Description Description Escallonia ‘Apple Blossom’ Pretty in shades of pink and white, evergreen shrub Escallonia ‘Apple Blossom’ is hardy throughout most of the UK and provides year-round interest, with a profusion of flowers from June to September. Escallonia is native to South America where it can be found on scrub, cliffs and open hillsides by streams in parts of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. Bushy, dense and slow-growing with a rounded habit, this delightful flowering shrub is formed of upright stems, of gleaming green foliage, that may reach to 2.5m in maturity. In early summer, clusters of apple blossom-esque, pink and white flowers arrive in abundance, and continue flowering intermittently all the way to early autumn. The dark glossy leaves of Escallonia ‘Apple Blossom’ are oval in shape, narrow and have very finely serrated edges. They provide the perfect backdrop to the clouds of pinky-white blooms in the summer months. For the rest of the year they provide attractive evergreen foliage in the garden. In colder regions, Escallonia may drop its leaves in winter, but fresh growth will appear in spring. Escallonia ‘Apple Blossom’ is a wonderful back of the border shrub. It also makes a really beautiful informal flowering hedge, with pruning. It is often grown near the sea, in milder coastal areas, as a windbreak as it is able to withstand salt-laden sea breezes. In the UK it is lime-tolerant and drought resistant, thriving on any well-drained soil, in sun or shade. It grows well in southern and western Britain, including western Scotland – and makes a fine hedge in our local area in Bampton in Oxfordshire. To care for your Escallonia, prune immediately after flowering, cutting-back the old flowering growths. After pruning apply a generous 6cm mulch around the base of the plant, to keep it happy throughout the winter months. Escallonia is not toxic to horses and can be grown as a hedge along a paddock. Max Dimensions Ultimate height 2.5m Ultimate spread 2.5m Growth Rate Time to ultimate height 5 – 10 years Light levels Partial shade or full sun Growing conditions Any moist, well-drained soil or any pH. Hardiness RHS hardiness H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5) Uses Hedging and windbreaks Informal and cottage style gardens in beds and borders City and courtyard gardens, patios and pots
