The Native Fucshia, or Correa is an hardy genus of only 11 species from SE Australia, named after the Portugese Botanist Jose Correa da Serra. The plants are all evergreen, hardy to most frosts and coastal conditions, will tolerate extended dry periods and flower from mid winter to late spring. They are very easy to grow preferring a well drained soil in part to full sun. They respond well to a moderate prune each year to keep the foliage vigorous and compact. The flowers are tubular (almost Fuchsia like) and great for attracting nectar feeding birds.
‘Barossa Gold’ is a new cultivar of uncertain parentage. It has delightful dusky carmine flowers that contrast beautifully with the soft golden foliage. It is easy to grow making a mounded shrub of 1.0cm to 1.2m high and 1.2m to 1.5 m wide and is a great landscaping plant for a wide variety of locations. An annual feed with Osmocote and a light prune in spring will keep it looking good.
Correa gabra ‘Barossa Gold’ responds well in rocky to poor soils where many other plants will struggle. It looks great in a native garden with Correa ‘White Tips’, Banksia ‘Little Eric’ or Grevillea ‘Red Wings’. It also looks good in a formal garden as a clipped hedge or topiary with Cistus ‘Bennets White’ or Lavandula angustifolia ‘Imperial Gem’.
