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| Category: Perennial |
| Family: Onagraceae (Evening-primroses) |
| Origin: California (U.S.A.) |
| California Native (Plant List): Yes |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Orange |
| Bloomtime: Summer/Fall |
| Synonyms: [Zauschneria 'Diamondback'] |
| Height: 1-2 feet |
| Width: 3-4 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Deer Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: <15° F |
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Epilobium canum 'Diamondback' PP27,173 (Diamondback California Fuchsia) - A moderately vigorous sprawling shrub to 18 inches tall and spreading to 4 feet wide with stems covered densely in soft dark green foliage. In summer into fall appear the orange tubular flowers with four deeply bi-lobed petals bloom. Best in full sun in a well-drained soil and, while exceptionally drought tolerant, it looks best with occasional to infrequent irrigation in summer but only if soil drains well. In heavier soils that don't drain well be careful not to overwater as these plants do not like wet heavy soil in summer – better not water them at all in these conditions. Hardy to 5-10 degrees F. After the first year of establishment trim back or shear plants in mid-winter for a neater appearance the following season. A great plant in a native and mediterranean climate dry garden - mixes well with other dry growing shrubs and succulents and is attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. As with others of its kind this plant is brittle and breaks easily so use care in its placement. This plant comes out of a breeding program conducted by Scott Trees at the Ball Ornamental Plant facility in Guadalupe, California. The goal of the program is to produce plants with attractive flower coloration and a moderately vigorous, mounded-trailing growth habit. 'Diamondback' was the result of open pollination of a proprietary white Epilobium canum cultivar code named 'ZAU-109' that occurred in 2011 and was selected as the single plant from this progeny. Previously Ball Hort introduced a plant they named 'Sidewinder' that we also grew. Compared to this previous introduction 'Diamondback' has larger darker green leaves and a lighter orange flower color compared to the darker red-orange flowers of 'Sidewinder'. 'Diamondback' received its US Plant Patent PP27,173 in December 2016. The name Epilobium is considered current but this group of sub-shrubs long was called Zauschneria and are so different from the other Epilobium, herbaceous plants often called Fireweeds, that many California native plant enthusiast and even the experts often still refer to them as Zauschneria. This former name was given the genus by the Czechoslovakian naturalist Karel (Charles) Borivoj Presl in 1831 to honor his fellow Czech, Johann Baptista Josef Zauschner (1737–1799), a professor of medicine and amateur botanist. The name Epilobium comes from the Greek word 'epi' meaning "upon" and 'lobium' meaning "a pod" in reference to the flowers being superior, meaning that they sit above the developing seed capsules. Image on this page courtesy of Ball.
The information about Epilobium canum 'Diamondback' displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |
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