Sweet Talk Deep Pink Cuphea: a Heat-Loving Annual to Use in Containers
Try this unique flower in garden pots that are subject to hot sun, humidity and drying out. Even with those challenges, this cuphea won’t fail!
Sweet Talk Deep Pink cuphea is an easy-care annual plant that loves sun and heat. Its unique pink flowers attract pollinators while adding bright color and interesting form to containers or garden edges. This cuphea's compact size and forgiving nature make it especially useful in pots.
Related: Find pro design advice in "Create Annual Planters that are Dramatic and Full of Color."
Common name: Sweet Talk Deep Pink cuphea
Botanical name: Cuphea procumbens 'PAS1506711'
Origin: The species Cuphea procumbens is a tropical plant native to southern Mexico. In hot climates it is a perennial, but it is typically used in temperate gardens as a warm-season annual. Sweet Talk Deep Pink is one of many cultivars available to gardeners. There are also purple- and red-flowering versions in the same Sweet Talk cuphea series, introduced in 2024 by PanAmerican Seed.
Flowers: Warm pink flowers bloom in upright clusters from late spring to autumn.
Foliage: Long, broadly oval-shaped leaves in deep green.
Size and habit: This cuphea reaches 8 to 14 inches tall and wide, with an upright mounded habit.
Growing Sweet Talk Deep Pink cuphea
Exposure: Full sun
How to grow it: This sun-loving annual prefers moderate watering but it can persist through dry spells, making it a good choice for containers that dry out quickly. It is also unfazed by heat. It responds well to regular feeding with a water-soluble fertilizer (follow package directions) and occasional pinching back. Snip taller flowering stems off at a pair of lower leaves; the plant will respond with new branches. Hardy in USDA Zones 9 and warmer, but best kept as an annual.
Related: Read about more unique plants for pots in "Unusual Flowering Annuals for Distinctive Garden Containers."
Image courtesy of Ball Hort
