida. Width: 3 – 6 ft. Spacing: 5 – 10 ft.
How to Identify: Leaves: Opposite or whorled with up to 7 leaves per node; 5 – 8 in.; dull, soft (hairy) green above with reddish veins. Very attractive. Deeper green in shade. Flowers: Showy, bright orange-red to mostly red, tubular, in clusters, about 1.5 in. long, filled with nectar.

 Flowering Time: Year-round. Spring to frost in Central Florida. Fruit: Red turning purplish-black, juicy, rounded, about ¼ in. in diameter.
Habitat: Frequent in coastal hammocks and shell middens, rarely inland.
Distribution: Central and Southern Florida. Hardiness Zones: 8b – 11.
Landscape Use / Wildlife Benefit: An excellent shrub for accent, borders (along paths or sidewalks), background, barriers, or for massing in mixed (with cold-hardy species) or single species shrub beds. Also, it is useful for dry, alkaline sites, such as roadsides and medians. Makes an attractive understory planting with its
beautiful red-veined foliage in the shade. A “must-have” for a butterfly/bird landscape. The beautiful nectar-filled red tubular flowers attract many butterflies and hummingbirds. The flowers are followed by fruits which attract songbirds.
Cultivation: Soil: Prefers dry, sandy, well-drained, slightly alkaline soils, but will adapt to a variety of conditions. Slightly salt-tolerant. Light: Full shade to full sun. Reddish foliage most attractive in the shade; flowers best in full sun. Water: Dry – average. Very drought-tolerant! Irrigation not required after establishment, survives on natural rainfall. During severe prolonged droughts will benefit from irrigation 2 – 3 times per year.
Miscellaneous: Foliage is cold-tender, but plant is root hardy. May freeze to ground, but should return in the spring from the roots, if well-established prior to freeze. Some salt-tolerance. May prune to shape as desired.
Moderate lifespan.
Propagation: By seed or cuttings (tip).
Availability: See your Association of Florida Native Nurseries (AFNN) directory!. Also may be found at your local nursery or big box retailer. However, they frequently carry the non-native firebush (variously called H. nodosa or H. patens var. glabra) from Mexico or Central/South America, which is difficult to differentiate from
the native firebush (H. patens), but has flowers which are more yellow and orange than red, and leaves which are more smooth and shiny than the native firebush. It was introduced into the Florida nursery trade from a botanical garden in South Africa; hence, it is frequently called “African Firebush”. Also, the ‘Dwarf’ or ‘Compacta’
cultivar is non-native.
References:
Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell, Native Florida Plants, Houston, Texas, Gulf Publishing Company, 1999.
Huegel, Craig N., Florida Plants for Wildlife, Orlando, Florida, Florida Native Plant Society, 1995.
Nelson, Gil, Florida’s Best Native Landscape Plants, Gainesville, Florida, University Press of Florida, 2003.
Osorio, Rufino, A Gardener’s Guide to Florida’s Native Plants, Gainesville, FL, University Press of FL, 2001.
Trass, Pamela F., Gardening for Florida’s Butterflies, St. Petersburg, Florida, Great Outdoors Publishing Company, 1999.