Plant Database / Texas Natives / Flame Acanthus
Texas Natives

Flame Acanthus

Anisacanthus quadrifidus wrightii
Acanthaceae

A tough, late-summer hummingbird magnet that blooms in the worst of the heat with almost no water.

Texas nativeDrought-toughFull sunPollinatorLow water
Flame Acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus wrightii) illustration — Texas Roots plant database, by Jordan Polasek
Sun
Full sun
Water
Very low
Soil
Lean, well-drained
pH
6.5–8.0
Hardiness
Hardy native shrub
Height
2–4 ft
Spacing
3 ft
Days to harvest
Established

What it is

Flame Acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus wrightii) is in the Acanthaceae family. A tough, late-summer hummingbird magnet that blooms in the worst of the heat with almost no water.

How to grow it

It wants full sun, water it very low, and give it lean, well-drained soil. Target a soil pH around 6.5–8.0. Space plants about 3 ft apart. Expect roughly Established. Hardy native shrub.

How it's used

Flame Acanthus is used: ornamental; pollinator.

🔎 How to identify it

  • Narrow light-green leaves
  • Tubular orange-red flowers
  • Airy open shrub

Not for eating

Grown for the garden, soil, or pollinators — not as food.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.

Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.