Plant Finder

Moana Nursery High Desert Plant Finder & Guide

Description:

A bushy, spreading fuchsia featuring vivid, pink blushed, gray-green foliage with cream margins; exotic red and purple flowers in summer; very attractive to hummingbirds; excellent for containers, hanging baskets, or window boxes

Ornamental Features

Island Sunset Fuchsia features dainty nodding red trumpet-shaped flowers with purple overtones along the branches from early summer to mid fall. Its attractive serrated oval leaves remain grayish green in color with distinctive creamy white edges and tinges of pink throughout the year. The dark red stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Island Sunset Fuchsia is a dense multi-stemmed annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects

Island Sunset Fuchsia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Island Sunset Fuchsia will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in a location that gets morning sunlight but is shaded from the hot afternoon sun, although it will also grow in partial shade. Keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Island Sunset Fuchsia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.