Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Houseplants >> Plants for Details >> Other

Cuphea llavea Flamenco Samba™: Bold Bat-Faced Blooms All Season

Flamenco Samba™ cuphea (Cuphea llavea) is a compact, mounding subshrub that blooms nonstop without deadheading. Its cherry-red flowers have a deep purple throat and slightly ruffled petals, larger than the species. The "bat-faced" blooms cover the plant from early summer to frost, reaching up to 3 feet tall and wide in a season.

Care & Uses

Ideal for: Hanging baskets, containers, beds, and borders.
Water: Regular watering once soil dries out.
Propagation: Sow seed early spring or in situ late spring; divide or root softwood cuttings in late spring.

Potential Problems

Whiteflies, aphids, root rot, stem galls, dieback, powdery mildew, leaf spots.

Quick Reference

Height/Spread	1–3 ft.
Light	Full Sun to Part Shade
Moisture	Medium
Maintenance	Low
Bloom Time	Early Summer, Summer
Flower Color	Purple, Red
Uses	Beds, Borders, Containers, Suitable as Annual
Style	Cottage Garden
Type	Shrub (often grown as annual)

Other: Flamboyant Tree (Delonix regia): The Flamenco Dancer of the Tree World; Cuphea llavea Totally Tempted™: Compact Heat-Tolerant Hummingbird Magnet; Oriental Poppy 'Flamenco Dancer' (Papaver orientale 'Flamenco Dancer'); Rosa 'Flamenco': Disease-Resistant Shrub Rose; Bat-Face Cuphea (Cuphea llavea): Whimsical Flowers for Pollinators; Firecracker Plant (Cuphea ignea): Cigar Plant for Hummingbirds; Growing Cuphea (Firecracker Plant): Tips for Continuous Blooms; Cuphea 'Ignea Dynamite' – Fiery Blooms for Sun to Partial Shade; Cuphea llavea 'Totally Tempted' – Heat-Tolerant Profuse Bloomer; Cuphea 'Bat Face': Unique Bat‑Shaped Flowers Attract Hummingbirds

Garden Articles

Bat-Face Cuphea 'Tiny Winnie' (Cuphea llavea 'Tiny Winnie'): Miniature Whimsical Flowers for Containers

Abelia 'Edward Goucher': Compact Semi-Evergreen Shrub with Pink-Purple Flowers

Glossy Abelia (Abelia × grandiflora): Large Fragrant Shrub for Borders and Hedges

Variegated Glossy Abelia 'Confetti' (Abelia × grandiflora 'Confetti'): Cream-White-Pink Foliage for Year-Round Interest

White Forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum): Early Spring Fragrant White Flowers on Bare Branches

Hibiscus Manihot (Abelmoschus manihot): Giant Yellow Flowers on Tall Ornamental Okra

Cuphea llavea Flamenco Samba™: Bold Bat-Faced Blooms All Season

Plants

Purple Sheep's Burr (Acaena inermis 'Purpurea'): New Zealand Groundcover with Scalloped Purple Leaves

Copperleaf 'Tricolor' (Acalypha wilkesiana 'Tricolor'): Multi-Colored Foliage Shrub for Tropical Effect

Bear's Breeches (Acanthus mollis): Architectural Perennial with Glossy Leaves and Towering Flower Spikes

Bear's Breeches 'Tasmanian Angel' (Acanthus mollis 'Tasmanian Angel'): First Variegated Bear's Breeches

Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum): Four-Season Tree with Peeling Cinnamon Bark

Full-Moon Maple 'Aconitifolium' (Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium'): Ferny Foliage and Crimson Autumn Color

Japanese Maple 'Amber Ghost' (Acer palmatum 'Amber Ghost'): Series of Stunning Foliage Colors