Saturday, September 5, 2020

Plant of the Month (September) : Hummingbird Trumpet/ California Fuschia – Epilobium canum

 


Hummingbirds are the jewels of Western gardens.  With their brilliant colors and fascinating behavior, they bring hours of enjoyment.  That’s why many of us include ‘hummingbird plants’ in our garden palette. One such plant, which graces fall gardens with its orange flowers, is the Hummingbird trumpet, Epilobium canum.  The scientific name is pronounced epi-LOBE-ee-um  CAN-um.

Epilobium canum is a member of the Onagraceae (Willow-herb) family that includes such garden favorites as the common garden fuschia, evening primroses, Clarkias, Gauras and native Camassonia species.  The genus Epilobium includes the lovely native Fireweeds as well as California Fuschia.   The taxonomy (classification) of the Willow-herb family is still being sorted out – so we may need to update this post in the future.  Long-time native plant enthusiasts still sometimes call Epilobium canum by its older – but more interesting – name: Zauschneria californica.    The name Zauschneria honored the 18th century German botanist Johann Baptista Josef Zauschner.    The name Epilobium refers to the fact that flower and seedpod occur together and the species name canum refers to the ‘hairy’ aspect of this species.

Epilobium canum is a plant of the North American West, growing from Oregon and Wyoming to Baja California and Northern Mexico.   There are currently four recognized sub-species (note: some taxonomists group ssp. garrettii and latifolium together): Epilobium canum ssp. canum (California Fuschia); E. canum ssp. garrettii (Garrett’s Hummingbird Trumpet); E. canum ssp. latifolium (Mountain Hummmingbird Trumpet); E. canum ssp. angustifolium (Narrowleaf Hummingbird Trumpet).



Sub-species canum and angustifolium are endemic to California. Sub-species garrettii grows on dry rocky slopes and chaparral, up to 5500 ft. elevation, in CA, WY, ID, UT and AZ.
Sub-species latifolium, including the formerly known Epilobium/ Zauchneria arizonica, is found on rocky slopes and canyons, primarily at the highest elevations, 7000-10000 ft., but sometimes as low as 3500 ft. in CA, AZ, s.w. NM & adjacent Mexico. [1]   

As you might expect, sub-species and cultivars vary in their hardiness, as well as their heat and drought tolerance.  If you live where winter temperatures dip to zero degrees F. (or below), sub-species garrettii (USDA Zones 3–10) and latifolium (Zones 5-9) and some of their cultivars offer your best choices.  As always, be sure to check the USDA Zone for a plant before you purchase.  If you live in a warm-winter area, you can grow most of the sub-species and cultivars, but some may require more water.



In the garden, Hummingbird trumpet adds a spot of bright color at a time when the many summer-blooming species are past their prime.   This species really begins growing in earnest in late spring/summer.  In colder climates, the plant dies back significantly – and is also eaten by hungry critters - in winter.  In mild winter areas, gardeners cut the stems back after blooming to achieve the same ends.    The plants start sending up new stems in spring – and really achieve their full growth in summer. 




Hummingbird trumpet is a spreader, so don’t be surprised if a clump of Epilobium increases in size over the years.  The stems of Epilobium canum are slender, part-woody and wand-like to almost vine-like.  They usually form a mounded clump, but it may fill in around other plants.  The leaves are long and narrow or lance-shaped.  The foliage color varies from a medium green, through pale blue-green to silvery.  In fact, the natural variation in foliage color is the source of several common horticultural cultivars.



Hummingbird trumpet’s flowers are spectacular.  They are 1-2 inches long and up to an inch wide.  They range in color from orange to almost scarlet red and are tubular or funnel-shaped. Some cultivars are even a pale orange! The anthers (male flower parts that produce the pollen) as well as the female parts extend well beyond the fused petals.   When a hummingbird reaches into the flower tube to sip nectar, pollen sticks to its head. The pollen is then deposited on the stigma of subsequent flowers.



The flower color, shape and location of the sexual organs are all good clues that Hummingbird trumpet is pollinated by hummingbirds.   Hummingbirds are attracted like a magnet to these glorious flowers.   Locate Epilobium near a seating area and you can observe hummingbirds from a distance of only a few feet!   It’s fun to watch hummingbirds chase others from ‘their’ flowers!




Epilobium canum is easy to grow in western gardens.  It can take just about any local soil – even those with pH around 8.0.   Depending on the sub-species/cultivar it does well in full sun or part-shade.  In full sun the form of the straight species will often be a 2-3 ft. mound; in part-shade the stems create a low ground-cover (see below).   As with common garden fuschias, you can pinch the tips of growing stems to form a fuller plant.




Epilobium canum adapts well to garden conditions.  Species from lower elevations are quite drought tolerant, but look better with infrequent summer water (Water Zone 2; see https://mothernaturesmontrosegarden.blogspot.com/2020/07/creating-your-colorado-friendly-garden.html). Sub-species from higher elevations do best with occasional summer water (Water Zone 3).    Plants can take winter flooding, which is useful for those of us who garden in clay soils.   And in our experience, Epilobium is quite disease- and pest-free.




Yearly maintenance is minimal.  In warm winter areas, cut the branches back to 1-2 inches after flowering to keep the plant looking tidy and healthy. In colder areas, leave the branches on over winter, then cut back in spring.  You can use your cuttings to produce new plants if desired.   You can also let the plants naturalize by seed.  The seeds have fluffy wings (see above) that float on the wind and re-seed throughout the garden.   The natural look is lovely – but the choice is yours.




Epilobium canum can be used in many ways in the garden. It makes a nice fall accent plant in mixed water-wise beds.   We like it mixed with other native shrubs, where it fills in the bare spaces over time.   Hummingbird trumpet can be used as a groundcover – alone or with other native groundcover plants. It will even do spectacularly in a large container.  It’s a perfect accent along walkways or bordering a seating area.  It naturalizes in favorable spots throughout the garden if you let it go to seed.




There are several horticultural cultivars (types selected for garden use) that are readily available at native plant nurseries and sales. In cold-winter areas, try cultivars of subspecies latifolium and garrettii.

Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium   

‘Northfork Coral’ – USDA Zones 5-10, with coral colored flowers. 1-2 ft tall, 2-3 ft wide.

‘Woody's Peach Surprise’ – USDA Zones 5-9. Low-growing form: 6-8” tall by 18” wide. Has unique, pale peach flowers.

Epilobium (Zauchneria) canum [var. arizonica] 'Sky Island Orange' – USDA Zones 5-8. Grows 2-3 ft tall & wide. Flowers red-orange. Wide drought tolerance (10-30” water per year).

Epilobium canum ssp. garrettii

'Orange Carpet' – Hardy (from Idaho; USDA Zones 5-9). Lower-growing  4 to 12 inches high, 2-4 feet wide. Does best with afternoon shade in hot gardens

Another choice for hot summers is Epilobium ‘Everett’s Choice’, from the California Bay Area, which can take the heat. One of the lowest growing of the Epilobiums (3 to 6 inches high, 3 foot spread or more). It’s very drought and deer resistant, and more cold resistant than most California forms (hardy to -10°F).

Because Hummingbird trumpet is a popular garden plant, new cultivars are being introduced all the time.  We suggest that you purchase cultivars in the fall, when you can observe the flowers and foliage colors at their best.

We hope you’ve been inspired by this lovely Western native plant. Most gardens have a spot for one or more of these charming plants.  You’ll love the bright accent in your late summer/fall garden.  It’s a real treasure - unless you detest the color orange!




For a gardening information sheet see: https://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/gardening-sheet-epilobium-canum-238401468

For more pictures of this plant see: https://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/epilobium-canum-garden-photos

For plant information sheets on other native plants see:

 

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1.       https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_epca3.pdf

 

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We welcome your comments (below).  You can also send your questions to: monaturesmontrosegarden@gmail.com




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