Horticultural selection from Epilobium californicum from Catalina Island. This selection is unusually tall for a fuchsia and has soft grey-green leaves with large red flowers that have a long blooming season. It does best in full sun and is drought tolerant. As with other California fuchsias cut Catalina back hard after flowering for a denser and more attractive plant the next spring. Some light pinching in late spring may also be advisable to encourage lateral growth. A great favorite with gardeners and even more so with the hummingbirds which swarm around the long, bright tubular flowers. Any of the native fuchsias are ‘must haves’ in a native garden, providing color and a food source for wildlife through the hottest days of summer.
‘Catalina’ was selected from E. californicum cuttings (1987) Middle Ranch, Catalina Island, by Mike Evans and introduced by Tree of Life Nursery. Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Catalina Island; selected for the garden by Mike Evans of Tree of Life Nursery from the Middle Ranch area of Catalina Island.