Pinch back this fast-growing bushy plant to help it maintain a nicely rounded shape. Feed it with diluted liquid fertilizer several times in summer. This sub-shrub can handle a bit of frost but no hard freezes, so protect it well or pull it indoors. While perennial in the warmest climates, it is commonly grown as an annual by those in cooler locations.

There are plants with blooms or foliage resembling fauna, and this plant is among the best examples of that. Bat-faced Cuphea has blooms that really do look like tiny bat faces. And if you have any question about whether or not you would want a plant that looks like a bat, of all things... well, once you see how cute the “faces” are, you probably will. The sweet little “bat faces” appear in the richest purple, with “ears” of a true and vibrant red. For those who view this plant from too far away to see its flowers up close, its colors alone are a draw. This plant offers a way to add rich color and lots of blooms to a special space.