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Heimia

Heimia
Photo: Carl Lindström, Public domain

Heimia is a small genus of shrubs in the loosestrife family, commonly called sun opener or shrubby yellowcrest, with its species grown for their yellow late-summer flowers. Give them well-drained soil with regular water, and they can be grown as a shrub in warm climates or as a perennial that dies back in cold winters.

Family
Lythraceae (Loosestrife family)
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly, keeping soil moist during growth but never waterlogged.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile garden soil or potting mix.
Temperature
Warm subtropical conditions suit them best; above-ground growth is killed by hard winter cold, so protect below about -5 °C.
How easy
Easy

About

Heimia is a genus of flowering plants in the loosestrife family, Lythraceae. It contains two or three species of closely related shrubs commonly known as sun opener or shrubby yellowcrest. They are native to the Americas, from northern Argentina north to the southernmost United States (southern Texas). The leaves are 2–5 cm long and 1 cm broad, entire, and variably arranged alternate, opposite or whorled on the stems. All species produce five-petaled yellow flowers. The plants have a history of medicinal use in a variety of American cultures. Several pharmacologically active alkaloids have been detected in the plants. The generic names honours German physician Ernst Ludwig Heim (1747–1834).

How to grow it

The species make attractive ornamental plants, flowering in late summer. Although only growing as a shrub in subtropical climates, it can also be grown as a herbaceous perennial in colder areas where the above-ground growth is killed by winter cold. The plants produce very many tiny seeds which are easily cultivated. Both species prefer well-drained soil with a good supply of water.

Other Heimia plants

Shrubby yellowcrest

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Heimia 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.

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