Plant Library

Other Names:  Dwarf Escallonia

Description:

A beautiful dwarf variety; great to maintain as a low hedge; a tough low maintenance shrub that is drought tolerant once established; flowers appear in early summer and sporadically throughout the year

Ornamental Features

Red Elf Escallonia features showy clusters of red trumpet-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches from early to mid summer, which emerge from distinctive crimson flower buds. It has attractive dark green evergreen foliage which emerges light green in spring. The glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Red Elf Escallonia is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It is a good choice for attracting birds and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Red Elf Escallonia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Red Elf Escallonia will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Red Elf Escallonia makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.