Botanical Name: Cuphea hyssopifolia

Common Name: Mexican Heather

Hardiness Zone: Perennial in Warm Regions (USDA Zones 9–11); Grown as an Annual Elsewhere

Size: 12–24" Tall × 12–24" Spread

Growth Habit: Compact to Mounding, Fine-Textured, Well-Branched Habit

Sunlight: Full Sun to Partial Shade

Soil: Well-Drained, Average to Fertile Soil

Water Needs: Moderate; Drought Tolerant Once Established

Bloom Season: Late Spring through Frost

Fertilizer: Light Feeding During Active Growth

Features: Small Lavender, Purple, Pink, or White Star-Shaped Flowers, Fine Evergreen-Like Foliage, Long Blooming, Heat Tolerant

Uses: Containers, Edging, Borders, Mass Plantings, Pollinator Gardens

Patent: ❌ Not Patented

Propagation: ✔ Propagation Allowed

See our complete Cuphea Plant Guide for more in depth care details.

More About Cuphea Mexican Heather

Mexican Heather is one of those Cuphea varieties that we grow year after year because it does so many things quietly and well. The texture alone is worth growing it. The foliage is incredibly fine, almost fernlike, and from Late Spring through Frost it carries thousands of tiny star shaped blooms along those slender stems. Each flower is small, but together they create this soft haze of color that never feels loud or overdone. I love that it adds movement and lightness instead of demanding attention. When we mass it out in a bed, the effect is smooth and uniform, almost like a living fabric laid across the soil.

The plant keeps a naturally compact, well branched shape, which means we are not out there constantly trimming to keep it tidy. Even when flowering slows slightly during extreme heat, the foliage stays dense and refined, so it never looks messy. In warmer climates it can behave like a small woody perennial with real structure, and here it gives us an incredibly long season of performance as an annual. It simply holds its form better than most fine textured flowering plants I have grown.

Why We Like It (Our Trials)

In our Upstate South Carolina trial beds, Cuphea Mexican Heather has proven to be a workhorse through heat and humidity. We plant it in Full Sun, water it in well, and it establishes quickly without drama. Through the thick of Summer, when certain annuals begin to stretch or fade, it keeps blooming steadily and holds that neat, rounded habit. We are not deadheading it, and we are not constantly reshaping it. It just stays presentable on its own, which is something I always value.

Design wise, we use it everywhere because it solves problems. It softens the edge of a walkway, fills the gaps in mixed containers, and creates cohesive ribbons of color when planted in drifts. The blooms draw in small bees and native pollinators, but the overall look remains clean and tailored. That balance of structure, subtle color, and reliability is hard to find in one plant, and that is exactly why we keep growing Cuphea Mexican Heather season after season.

Mexican Heather vs. Other Cuphea

‘Mexican Heather’ is fundamentally different from most other Cuphea varieties, offering a small-leaved, shrub-like structure rather than bold individual flowers. Compared to Vermillionaire® or FloriGlory® Diana, its blooms are tiny and subtle, but they appear in massive numbers, creating a soft haze of color rather than focal points. This makes it especially effective as edging or low hedging, where louder varieties like ‘Bat Face’ would feel visually chaotic. Its dense, fine texture also gives it a more formal appearance.

When contrasted with Hummingbirds Lunch or David Verity, ‘Mexican Heather’ is far less expressive but far more consistent in shape. It holds its form well without constant pruning, unlike some of the more open, upright varieties. Compared to Allyson Heather, it offers a tighter, more compact habit with smaller foliage. ‘Mexican Heather’ is not a pollinator showstopper, but it excels where structure, continuity, and subtlety are the priority.