Backyard Nature Wednesday: Firespike (Odontonema strictum)

Firespike in my backyard garden today.
Odontonema strictum, popularly called firespike or cardinal guard or scarlet flame, is a showy shrub-like plant that is native to semi-forested areas in Central America, but it will grow happily in USDA Zones 8 - 11. It seems content in my zone 9a garden near Houston.

That wasn't always true though. I bought my plant in spring 2012 and at first I had positioned it in full sun, which, according to the planting instructions I read, it should have been able to tolerate. The first year that it grew there, it grew to perhaps two to two-and-a-half feet tall and it did have a few blooms. In the winter, it died back to the ground but came back in the spring; however, it seemed stunted and unhappy and it never bloomed that year. I decided drastic action was needed.

It died back to the ground last winter, but in the spring, as soon as I was sure it had survived, I decided to move it to another location. I planted it in a large pot and moved the pot to an area that was mostly dappled shade all day with some late afternoon sun. My idea was that if the plant didn't seem to be happy there, I could always move the pot elsewhere. I needn't have worried - the plant loved it!

My firespike has grown to about four feet this year and has healthy shiny dark green leaves. It is a multi-stemmed plant and every stem now sports one of the red "spikes" that are loved by hummingbirds and butterflies.

These tubular blossoms open in autumn just as the migrating hummingbirds are passing through.
It really is a strikingly beautiful plant that brightens our autumn landscapes. It is said to work well in mixed shrub borders and I may try to find such a spot for it in my garden in the future. As long as the area is mostly shady, I think it might be happy in the ground. The hot Southeast Texas sun is just too intense for it as a steady diet.

The plant does spread by underground sprouting, so, if it is happy, it could enlarge to create a thicket effect. I can't imagine many things more beautiful in the fall than a thicket with those long-lasting scarlet "spikes" waving in the breeze.

If you live in USDA zones 8 -11 and have not grown firespike, try it. I think you'll like it.
 

Comments

  1. Lee@A Guide to Northeastern GardeningOctober 9, 2014 at 8:08 AM

    Nice feature Dorothy. It would be considered tropical here but it is lovely and the hummingbirds must love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JayneOctober 12, 2014 at 4:22 PM

    It looks beautiful Dorothy. I'm glad you persevered and found a good spot for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersOctober 12, 2014 at 4:30 PM

      So am I. It's a lovely plant. It's not at all unusual for me to have to move my plants around - sometimes more than once - in order to find where they are happy.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
Read more

The Investigator by John Sandford: A review

Image
  I have read a few of John Sandford's books in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. This book is a literal offspring of that series. It's the first in a series featuring Davenport's adopted daughter Letty Davenport. Letty is in her mid-20s and a graduate of Stanford. She works for a U.S. senator named Christopher Colles in a desk job but she's bored with her assignments. Then the senator offers her a chance to go into the field as a liaison between his office and the Department of Homeland Security.  In her first assignment in that position, she is sent to Texas along with DHS investigator John Kaiser to try to find out what is happening in regard to thefts of crude oil. The senator is not so concerned about the lost oil but wants to know where the money from its sale is going. Who is selling the oil and what they are doing with the profits? The suspicion is that a particularly nasty militia group led by a woman is involved. Letty and Kaiser head out to Texas, de...
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
Read more