Height: 24 inches
Spread: 4 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 7b
Other Names: Zauschneria, Hoary Fuchsia, Hummingbird Trumpet
Description:
A dense, sprawling sub-shrub with silvery gray-green leaves and bright reddish-orange flowers in late summer, into fall; best with some afternoon shade in hotter areas; very drought tolerant, allow to dry out before watering
Ornamental Features
California Fuchsia features showy orange trumpet-shaped flowers with red overtones at the ends of the stems from late summer to mid fall. Its small tomentose narrow leaves remain grayish green in color throughout the season.
Landscape Attributes
California Fuchsia is an herbaceous perennial with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cut back to the ground in late winter before active growth resumes. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
California Fuchsia is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting
Planting & Growing
California Fuchsia will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!
This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to dry locations, and dislikes excessive moisture. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America.
California Fuchsia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
