Golden Ruby False Heather

Golden Ruby False Heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia 'Golden Ruby') is a border plant that does the job of a low hedge without any of the clipping. It holds a tight mound about 40cm tall and 50cm across, covered in fine foliage and a constant scatter of tiny pink and purple flowers through the warm months.

Why you'll love it

• It keeps its own shape. A naturally dense rounded mound at roughly 40cm by 50cm, so a row reads as a neat low hedge with no shearing.
• Flowers almost continuously. Small pink and purple blooms appear along the stems across the warm season rather than in one burst.
• Heat, humidity and dry spells all suit it. Once established it handles heat and drought, and it does not sulk in coastal humidity.
• Bees and butterflies work it constantly. The flowers are small but numerous, open and easy to feed from.
• Very little maintenance. One light trim a year keeps it dense, with no staking or deadheading.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. The main use. Plant 40cm apart and the mounds meet into a continuous soft edge within a season.

Mass planting in small gardens. The same 40cm spacing works for filling a bed. The mature size is predictable, so you can plan a courtyard around it.

Pots and rockeries. A pot 300mm or wider holds one plant, and the drought tolerance makes it sensible for a hot balcony. In a rockery it softens stone without hiding it.

Growing golden ruby false heather in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to light shade, with full sun giving the densest habit and heaviest flowering. It suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens and takes light frost only, so hard frosting inland and southern gardens should grow it in a pot that can be moved under cover.

Soil. Free draining is the requirement. It copes with sandy coastal soils but will rot in ground that stays wet. On clay, plant on a low mound and mulch 50mm deep, kept off the stems.

Water and feed. Water twice weekly for the first two months, then taper to a deep soak in dry weather. Flowering is better with occasional water through a long dry summer. A controlled release fertiliser in early spring is enough.

Pruning. Trim lightly in late winter or early spring to remove woody bare sections. Avoid cutting hard into old wood, because it is slow to reshoot from bare stems.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes as tube stock and as a 140mm pack of ten. Tubes are young plants, usually 10 to 20cm high, and they are the value option for a long border. The 140mm pack closes the gaps in half the time.

Small shrubs like this travel well, with only minor leaf drop expected. Plant within a few days of arrival, water in, and expect the mounds to knit together within two to three months in warm weather, or one full season in a cooler garden. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Choosing the right edging plants
• See what else suits a tight space in plants for small gardens
• Browse companions in the rockery plant range
• Find more pollinator plants in bee and butterfly plants

Common questions

How many do I need for a border?

At 40cm spacing you need roughly two and a half plants per running metre, so a ten metre border takes about 25. A pack of ten covers four metres of finished edge.

Will it survive frost?

Light frost only. A few cold mornings damage the tips, which trim off in spring, but a hard frost will kill it. In genuinely cold gardens, grow it in a pot you can shift under eaves.

How often does it need trimming?

Once a year, in late winter or early spring. Take off the top few centimetres and any woody bare stems. It does not need shearing the way a formal hedge does.