Common Name: dicliptera
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Acanthaceae
Native Range: Central South America
Zone: 8 to 10
Height: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to September
Bloom Description: Reddish-orange
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Annual
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Hummingbirds
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates some light shade and drought. Winter hardy to Zones 8-10, and will not survive St. Louis winters. Grow in containers or hanging baskets in the St. Louis area. Cuttings may be taken and overwintered indoors.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Dicliptera squarrosa is a tender perennial that features ovate, velvety, gray-hairy leaves (to 2 1/2" long) and two-lipped, tubular reddish-orange flowers (1-3/4" long). Typically grows in a shrubby mound to 18-24" tall and as wide. Blooms summer into fall. Flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, hence the sometimes common name of hummingbird plant.
Synonymous with Jacobinia suberecta.
Genus name comes from the Greek words diklis meaning double-folding and pteron meaning wing in reference to the two wing-like divisions in the capsule.
Specific epithet means with parts spreading or recurved at the ends.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Containers or hanging baskets.