It might be a California fuchsia. They are native to California, but could maybe survive winter in zone 7. Tried them once, but it's too cold in winter for them.

The leaves don't seem to match Zauschneria and it doesn't appear to have any subshrubby tendencies.

It's an Oenethera, fruticosa I think it was...let me look that up and make sure. Err nope, not fruticosa. Memory faulty...but I do remember it's an eurasian weed naturalized here in the US.

I've been meaning to go through the complete listing on bonap to resolve this issue, but there are soooo many species I just lose heart. It's not California fuchsia, but something very close to it. I thought all Oenothera species were native to the Americas? Any more info about this Eurasian weed?

It's a plant that I see here in run down soils...and if I had my books (which I have never unpacked since last move), I think I'd know what it is....wading through websites, I'm not finding it.

I'm trying to run it down, it appears much like (but probably isn't) Oenethera laciniata, but that's a close relative.

Apparently it is a native...I sure thought it wasn't..but apparently all Oenethera are at least natives of the Americas. There are no European ones :(

They say the first thing to go is the memory....

Wiki says they are all native to the Americas, and that about 70 of those 145 species are growing in Europe, with some of those being invasive over there. I tried growing California Fuchsia once. It did have a few flowers, but wasn't winter hardy here. I've never heard of any other species in the genus having orange/red tubular flowers, which makes this all the more interesting. It's funny, I just stumbled upon this thread again last night, and was thinking I should look into it again.

And I stumbled onto it...because I'm following you, Jay. (shadowing maybe..not following) :)

Oenothera was a dead end. I'm taking a break and then going into Epilobium, which is the new genus name for CF. I usually spend the most time at NTP, but things are happening at a snail's pace over there lol. A tip, if anyone needs to unload some aggression, just go over to hot topics for a spell. :)

I looked at all the Epilobiums in the OP's range and came up empty again. It would have to be a species that's not native to her area. Do you grow Dalea frutescens or D. villosa? Just curious, not looking for seeds. I may resume this search, but for now it's given me a headache. It's great having garden friends on here like you dbarron. I don't really have any local ones. A guy at the native plant sale wanted me to join the local chapter, which would be great, but I'm afraid my health issues would get in the way, especially if I were to be spending whole days out doing prairie restoration and whatever. It is very tempting though, maybe if I could work out a light schedule with them. I could tap into more knowledge. Remember Devin, I miss talking to him, or was it his wife, I'm not sure, but it was fun.

I'm a member of my native plant society. They do those things, but on a volunteer basis, they don't force you to.

I have one frutescens, which TexasRanger says she can't overwinter...so I'm surprised mine did.

I thought I deleted that part. It was meant to be. You're right. They wouldn't force me to do anything. Thanks for the confidence booster. I was also thinking about applying for master gardener classes, but now, and knowing that you're doing it, I know I'd be much happier being with the native plants people. I could just live my life thinking native 24/7, but I can't seem to pull myself away from 'name that plant' so I have to try to keep up with the list of all the bizarre and exotic flora all across the planet. It'll never happen! lol

I read that frutescens is hardy in zone 8. D. villosa's range extends to your area. I like that one a lot. It has longer, narrower flower heads. Very cool !

I read that frutescens is hardy to z6, which I might believe. It naturally occurs in Oklahoma, which puts it in z7b.

Hi Maryann, sorry it took over 2 months for an answer, but we have identified your plant as Oenothera laciniata. It's common name is cut leaved evening primrose. The flowers can change color from orange to yellow. And yes, it is native.