Bouvardia ternifolia Scarlet Hummer

"Wow, whaas dat?"...is the common reaction from garden visitors in late summer as they walk up to our clump of Bouvardia ternifolia. Amazingly, many folks are not familiar with bouvardia as a garden perennial...notwithstanding its recent rise in popularity as a cut flower. This Mexican seed collection from the folks at Yucca Do comes from 2,460' elevation in Hidalgo state, near the town of Tamazunchale...bless you! In our garden, bouvardia awakens in very late spring and forms a small clump of 2' tall shoots, clothed with small linear leaves. Beginning in midsummer and continuing until fall, the plants are topped with flat flower clusters of brilliant orange-red flowers. Since 2003, this is the only form of Bouvardia ternifolia that has been winter hardy for us, and dry soil in winter is the key to good survival in the garden. In 2012, we finally gave the cultivar name Bouvardia 'Scarlet Hummer' to the clone that we've offered since 2003.