Is the Dwarf Red Powder Puff (Calliandra emarginata minima), I have the dwarf version which I keep potted on my patio. I keep it watered and fertilized frequently; it rewards me with hundreds of Red powderpuff blooms. It is a great attractant to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. In South Florida our Hummingbird season is opposite of the rest of the country. Our hummingbirds migrate here in the winter which is from October until May. I so look forward to the hummingbirds returning. This is one of their favorite plants. Since this is on my patio they are very trusting because they will come right up to these powderpuff flowers to sip nectar. You can almost see the nectar and pollen on the tip of each one of the flowers.
I also have this tree in Pink (Calliandra surinamensis). It is a much larger version of the dwarf variety. I have it planted in my yard and it is about 20 feet high, with beautiful pink powderpuff flowers, which the hummingbirds and hummingbird moths love. One evening I was outside watching my yard and enjoying all the different wild life and I looked up at the pink powderpuff to see if I saw any hummingbirds in the yard. To my surprise there were many small little hummingbirds helping themselves to the nectar of this lovely pink powderpuff. I was so excited that I called my son to come out and see what a wonderful site. We discovered that they were in fact not hummingbirds but a moth that looks very much likes a hummingbird. Although I have many hummingbirds in the garden these moths look very much like them and at first glance are very easy to mistake for a hummingbird. It is so amazing because the wings of these moths imitate the motion of the wings of the hummingbird. The reason I mention these little incognito moths is that it is the first National Moth Week from July 23-29th. I remember being so excited seeing so many hummingbirds all at the same time, then completely disappointed because they were moths. I have to admit these were amazing looking moths. Happy Moth Week everyone!
