Escallonia

Escallonia Apple Blossom

• Position: full sun
• Soil: fertile, well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: June to September
• Hardiness: frost hardy (needs winter protection in cold areas)
  
  Masses of apple-blossom pink, tubular flowers from June to September among small, glossy, dark green leaves. This compact, bushy, evergreen shrub looks lovely towards the back of a sunny, shrub border, as a foil for flowering perennials, or for growing as an informal, flowering hedge. It is partularly good as a windbreak in coastal areas.
  
  
• Garden care: Deadhead regularly to prolong flowering. In mid or late spring lightly cut back any shoots that spoil the symmetry of the plant. After pruning apply a generous 5-7 cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or manure around the base of the plant.