Mauve False Heather

Mauve False Heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia 'Mauve') is the low edging plant that keeps flowering when everything around it has stopped. It settles at about 50cm tall and 60cm across, a fine textured mound smothered in small mauve flowers for most of the year in a warm garden. Planted 40cm apart it closes into an even border in one season.

Why you'll love it

• Flowering that barely pauses. Tropical and subtropical gardens see mauve flowers almost year round, and warm temperate gardens run from spring into autumn.
• It stays the size you bought it. At 50cm by 60cm it never creeps out over the path.
• Tough for something this fine. Heat, humidity and dry spells are all handled once the roots are down.
• Bees and butterflies work it constantly. The flowers are small, but there are thousands of them.
• It takes a clip. A light shear thickens it rather than setting it back.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Plant 40cm apart in a single row. Ten plants give four metres of edge, and the row reads as one band by the end of the first season.

Mass planting and groundcover. Same 40cm spacing on a staggered grid, about six plants to the square metre. Once closed over it shades out most annual weeds.

Low hedging and pots. Clipped, it holds a tidy 30cm to 40cm hedge along a path. One plant fills a 250mm to 300mm pot, and three make a trough.

Growing Mauve False Heather in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering; part shade works but stays looser and leafier. This is one for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It takes light frost only, so cold inland districts, the tablelands and hard frosting southern gardens should grow it in a pot that can move under cover for winter.

Soil. Drainage is the one real requirement. Work compost through the bed, and on heavy clay raise the planting line into a low mound. Mulch to 50mm, kept off the stems.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. A complete slow release fertiliser in early spring and again in mid summer keeps the flowering dense.

Pruning. Shear lightly two or three times through the warmer months. A plant that has gone woody and open at the base can be cut back hard in early spring and will reshoot.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in two sizes. Tube stock is a young plant with a small root ball, and the sensible buy for a long run because it catches up quickly. The 140mm pack of ten covers about 1.6 square metres massed, or four metres of single row edging.

Soft growth can look tired after a few days in a box, so water it and give it a day in the shade before planting. Expect flowers within six to eight weeks in warm weather. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Choosing edging plants for a clean garden line.
• Low growing plant ideas for borders.
• Browse the wider groundcover range for larger areas.
• See other plants that feed bees and butterflies.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a border?

Forty centimetres apart in a single row. At that spacing the plants meet by the end of the first growing season and the edge reads as continuous.

Does it really flower all year?

Close to it in tropical and subtropical gardens, where there is rarely a month without flowers. In warm temperate districts expect a strong run from spring through autumn and a quieter winter.

Will it survive frost?

Light frost only. A brief cold snap may burn the tips and the plant will reshoot in spring, but hard or repeated frost will kill it. In cold gardens keep it in a pot and shift it under eaves.