Not usually. Hamelia Patens is the scientific name of the Firebush. The South African (I believe that is its point of origin, but could be wrong) one is often called H. patens 'compacta' which leads people to think it is a dwarf version of the native, even though horticulturalists say they are not the same. Come to think of it, I don't think I have ever seen the true latin name for the exotic one.

The Florida native is Hamelia patens. There is another form, H. patens var. glabra that is not native to Florida. It was once sold as a cultivar, 'African' .

Here is a great article on the confusing names and differences;

http://www.floridanativenurseries.org/info/plants/the-hamelia-mess/

Yes, you can grow the smaller one from a cutting, or just pin a low-growing limb to the ground and let it root. Scrape the underside of the limb, then just plunk a rock or brick down on it to hold it down to the soil and next year, you'll have a rooted plant.

Port Charlotte, FL planted the larger ones in the median on U.S. 41 and they got so large, nobody could see what businesses were on the other side of the road. Those things were about 15 feet tall and just as wide. Someone said they finally took them out.

When I worked at the garden center, we sold something called a "dwarf" firebush, but I would warn everyone that there really was no such thing as a dwarf firebush, and that it would grow to be as large as its root system would allow it to be. That smaller one you have is probably stunted by the large one sucking up the nutrients. If you take out the large one, the smaller one will get larger.

I agree with dirtygardener. The smaller one will probably get very big also, although my experience with the so-called "dwarf" Hamelia Patens is that it grows just a little bit slower than the other one and I don't believe it gets quite as big.

Totally agree w/Tom and Dirtygardener.

I have one that is green/yellow variegated and for two years it has grown to be about 2x2' but I don't know if they will continue to stay small.

Personally, I am slowly eliminating any Shrub that requires Freq. Pruning. I want garden to work for me, not the other way around.

ETA:. The smallish one is abelia grandiflora "Gretol". I also have the so called dwarf one (ha, what a joke) which will be coming out b/c too much work. In this case the term dwarf refers to smaller leaf, not overall plant size. The leaves are decidedly smaller but you have a GIANT shrub with "dwarf" leaves. . I think plant marketers duped us by playing with the word dwarf.

Thank you all for your input. Eric, that reference is very helpful: now I don't think any scientific name on a nursery plant will be a reliable guide to the eventual plant size.

I will try cuttings from my smaller plant.

Stan

Stan- does the smaller plant have a little more reddish hue to the leaves?

Could the smaller shrub be Firefly firebush? They are supposed to be smaller, with smaller leaves and flowers.