Hardy Fuchsias
by Sue Gray
As our climate changes and more plants are still ‘doing their thing’, to a lesser or greater degree, late into the year, it is, perhaps, not quite so important to have specifically later flowering examples, but should they be needed, one that can be relied upon is a hardy fuchsia. Fuchsias have, for many years, had a rather ‘old fashioned’ image but I still think they earn their place in any garden.
Those who have holidayed in Ireland or Scotland will be aware of the hedges made up of Fuchsia magellanica AGM with its delicate red flowers. The RHS website gives it the common name of ‘lady’s eardrops’, aptly named as you could well imagine the flowers dangling as earrings. Not all of us want such tall bushes but there are smaller varieties of F. magellanica, to my mind particularly attractive versions of which are the variegated forms var. gracilis ‘Versicolor’ AGM and ‘Variegata’ AGM. I have never known how to tell the two forms apart: I think mine, seen here, is probably ‘Versicolor’ – there is a named variety ‘Tricolor’ and it may even be that – but I cannot be sure. It has the typical arching stems of fuchsias, growing to about 1m, but can have a tendency to revert, so attention is needed to cut out plain green branches. Looking out of the window at it now, I can see some that require dealing with!
The flowers of many hardy fuchsias are a combination of red, magenta and purple. One of the most commonly grown is ‘Mrs Popple’ AGM, a compact variety only growing to about 50cms. Still lower growing is ‘Eva Boerg’ AGM, which bears semi-double flowers with magenta-pink petals and pink-white sepals. Whilst it is most commonly grown as a basket, trailing plant, I have found it to be hardy in the past.
A variety that I think looks as if it would be tender, but undoubtedly is extremely hardy, is ‘Delta’s Sara’ which grows to around 70cms with flowers bearing creamy white sepals and purple petals. I have not found it to be a prolific flowerer, nor the easiest to propagate,
But is still a welcome addition to the garden at this time of year.
Hardy fuchsias are easy to care for. The worst pest is vine weevil but I have not found them to be a particular problem when plants are in the border.
Plants defoliate in winter: in late spring new growth should be seen, at which time the stems should be cut back to just above the lowest shoots to promote the new year’s growth.
To produce new plants, soft or semi-ripe cuttings can be taken and grown on in compost or water. Some varieties appear to be keener to oblige than others! One such, that I have had difficulties rooting in the past is Fuchsia ‘Genii’ AGM. It is one of my favourite hardy fuchsias, producing lots of red and purple flowers and I love the lime green new foliage that darkens with age. Visiting a friend a few weeks ago, I noticed a long stem of ‘Genii’, which had been broken off his plant by accident, in a bottle of water on his kitchen windowsill where it was, indeed, producing roots.
I decided to try again and when I got home took some cuttings, inserted then in to a plastic milk bottle and left it in the greenhouse sitting in a propagator with some bottom heat but no lid, so I now have my own ‘Genii in a bottle’ and I am pleased to report that they have produced roots and will be potted into compost shortly!
Images courtesy of Sue Gray, except F. ‘Mrs Popple’ – HPS Image Library