Other Names:  Red Orange Bells, Red Trumpet Flower, Cahauto

Brand:  Southern Living

Description:

A heat loving, mid-sized shrub with a tropical appearance, producing clusters of showy red-orange flowers all season long; a more compact variety for smaller spaces

Ornamental Features

Bells Of Fire™ Esperanza features showy clusters of red trumpet-shaped flowers with orange overtones and yellow throats along the branches from mid spring to mid fall, which emerge from distinctive crimson flower buds. Its serrated pointy leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Bells Of Fire™ Esperanza is a multi-stemmed annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Bells Of Fire™ Esperanza is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Bells Of Fire™ Esperanza will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Bells Of Fire™ Esperanza is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.