Commonly known as ‘Chilean Glory Flower’
This is a semi woody climber with herbaceous shoots and many similarities to a clematis such as C. tangutica.
In colder parts of the country this is a cool greenhouse plant or should be regarded as an annual when grown outside. In Cornwall we find that it dies back a bit to the woodier stems most winters but then regrows away vigorously the following spring. In a really good growing season it may grow up to 10ft providing there is trellis or support for it to twine up and through. It is however a climber that needs a bit of careful help through the season to get attached. Otherwise it tends to end up in a large ‘lump’ looking for support.
E. scaber has pinnate leaves 2-3in long and small ovate light green or grey leaves. The great thing about this plant is that it flowers away continuously from May to October with 1in long tubular flowers. These are coloured orange-red with a yellowish-orange mouth to the tube. Flowers appear in long racemes which, when in the full flush of growth, can be 4-5in long.
The seed pods are chubby and pen shaped and the seeds are best sown in the spring. Root tip cuttings (as with a similar clematis) can be taken in spring or summer and grown on bottom heat.
We do offer forms of this plant with different coloured flowers from time to time. These can be yellow, red or pink but are more tender and less vigorous than the true species.
These are easy plants to grow up through another shrub or over a pergola but they do need more care and attention than many other climbers.
