Red-hot Cat Tail Acalypha hispida
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Acalypha densiflora
- Acalypha sanderi
- Phonetic Spelling
- ack-ah-LY-phah HIS-pid-ah
- Description
-
Chenille Plant is a tropical shrub in the spurge family that grows 4-6 feet tall and 5-8 feet wide and has long drooping pendant flowers up to 18 inches long with a long bloom season. In NC it can be grown as an annual bedding plant or a house plant because it cannot survive our winters outdoors.
It tolerates a wide range of soil pH and soil textures including clay soils and it likes moderate moisture but not too wet. It has some drought tolerance once established, but it does not tolerate salt. It grows well as an indoor plant or in a container on a patio or rooftop garden that can be brought in during the winter. Prune it back to 6" above the soil once a year to encourage new bushy growth and more flowers. Indoor plants should be fed monthly from spring through summer and they like their leaves misted (not the flowers) to increase humidity levels. In zones 10-11 it can be grown as a hedge, specimen or container plant.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Mostly trouble free but mealybugs, scale, and red spider mites are occasional problems.
VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Houseplants, Succulents, and Cacti", a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Alba'
White flowers - ‘White Margined’
Creamy teeth on the margins
- 'Alba'
- 'Alba', ‘White Margined’
- Tags:
















- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Alba'
White flowers - ‘White Margined’
Creamy teeth on the margins
- 'Alba'
- 'Alba', ‘White Margined’
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Acalypha
- Species:
- hispida
- Family:
- Euphorbiaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Melanesia or Malesia
- Dimensions:
- Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 5 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.
-
-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Houseplant
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Coarse
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 feet
- 6-feet-12 feet
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Pink
- Red/Burgundy
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Long Bloom Season
- Long-lasting
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Spring
- Summer
- Winter
- Flower Description:
- It can flower any time of year especially as a houseplant. Pendulous dark pink to bright red flower tassels that hang down from leaf axils and resemble caterpillars or soft yarn. Individual flowers are very small, mostly just feathery pistils, but are tightly packed along the raceme to form the furry catkin.
-
-
Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Leaf Feel:
- Prickly
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Shape:
- Cordate
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Dentate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- 6"-8" long medium green oval to heart-shaped leaves resemble nettle and can be bristly.
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-
Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
-
-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Container
- Hanging Baskets
- Houseplants
- Patio
- Design Feature:
- Accent
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought