Great Design Plant: California Fuchsia Brings Color and Hummingbirds

Until a few years ago, the only place I remember seeing California fuchsia (Zauschneria californica) was 7,000 feet high near Echo Summit, as patches of red blazing through cracks in gray granite boulders. Today you can see California fuchsia at your neigborhood nursery, maybe even Home Depot (Monrovia, the big wholesaler, grows and distributes a variety).

California fuchsia has been tamed, losing most of its scraggly, wild look but not its bright color and toughness. It's a dependable long-blooming summer perennial for dry, sunny spots, especially slopes. Hummingbirds love it, and the plant depends on them for pollination.

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California fuchsia is a low-growing, sun-loving native perennial. It gets its name from the shape of the mostly orange or red flowers, similar to the common fuchsia — but it does not have the common fuchsia's preference for cool, shady places.

Botanical name: Zauschneria californica (or Epilobium canum)
USDA zones: 6 to 9 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Light
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: Less than 1 foot to 4 feet tall and up to 4 feet wide, depending on variety


Distinguishing traits. Tubular flowers come in bright orange or red. Leaves are small and grayish. Choose from a number of varieties of California fuchsia. Newer varieties, in particular, are long blooming. 'Bert's Bluff' is orange red. 'Ghostly Red' has the purest red flowers and fuzzy gray-green leaves. Others include 'UC Hybrid' (developed at UC Davis) and 'Calistoga' (orange-red).

How to grow it. Plant it in fall or early spring, so the roots can establish before hot weather. Make sure drainage is quick. Water it regularly (every week or two) during the first growing season. After the plants are established, cut back to watering only as needed. Prune back established plants almost to the ground in fall after the bloom season. Lightly prune the branch tips in spring to encourage bushy growth.


How to use it. For flashes of color, especially during late summer and early fall, when other plants fade, combine California fuchsia (shown here is 'Ghostly Red') with mass plantings of other natives and Mediterranean plants. Line a path with it. Let it spill over a rock wall or boulders.

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