Want some fireworks for the Fourth of July that won't burst your eardrums or burn out after one glorious salvo? You can get that lively action in your garden with the explosive flowers of the well-named firecracker plant (Russelia equisetiformis). Its slim, green, nearly leafless branches light up with a fiery barrage of tubular, scarlet-red blossoms. These are produced all through the growing season, but the major display happens during the hottest months of summer and will lift any Independence Day garden into the proper patriotic spirit.

Firecracker plant is also known as fountain or coral plant, and under one or another of these names you'll find this traditional Southern favorite at nearly every nursery or garden center. It has been around for generations but remains popular because it's so easy to grow, so colorful, and so versatile. This plant loves hot weather, doesn't care about soil quality as long as there's drainage, and can be propagated by simple root division. It's also a favorite of hummingbirds.

			Firecracker Plant: A few specifics you'll want to know about the patriotic plant. click here

In the Coastal and Tropical South, where it can be grown as a perennial and has essentially naturalized, firecracker plant mounds up to 4 feet high and blooms year-round. Treated as an annual, the trailing shape of this plant makes it perfect for hanging baskets in sunny places. It also looks great spilling over retaining walls or containers and mounding around garden features like statuary, gazing globes, or flags, of course.

In fact, firecracker plant will give you superior visual bang for your bucks. And the only noise involved will be the whir of wings, as hummingbirds feed at its brilliant flowers.