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Other Names:  Orange Bells, Orange Trumpet Flower, Cahauto

Description:

A heat loving, full sun shrub with a tropical appearance, producing clusters of showy orange-yellow flowers with mahogany corolla tubes; sets very few seed pods and flowers throughout the season

Ornamental Features

Orange Mahogany Esperanza features showy clusters of orange trumpet-shaped flowers with yellow overtones and burgundy throats along the branches from mid spring to mid fall, which emerge from distinctive crimson flower buds. It has dark green evergreen foliage. The serrated pointy leaves remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Orange Mahogany Esperanza is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This shrub 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.

Orange Mahogany Esperanza is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Orange Mahogany Esperanza will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 7 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub 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 may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. 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.

Orange Mahogany Esperanza makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Its large size and upright habit of growth lend it for use as a solitary accent, or in a composition surrounded by smaller plants around the base 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 grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.