Fuchsia has always fascinated me as I could see them only in hill stations in India. But, when I got few plants from Ooty and grew them successfully in Bangalore, I was thrilled to bits.
Fuchsia is native of the Caribbean island and found by botanist Charles Plumier in 1696 and he named these plants after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs. Botanical name is Fuchsia spp. and belongs to Onagraceae (Evening primrose) family.
There are around 110 species of Fuchsia and are found in South America, Central America, New Zealand, and Tahiti. Now it is grown around the globe to beautify gardens and patios. The plant grows to 13 feet and one species found in New Zealand grows to a height of 49 feet.
Leaves are simple, around 1 to 25 cm long. The flowers are pendulous and droop down. They have attractive four long sepals and four short sepals. The petals are white, pink, peach, and dark majenta. Hummingbirds are attracted to these flowers.
The edible fruit is around 5 to 25 mm, reddish green and contains many seeds.
Propagation:
Fuchsia plants grows well in well drained compost. Plant them in partial shade. They are bet for borders, beds, window boxes, handing baskets and patio containers.
