Firecracker flower
A stunning dual-purpose plant
IT’S RARE TO FIND a great dual-purpose flowering plant like crossandra, also known as firecracker flower. It can be grown as a summer annual but also as a flowering houseplant or both. It is not well known, and often bypassed in the garden center unless it’s in flower.
Crossandra thrives in high humidity, making it an excellent choice for Kentucky summers. It prefers to grow in part shade. When grown as a houseplant, it needs bright, indirect light. It can be planted singly or in combinations, and in containers or ground beds. Considered easy to grow, it prefers moist but well-drained soil.
Once it begins to flower, it blooms constantly but will stop flowering if the light level is too low. Flower colors can be gold/yellow, orange/apricot, pink and shades of red. Orange Marmalade is one of the most commonly available varieties. Crossandra gets its other name, firecracker flower, from the way its dried seed pods pop open like small explosions.
A true tropical plant, crossandra is sensitive to cold or cooler weather. In the fall, as temperatures drop into the high 50s it is time to transition it inside, if you choose, for overwintering. The plant can be sensitive even to cold water when watering.
I have found it to be relatively slow growing, but crossandra can grow up to 3 feet tall even in a relatively small container. If you happen upon one this growing season, try overwintering it and you may be rewarded with a beautiful flowering houseplant until spring returns.
