Escallonia Red Elf - Redclaws

Escallonia 'Red Elf' is an evergreen bush with a compact and spreading habit, whose dense, glossy dark green foliage, forms a beautiful backdrop for its abundant, red summer flowering. This excellent subject for a flowering hedge is attractive all year round, even in winter. Like many escallonias, it tolerates salt spray and summer drought once well established. This variety only dislikes excessively chalky soils. If your climate allows it, plant Escallonia, these rewarding bushes grow quickly, they are floriferous, often fragrant and very undemanding!

Escallonia 'Red Elf' is a horticultural creation selected in the Netherlands by the company PG Zwijnenburg from a cross between the varieties 'William Watson' and 'CF Ball'. Escallonias belong to the Escalloniaceae family and are native to temperate areas of South America and Chile. In the wild, these bushes grow among the thickets that cover the slopes or on the coasts exposed to salt spray. Escallonia rubra is native to Chile and neighbouring regions of Argentina, reaching as far as the Strait of Magellan. This species has passed on many characteristics to its descendant 'Red Elf'.

The hybrid variety 'Red Elf', which grows fairly fast, forms a branching bush with a spreading and dense habit, reaching between 1.50 m and 2 m in height and 1.50 m in width. Its small, tough, alternate, ovate leaves, with toothed edges, are dark green and shiny, measuring 2 to 6 cm in length. They are densely arranged, mostly towards the terminal part of the branches. Flowering takes place from June-July to August-September, for about a month, earlier or later depending on the climate, sometimes as early as May in hot climates. At the end of each branch, a 3 to 10 cm cluster of small bell-shaped flowers is formed, with five dark red petals, measuring 1 to 2 cm, enclosed at the base in a red to dark brown calyx.

Escallonias are a great alternative to Weigelas in mild climates, by the seaside as well as in gardens without irrigation. 'Red Elf' only dislikes cold winds, very harsh winters, and excessively chalky soils. Well known to gardeners in Brittany, Ireland, or England, this bush also thrives in Mediterranean climates, after careful planting and regular watering during the first two or three years. It does not mind heat or dry summers once established. It can even flower in slightly shaded situations. An essential plant in coastal gardens along with Olearia, Atriplex, Polygala myrtifolia, and Grevillea (in neutral to acidic soil). It also pairs well with spring-flowering shrubs like evergreen Ceanothus, brooms, Kolkwitzia amabilis, or botanical roses.