Gardening tips with Gerry Daly: California fuchsia

No more than it sets the verges of its native state alight, it can do the same in Irish gardens and it has been splendid in-flower this year. When one sees the dry, rocky, sun-baked roadsides where this plant thrives in its home range, it is no surprise that it revelled in the hot, dry, sunny weather of recent months.

It is a small, evergreen, bushy plant in its native land, but here the stems die back in winter and sprout from the woody base in spring. It is a sub-shrub, not woody enough to be a shrub, but more woody than most herbaceous perennials at the base.

Family history

Although not a true fuchsia, it is very closely related and is in the fuchsia family, which also includes the difficult weeds, willowherbs. The similarity with fuchsia is obvious – long, narrow tubular flowers and stamens, and other fertile flower parts projecting.

The flowers, like those of fuchsia, are pollinated in their native land by humming birds, some of the birds being only the size of a bumblebee. The extended stamens and stigma have evolved in this way to touch against the bird’s chest as it hovers, carrying the pollen successfully from flower to flower. It has the alternative common name of hummingbird trumpet.

The botanical name is Zauschneria californica and the best-known variety is called Dublin and is thought to have been raised in Dublin. Not that the naming matters all that much. The wild plants are not much above knee-height, with greyish-green leaves and masses of smallish, vermillion flowers. The variety Dublin has larger flowers, leaves closer to green, and the colour is bright orange-red, a brilliant colour, perfectly attuned to the tones of early autumn.

It flowers from August through to October and makes a great contribution at a time when most plants are past their best. It also sets a keynote that lifts the autumnal shades of yellow, orange, red and brown. There is a subspecies with grey green leaves that are deciduous. This used to be seen as a separate species, but now is considered not to be different enough to be given the status of a species.

How to grow

California fuchsia is easy to grow in a position of full sunshine and in well-drained soil. It is not all that finicky, but does best in these positions, as might be expected from a dry-country California plant. Its colour and shape associates very well with stone or paving and the conditions of a low-retaining wall or a flight of steps suit it perfectly. The reflected heat from the stone encourages flowering. It can be grown in a pot, with attention to watering and feeding, but because it is naturally a deep-rooting plant, growth can be cramped by the restrictions of the pot.

Though not completely hardy, this plant would be fine in all parts, except the colder inland localities, and if given a dry root run would probably survive many winters there too. It can be raised from cuttings in July to ensure against loss in a hard winter, or more likely on account of excessive wetness.

Cold winter dampness can cause rotting of the roots, which is why a well-drained rock garden or dry bank is most suitable. It is such an eye-catching plant that it is worth making sure that it has the right conditions in which to perform well.

Some perennial flowers can be raised very easily from cuttings at this time of the year, when there is still some growing season to come but the weather will be damp and the plants still have some freshness and vigour.

Plants such as soapwort, purple wallflower, celmisia and, notably, bergenia, all have rosettes of leaves and strong stems. Sometimes these take root as they grow, and self-rooted plants can be lifted and planted elsewhere.

But stems with a rosette can be cut off, or snapped off, and simply inserted into the ground to root.

To assist insertion, an iron bar or a fire poker can be pushed in and wiggled around to make a suitable hole for the individual cuttings. Keep the soil free of weeds.

Of course, the cuttings can be potted up to root too and later planted out.

Trees, shrubs and roses

It’s a good time to prepare ground for planting, if not already done. Use glyphosate to kill existing weed cover. Check that young trees are adequately watered and are staked, if necessary. Check on wall-trained climbers to make sure that their support is solid.

Flowers

Summer bedding that has gone over can be removed in preparation for planting spring bedding. It is soon time for planting spring bulbs and containers for spring display. Perennial flowers can be planted or lifted and divided, in the case of existing plants.

Fruit, vegetables and herbs

The vegetable garden is running down now and old crops and weeds should be removed. Apples are ripening about two weeks early and should be used as they ripen, if possible, because early varieties have poor storage qualities. Strawberries can be planted now.

Lawn

The initial rapid growth, boosted by natural nitrogen from organic matter decomposition, has tailed off in many areas. An autumn lawn fertiliser or a low-nitrogen compound fertiliser can be used to maintain a little growth through the autumn and winter.

Greenhouse

Throw out any old plants that are past their best or half-dead plants, because they are a source of pests and diseases. Tidy up all debris and reduce watering to just keep pots from going bone dry. Place rooted cuttings in a bright position and do not over-water.