Mexican Fire Bush - Hamelia Patens

The nursery people promised the Hamelia was root hardy -- it is.

An unusually cold winter surprised not only me but my garden's plants. Weather always wreaks havoc on borderline plants, those that should be in the next hardiness zone, either up or down, and those that are drought tolerant or that need lots of water. Even native plants suffer when the weather becomes unusually different for a couple years. Some years my lantana is great, other years it’s obviously struggling and in Houston this is considered reliably tough.


My butterfly and hummingbird garden has been anchored by Hamelia patens and during the first four years the plant grew and flowered all winter. This made early arriving hummingbirds gleeful as they surfed the southern winds on their way to northern states. Like everywhere else in the United States, the winter of 2013-2014 was hard including south Texas. We had multiple freezes and longer periods of non-typical cold. My hamelia, also called Mexican fire bush, did what the nursery people said it would – it froze to the ground. I needed to remove years of woody stems (up to eight and ten feet tall) and then waited.




Leaves are beginning to appear at the base – the nursery people said it’s root hardy and that the plant is being thoughtful about recovering. It should happen once the days started reaching the 80s and 90s.


This fast-growing, semi-woody evergreen shrub can reach small tree heights of 15 feet or it can be pruned back to six feet. It quickly covers with small, ¾-inch long bright, red-orange flowers on stems with whorls of dark green leaves. The hummingbirds love this plant.

Hamelias are native to central and southern Florida, West Indies, Central America and northern parts of South America. It handles full sun and is extremely heat tolerant but also handles partial shade. My plants have morning shade and full sun after mid-morning. This is drought tolerant once established. It has a hardiness zone range of 8 to 11 but in zones 10 to 11 this grows as a small tree. In zones 8 and occasionally 9, this dies back to the ground in winter but don’t worry, it really is root hardy and sprouts do reappear and then it grows like crazy.

Hamelia is tolerant of a variety of soils. My clay soil has been modified thanks to years of mulch, compost and root activity. I suspect a high population of worms has enhanced the soil’s character, but this also grows on sandy, well-drained soils. It’s considered salt tolerant and an ideal plant for coastal regions. In cooler areas where this dies back over the winter this will maintain a compact shape.

Root-hardy hamelia has begun sprouting from base.

I love this plant. Its striking red-orange flowers provide summer color during a season when only tropical plants are blooming. I have this planted with a native honeysuckle and dwarf pomegranates. The combination appeals to butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. If you live in the south and really want an impressive plant for your hummingbird garden, and you have the space, consider Hamelia patens.