Garden News Hardy Fuchsia
Fuchsia 'Garden News'
Height: 24 inches
Spread: 24 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: (annual)
Description:
A vigorous, erect, hardy variety presenting large double flowers, featuring salmon pink tubes and sepals with ruffled magenta corollas; very attractive to bees and hummingbirds; great for small gardens, containers, or hanging baskets
Ornamental Features
Garden News Hardy Fuchsia features dainty nodding fuchsia bell-shaped flowers with violet overtones and salmon calyces along the branches from early summer to mid fall. Its serrated pointy leaves remain forest green in color throughout the season.
Landscape Attributes
Garden News Hardy Fuchsia is a dense multi-stemmed annual with an upright spreading 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 bees and hummingbirds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;
- Insects
Garden News Hardy Fuchsia is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting
- Hanging Baskets
Planting & Growing
Garden News Hardy Fuchsia will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. 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. This plant will benefit from an application of bonemeal and/or mycorrhizal fertilizer at the time of planting. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.
Garden News Hardy Fuchsia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.