Hey Dodge! I think it's Emilia javanica aka Emilia japanica aka Emilia coccinea. Does it look like a tassle from the side? Does it have
seed heads that turn white & fluffy like a dandelion does?
If so, It's one of my faviorite
flowers! It lasts a long time as a cut
flower and makes a great little filler between bigger
flowers in your garden bed. And seems tolook good where ever it
seeds itself. It is also quick from
seed and the
seeds that are maturing now couild form a plant that will bloom before frost. It does NOT look good front and center of a garden bed, however, because of its sprawling nature.
There is a yellow version that is shorter and grows wild from Michigan to Florida. Both of these (the red & the yellow) are
weeds, er, I mean wildflowers and look like a tassle from the side, hence the common names, "Red Tassle
flower" & "Yellow Tassle
flower".
There is one named variety of the red that I know of, 'Scarlet Magic' and the main difference in it and the regular wildflower one is the number of
flower heads or tassles -- about 6 on each section of stem.
I am always on the look out for the yellow form, and I see it blooming sometimes, but never seeding.