Johannesburg - Described as the “ballerina flower”, fuchsia blooms conjure up images of graceful dancers adorned in petal skirts. The pendulous, long lasting blooms of fuchsias have also earned them the accolade “queens of the shady border”. More than 2 000 fuchsias are grown locally out of a pool of 10 000 named varieties across the world.
The flowers of the many cultivars available range from a long narrow shape (the tripylla fuchsias) to fulsome frilly doubles, and the colour choice ranges from pure white and pale pinks through coral pinks to deep magenta and royal purple. Triphylla fuchsias can even be grown in spots with morning sun provided they are well watered regularly.
Fuchsias have a long flowering season. They flower from November through into autumn.
Choosing fuchsias
By selecting the right fuchsias for the purpose you have in mind, your plantings will be more successful, as different fuchsia cultivars have different growth habits.
l Bushes for the border: Choose bushy types for planting directly into the border, such as “Hollydale”, “Border Hill” and “Norfolk Ivor” (all with double blooms), or the single blooms varieties “London 2000”, “Superstar” and “Beacon Rosa”. Ensure the soil in a border drains well, because although fuchsias are “waterholics” they dislike waterlogged roots.
l For standards in the border or containers: Choose strong-growing fuchsias, such as “Airedale”, “Celia Smedley”, “Display”, “Fey”, “RAF” and “Tom Thumb”.
l For containers and hanging baskets: Choose fuchsia cultivars that have a lax and trailing habit such as “Annabelle Stubbs”, “Applause”, “Danielle’s Dream”, “Dorothy Ann” and “Swingtime”.
Tips for success
l Plant fuchsias in partial or filtered shade rather than full shade, and in a position sheltered from wind. Ensure hot afternoon sunlight does not fall on fuchsias as it can scorch the foliage. Also allow for air to move around the plant rather than crowding them together or planting them too close to other plants. Air movement also reduces the chances of pest attack.
l Plant immediately after purchasing in a hole 60cm x 60cm x 60cm. Keep the fertile topsoil and the lower soil in separate heaps. Mix into the lower soil heap plenty of compost, 100g superphosphate (1/2 cup) or 100g bonemeal. Put the topsoil into the hole. Remove the fuchsia from the bag without disturbing the roots and place on top of the top soil, positioning it so that it is the same level with the surrounding soil as it was in the bag. Add the fertilised soil and water well.
l For container planting, make sure the diameter is at least 25cm. Ensure good drainage by placing pots shards, stones or broken bricks at the bottom. Enrich the potting soil with compost and 100g superphosphate or 100g bonemeal.
l Spread a mulch to conserve soil moisture. A mulch also protects the roots from frost during the winter months.
l Water fuchsias thoroughly and regularly. Although they are “waterholic” plants they don’t like waterlogged roots so let the soil dry out a bit, but not too much, between watering, especially with plants grown in the border.
For best blooms during the flowering season, apply a teaspoon of fertiliser high in potassium to the soil around each bush (two teaspoons for container grown plants) once a week. Water the plants before and after fertilisation. Alternatively, to enable fuchsias grown in a border to take up the fertiliser rather than competing tree roots, apply a foliar fertiliser.
l Spray the plants with a mist of water as often as possible, particularly on very hot days. Fuchsias like air movement – plant them where they move in the wind. This cools them and also makes it harder for insects to take a hold of them.
l Watch out for red spider mite, whitefly and the less common rust, and take action against them.
l Pick off faded flowers, seed pods and yellow or damaged leaves.
Companion plants
Fuchsias can be under planted with ground-covers that are tolerant of partial shade. Some examples are Ajuga reptans cultivars which have blue flowers in summer, winter-flowering helleborus, spring and summer-flowering streptocarpus, aquilegia, lobelia, impatiens and begonia.
The range of colours of the blooms of New Guinea impatiens is the same as those of fuchsias, so complementary plantings are easy to achieve. Begonias also work well with fuchsias.
Frost tender coleus and sweet potato vine cultivars (Ipomoea batatas) have foliage in various unusual shades, for example, lime green. An alternative is to select plants with evergreen variegated foliage to brighten up a semi-shaded area. Examples are Plectranthus madagascariensis, liriope and lamium.
* Visit the annual Western Cape Fuchsia Society’s Fuchsia Festival which starts on Friday (December 5 to 7) at Kirstenbosch to see a host of glorious fuchsias.
Weekend Argus