Acalypha hispida

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red-hot cat's tail

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red-hot cat's tail RHS
red-hot cat's tail RHS 2002

Other common names

chenille plant

Synonyms

Acalypha sanderiana
Acalypha sanderi

Award of Garden Merit
Conservatory Greenhouse Shrubs

An erect evergreen shrub of open habit, to 2.5m in height, with large ovate leaves and pendulous fluffy red catkin-like flowerheads to 45cm in length, produced sporadically throuhout the year

Position

Full sun, Partial shade

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Sand

Max Height

1.5-2.5 metres

Max Spread

1-1.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
10–20 years
Max Spread
1-1.5 metres
Max Height
1.5-2.5 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun Partial shade
Aspect
South–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H1B

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Euphorbiaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Evergreen
Habit
Bushy
Genus
Acalypha can be evergreen shrubs or trees, or annuals, with simple leaves and catkin-like racemes of tiny flowers, brightly coloured in some species
Name Status
Correct
Plant Range
New Guinea, Malaya

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow under glass or indoors in a peat-free potting compost in full or filtered light. When in growth water freely and apply a balanced liquid fertiliser monthly. Water sparingly in winter, keeping barely moist. Can be grown outdoors in fertile, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil in sun or part shade but only in warmer climes

Propagation

Propagate by softwood cuttings in early spring or semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer. Bottom heat will be required

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Low Maintenance

Pruning

Pruning group 10

Pests

May be susceptible to glasshouse whitefly, glasshouse red spider mite, mealybugs and scale insects

Diseases

Generally disease-free