Fuchsia are beautiful, delicate plants loved by many. They’re known for cascading out of hanging baskets and attracting hummingbirds.
The botanical name for fuchsia is pronounced FEW-shah. It’s a diverse genus of plants where some are cascading types and some are more upright. Some do well in sun but most prefer shade. Fucshia have beautiful flowers for sure! They are typically double, tubular types of flowers that hummingbirds and people both love. It’s a favorite for many.
So why do some people have great success growing them and get 1 or more every year while others just can’t get them to live? The answer seems to have a lot to do with placement. Most fuchsia like to be proteced from the hot summer temperatures and windy conditions that dry them out quickly. Hanging them from a porch that is on the north or east side of your home will likely help them to perform better.
Water is also critical. Plan to water fuchsia daily and/or put them in a larger container for better performance. The difference between a 10 inch basket and a 12 inch basket may not sound like much but the soil volume is dramatically larger in the 12 inch which truly benefits many plants.
Upright varieties like Gartenmeister and Paula Jane are great for patio pots and can generally tolerate more sun than cascading varieties. Gartenmeister has a bronze type foliage with unique orange, tubular flowers. Paula Jane has basic green foliage with dark purple/pink double flowers.
Electric Lights is a new semi-cascading variety that tolerates more heat than others. The flowers are smaller than Dark Eyes or Swingtime, more common varieties, but the performance in the summer may be significantly better.
We produce thousands of fuchsia baskets at Wenke Greenhouses each spring. We start them from cuttings that come from stock plants in Mexico, Costa Rica or Israel. We stick the cuttings into a rooting media and pinch them after about 3 weeks to promote better branching. They are pinched again after they are transplanted into the hanging baskets. In total, it takes 3-4 months to get a fuchsia ready for people to enjoy in the spring.
Fuchsia are irresistible and an old-time favorite.