Blue waxweed is a sticky, herbaceous wildflower of the loosestrife family, native to the eastern United States and often found in open, rocky, limey ground. It is grown mainly as a hardy native for pollinator gardens, where it blooms with purple-red flowers in late summer.
Family
Lythraceae (Loosestrife family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water moderately while establishing, then allow the soil to dry between rains; it tolerates dry conditions once settled.
Soil
Well-drained, rocky or gritty soil, tolerant of alkaline (calcareous) conditions.
Temperature
Hardy to cold winters in temperate climates; protect young plants from hard frost.
How easy
Easy
Native range
C. & E. U.S.A. to N. Mexico (to Jalisco)
Climate
temperate
About
Cuphea viscosissima, also known as waxbush, blue waxweed, clammy cuphea or (ambiguously) as "tarweed", is an herbaceous plant in the loosestrife family. It native to the eastern United States, where it is most often found in open, rocky calcareous areas. It is the most common and widespread Cuphea in the U.S.
This species is notable for its sticky stems. It produces a purple-red flower in late summer. Flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cuphea viscosissima by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.