WashingtonGardener: Wine Cups Plant Profile

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Wine Cups Plant Profile

Wine Cups (Callirhoe involucrata) have dark-pink, chalice-shaped flowers that give them their common name. They are also known as Purple Poppy Mallow, Finger Poppy Mallow, or Buffalo Rose.

The foliage resembles hardy Geranium leaves, so the plant is often misidentified as being one.

They are a mallow family relative and are native to central North America.

Wine Cups are hardy to USDA Zones 4 to 8. They grow to about one feet high and one to three feet wide.

They do best in full sun planted in well-draining sandy or loamy soils, but can also tolerate clay soils.

They are a low-maintenance perennial that is drought-tolerant and heat-resistant. They were named a Plant of Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Wine Cups can fit well in a mixed planting weaving among other plants or can be planted en masse to spill over a rock wall or front of a flower border.

They attract many pollinators and are the larval host of the Gray Hairstreak Butterfly.

They are deer-resistant and have few pest or disease issues. They can go dormant in summer after blooming, but will re-emerge the following spring.

They can be started from seeds, softwood cuttings, or purchased as small plants. They do not transplant well due to their deep tap root.

Wine Cups– you can grow that!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio, Video, Photos, and Text by Kathy Jentz

Editing by Koree Perry

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