PlantFiles: Standing Cypress
Ipomopsis rubra

Standing Cypress Ipomopsis rubra, is a beautiful wildflower native to Texas and other States.

I planted about 20-30 seeds in situ in early spring March 2007 in a full sun location. We had the late spring freeze like many and we have had a terrible drought and heat over 95 degrees for more than 6 weeks this summer so it's been a struggle to get anything to grow yet the Standing Cypress seedlings have been thriving! They have been receiving regular watering yet other plants in the same place in the garden haven't thrived like these little things. There are about 20+ plants now and they all range in height from about 1-2 ft so far. One plant put out one lone bloom day before yesterday and a hummingbird visited it. I hope they start blooming more into the Fall season now and stay as a perennial in our garden.

I wintersowed seeds of Ipomopsis Rubra (Standing Cypress) for the first time in 2005 and will never be without it in my hummer garden. It grew quickly and flowered from June until the end of summer. I am hoping that mine will either come back or reseed this year. I also have more seed wintersown for this season. They do best in a mass planting since they are so tall (3 -5 ft) and top heavy especially once they begin to bloom. They are carefree and drought tolerant once established and make a good companion plant to salvias and agastaches. I plant mine behind my salvias and agastaches. Depending on your growing conditions it can be an annual, perennial or biennial. It can also reseed. It is a southeast native wildflower.

I have been growing cypress for over 5 years. I received my first ones from my mother in the Rapid City, SD area, who
received hers from a neighbor who brought them back from Arizona. They are a unique plant in this area, but really seem to flourish. Below are some pictures from last year and pictures from the new ones this year. My neighbor and I just let them spread as you can tell by the plants of this spring.

When I moved in 1968 to a farm house in NW Iowa, this tall red flowering biennial plant was growing in the yard. My sister-in-law from Sioux Falls SD collected seeds and grew it for years. Mine died out and I also moved and in 1989 she gave me seeds back. I saved the seeds and a few years later gave some to my mother and she grew them and gave seeds back to me, now in 2004 I have them growing again. We live in zone 4. I never knew the name. I told a gardening friend of mine about it and gave her some plants. She found it in a nursery in NE last summer and just gave me the name. I found information on the internet and is interesting to read about it. I have had humming birds come to it also. I have never seen it anywhere else, and I am excited to know its name, Ipomopsis Rubra.

I got my first standing cypress plants in spring of '03 as tiny seedlings (rosettes). I lost one before it even got in the ground, but the other 3 made it. The plants shot up very quickly forming a tall stalk like on a liatris. I recommend staking these as they will fall over otherwise.

Mine started blooming around June and is still blooming now (January). Supposedly there is an annual form and a biennial form. I have no idea which this one is as of yet.

This is a very striking red flower. I haven't noticed any butterflies nectaring and I have yet to even see a hummer in Central FL, but b'flies and hummers are supposed to love these. I have not had to provide any special care for these plants beyond the initial watering to get them rooted and established. These are very care free little plants.