Fountainbush is a tropical subshrub native to Mexico that brings cascading elegance and hummingbird magic to warm-climate gardens. Known as coral plant, coral fountain, or firecracker plant, this deciduous beauty produces bright red tubular flowers that dangle in drooping clusters, blooming freely from late spring until frost. Growing 2 to 4 feet tall and spreading 3 to 5 feet wide, it thrives in USDA zones 9 through 11 and demands full sun and moderate moisture to reach its potential. The needle-like foliage and rush-like stems create an airy, fountain-like silhouette that justifies its common name.
Full Sun
Moderate
9-11
48in H x 60in W
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High
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The continuous parade of red firecracker flowers hanging in terminal cymes is the show that keeps giving from late spring straight through to the first frost. Hummingbirds cannot resist them, making fountainbush a living magnet for these jeweled visitors. Its cascading stems and delicate, asparagus-like foliage give it an airiness that belies its sturdy nature, and established plants prove surprisingly drought-tolerant once settled in, though they truly shine with consistent medium moisture.
Fountainbush earns its place in gardens as an ornamental shrub prized for its showy, hummingbird-attracting flowers and graceful cascading form. In frost-prone regions within its hardiness range, gardeners grow it in containers and hanging baskets, overwintering them indoors before moving them back outside when warmth returns. In warm zones, it finds homes in flower beds and borders where its trailing stems can arch and spread naturally, or in water gardens and pond margins where its tolerance for moist soils allows it to thrive alongside moisture-loving companions.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Once all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed, transplant hardened-off plants outdoors into their permanent locations in full sun. Space them to account for their mature spread of 3 to 5 feet.
Pruning is not critical but can help shape the plant and encourage branching. Remove dead or damaged stems after frost in cooler zones, or trim lightly during the growing season to maintain the cascading form you prefer.
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“Russelia equisetiformis hails from Mexico, where it evolved as a tropical subshrub adapted to warm, seasonally variable climates. The plant carries multiple common names that reveal how different gardeners have come to know it: coral plant and coral fountain speak to its appearance, while firecracker plant captures the burst of its tubular red blooms. It is synonymous with Russelia juncea, a taxonomic relationship that reflects the plant's journey through botanical classification and horticultural adoption as it spread beyond its native range into cultivation worldwide.”