Cupheas
(which belonged to the family of loosestrifes) were
less popular in late Victorian times than they had been
earlier in the nineteenth century - the one pictured
to the left was called the Crystal Palace cuphea which
dates it to the mid-1850s, and it was apparently extensively
used as a bedding plant in the middle of the century.
Stock
was generally raised from cuttings taken the previous
autumn and planted out in the bed in early spring when
it benefited from a light pruning to make it grow bushier.
It also did very well in the greenhouse as a winter
flower.
The
most widely used cupheas in Victorian times were the
Cuphea silenoides, the C. miniata, lanceolata,
Jorullensis, purpurea, cinnabarina and verticillata.
