Epilobium canum Dublin

Epilobium canum 'Dublin' is a low-growing selection of the California fuchsia with intense red flowering and beautiful velvety green-grey foliage. It is a perennial undershrub that spreads rapidly and blooms from summer to autumn, even in dry soils. This variety is adorned with numerous vibrant red  tubular flowers similar to fuchsias. Its foliage disappears with all the stems in winter. Perfect for rock gardens or well-drained borders, it is one of the best perennials for dry gardens in not too cold climates.

The California fuchsia, formerly known as Zauschneria californica, surprisingly belongs to the onagraceae family, making it a cousin of evening primroses. This plant grows in the western United States on arid slopes and roams in the scrub vegetation in California and northwest Mexico, called chaparral.

Epilobium canum 'Dublin' is a horticultural selection that has been awarded in England for its ornamental qualities and ease of cultivation. This woody-based perennial forms a spreading and slightly tousled clump, 30 to 40 cm tall, spreading at least 50 to 60 cm. The remarkably long flowering period extends from July-August to October. With bright orange-red, 4 cm long flowers forming very wide tubes from which long stamens emerge. They are carried by a long swollen pedicel that will transform into a pod filled with numerous fine seeds. The foliage consists of small linear or sometimes ovate, opposite or alternate, velvety leaves, ranging in colour from green to greyish-green, depending on the climate and soil. When not in bloom, this fuchsia resembles a rosemary, without the fragrance. The plant completely disappears in winter in our climates, but is semi-evergreen in milder climates. This plant spreads slowly thanks to a strong suckering crown, occasionally becoming invasive if it is happy.

With its exuberant summer flowering, Epilobium canum 'Dublin' is a very good rock garden plant or border plant. It will also become indispensable in dry coastal gardens. On a dry slope, you can associate it with 'Pointe du Raz' rosemary, combining their blooms in October, in blue and red. In a rock garden, it accompanies tall sedums, rockroses, lavenders, 'Frejorgues' hairy dorycnium, or Helichrysum italicum. If you are interested in and like Zauschneria, don't miss the opportunity to try Hesperaloe parviflora, native to Mexico, a rhizomatous perennial with a fountain-like habit and spectacular coral-red summer inflorescences.