Fuchsias

So nice to see Fuchsia shows thank you for sharing.

Did you enter to the show Helenium?

I love Fushias and have always had one or two in my plant collection. Thanks for this very informative blog.

I didn't, Scotkat, but it was nice to see them all

Your welcome, Gorgeousma.

Interesting to see so many singles - its easy to give all the glory to the doubles isn't it? You don't see these advertised in the popular catalogues! Were there any hardy ones?

I love Fuchsias. Thanks for showing these ... They look interesting when displayed like this :o) I have some of the ones shown ...
I used to have many other varieties but lost several last winter. I mean to replace them next year.

Your welcome Hywel. Have fun buying replacements...and a few more for good measure!

I shall :o))

Swap list of hardies Hywel? If I have any you haven't I'll send you cuttings this year or next. (Delta's Sarah is doing well after a slow start) Sorry to intrude on the question Helenium!
S

Steragram I'll send you a PM in a few mins :o)

That's ok Steragram!

Like Hywel, I'm a great "aficionado" of Fuchsias! I had quite a few a couple of years ago but that terrible winter killed them all of - except for 'Sarah's Delta'. The following year it grew & flowered well again but it didn't survive the following winter.

My plants have to live in plastic pots on the balcony but even in the most protected corner they don't always survive.

I had three 1m tall standards that I grew for many years but they, too, succumbed a couple of years ago! ;-(( So this year I've not grown any except for the climbing Fuchsia 'Lady Boothby' but not even that one has made much progress this year & I've not seen a single flower on it at all this year. :-(( I have just the one stem nearly a meter high.

Aw that's a shame that you lost all your fuchsias I know what that's like when the paraffin heater I had smoked and then when the greenhouse door was opened the thing burst into flames. It took hours & hours to clean it - had to do without a heater and that eveing the temp went down to -8c. As you can imagine the ones left outside didn't survive. When we moved, I could have an electric heater which allowed me to grow many Fuchsias along with a range of Pelargoniums - but I gave it up in 08. I used to put pipe lagging - (it's like a flexi polystyrene) on the stems of standard fuchsias, mind you they weren't outside, just kept above freezing. At the moment, I have two fuchsias, 'Lady Boothby' which is in an 8in pot. It's about 4ft with not many flowers, but, that's due to my neglect, I'm ashamed to say - I will take better care of it next year! It's a really lovely fuchsia and in my opinion well worth keeping - along with the other fuchsia I have, 'Dollar Princess'. I don't have any Pelargoniums at all - just nowhere to keep them now.

I can quite understand your sadness at losing your Fuchsias! I like them a lot but it is always touch & go if they will come through a winter or not. I have no place inside our flat where I could keep them. Hardy Fuchsias are not the answer either as they too would have to live in plastic pots on the balcony & take their chances on whether they survive or not, just the same as the more tender ones.

It's a real challenge when we don't have anywhere to shelter anything - at least one bonus of being on the balcony is, the plants won't get soaking wet in the winter when most plants are lost to wet conditions.

Are you growing Dollar Princess in the ground Helenium? If that one survives try Lena and Beacon, both just as hardy in my garden. I can send you cuttings next spring if you remind me.

Thanks for the offer Steragram that's very kind of you! The Dollar Princess would you believe, survived in those little propagating pots made of thin plastic, they were just tiny cuttings! They were between the side of the shed and a 2ft wall - other foliage covered them and they didn't get planted in the ground! Now that has to be super hardy!

Ay, she's a great one is the Princess, and frilly with it!

She's beautiful, Steragram, along with another 2 favs of mine, Cecile & Shelford.

They are indeed beautiful Fuchsias & ones that I've grown also. I had 3 'Beacon' standards I made up with heads on a 3ft/1m stem! They had to be that high so that they could grow out over the balcony railings! I'd had them for about 4 or 5 years but sadly they died a couple of years ago & I had no cuttings to take their place either. :-((

I had 3 plants of 'Dollar Princess' & I was very happy with them. I had them growing in hanging baskets on the balcony.

About 4 - 5 years ago I bought a lot of Fuchsias from a stall in the market down town. I planted up 5 different varieties in the 5 hanging baskets & was rewarded with a brilliant display all summer- one of the best summers I've ever had in the 12 years we have lived here!

Remind me in spring Helenium, my memory gets worse by the day. Perhaps you might have a snipping of Shelford in return? (if we both remember)Pale pink hardy ones are a bit thin on the ground.

The only plants I have Steragram, are Dollar Princess, Lady Boothby & Tom West, but, if I get Shelford I will certainly give you cuttings, no problem!