Cuphea hyssopifolia

Cuphea hyssopifolia

Hailing from Mexico and Guatemala, and sometimes known as false heather, this is a neat, dense, rounded shrub with tiny leaves, which grows to about 60 cm, though there are lower-growing forms to just 25 cm tall. It has tiny, star-shaped, white or purple flowers from late spring to winter. It grows best in sun. Other species and cultivars of Cuphea tend towards straggliness in the colder months, coming good once pruned in late winter, but this one keeps its shape year-round It is frost sensitive. It can be grown as a low hedge or massed as a groundcover, and makes a good pot plant. It may exhaust itself after a few years and need replacing. It may possibly self-seed so watch out for this if you live near bushland areas.