Firecracker Flower – Red

Dichelostemma Ida-Maia

Characteristics

Culture

The Red Firecracker Flower prefers full sun and is easy to grow in dry, well-drained soil in full sun. However, it is a hardy plant that can tolerate poor soil, shade and drought. The plants must be given a dry summer dormancy and should be planted in the ground or in a deep enough pot to provide good room for roots. The plant will spread in time to form colonies from bulbs or seed.  Note that when grown from seed, it can take several months before seedlings appear.

Scarlet-soaked bunches of showy, tubular flowers and long, elegant stems have dangling, ornate blooms.  Each Red Firecracker Flower bloom has a greenish-yellow tip that curves back to unveil a luminous, white underside, which pollinators can’t resist. Bright green, strappy leaves appear during the rainy season, followed by the 16-25″ flower spikes in late Spring. Will add a little spark of joy to your gardens and containers.

Noteworthy Characteristics

The Firecracker Flower is a flowering, herbaceous perennial wildflower in the asparagus family native to the woods, coastal grasslands, and mountainous regions of California and Oregon.  It has showy red flowers that hang in clusters off a single stalk with a few grass-like leaves at the base of the plant. The flowering stem is generally curved or twisted (not straight). When this wildflower blooms surrounding grasses are maturing and turning brown, thus the plant signals the beginning of summer.

Once established, it should never need irrigation.

It is the only species in the genus that is pollinated by birds

Problems

No known Disease or insect pests.

Garden Uses

Beds. Borders. Containers. Patio. Good cut flower.