zausch

When I planted a strip of Zauschneria garrettii 'Mountain Flame', I expected a cardinal red flower. I also expected that it would need very little water and have bushy gray foliage. I was wrong on all counts. To my eye, the "scarlet" flowers are orange, and the flowers never seem to really open up at the end like the flowers of Z. arizonica do, but stay tubular rather than trumpet-like. The plants are rather sparsely branched, not more than a few stems to the plant, lending to a spare or scraggly appearance even after several years. The foliage is green, and tends to have brown tips even when irrigated. Without irrigation, the plants are very small, and die back by summer, with few if any flowers. I took them out. Like other Zauschneria's, however, this plant suckers, making underground stems. This piece survived, next to a drip head.

I can't say that I dislike this plant, otherwise I would have taken the bits out as soon as they appeared. It's just not what I had expected or planned for. The hummingbirds like it (there's a reason the common name is Hummingbird Fuschia). It has grown on me, and now I don't think I can remove it.