I have looked and searched for months to find out what
this plant is. I am 30 miles north of Houston, Texas. It
does bloom beautifully.... the blooms are very small deep
red on a long stem and they look similar to a tube. The
hummingbirds love it. It has leaves close to the ground all
the way to the top. The plant spreads out more each season.
It does not like direct sunlight for more than 3 hours, the
leaves will start wilting until I water it real good then it
perks back up. I have since planted some on the south side
of the house in partial sunlight and it is doing excellent.
It does not handle cold weather below 32 degrees either. It
grows to about 4ft tall and Does not bear fruit.
The name of this plant is: Hamelia patens. Family:
Rubiaceae 