Hi All :))))
My very first Fuchsia is ready to flower.I received this cutting in May and it's just starting to bud out.....All my Fuchsia are in hanging baskets and are supposed to be very heat/humid tolerant.The temps here are already 31°C so let's see how they go.....
This is Cascade........
others budding out....
Ernestine and Harry Gray
This is probably a dumb question and you can laugh me off the forum but do these types of Fuchsias set seed??????
We'd NEVER laugh at a fellow fuchsia lover! ;-D
Yes, they do produce seed. They even produce an edible fruit with tiny seeds along a rib that goes down throught the middle. But the seed from these fruits will not produce the same flower as their parent. That is why new hybrids that are produced from seed, are always propagated via cuttings.
Just like hybrid fruit trees, roses, and grape vines, etc. to name a few. If you want a 'Golden Delicious' apple, then they have to use a cutting from a 'Golden Delicious' apple tree.
Of course you could grow the seed yourself, just to see what the parentage of your plants produces!
I hope you will post more photos as your flowers open.
Great Pedrick, thanks for the info.
We have a great variety here in Australia but to be sure, not many are bred for the tropics,so will have a go at seed cultivation from the plants that tolerate the tropics/humidity best.
I'd love to try the uprights but we have a real wallaby and possum population,that just love to eat the greens ,no matter how much you wrap them up.The possums seem to leave hanging baskets alone and the wallabies of cause can't reach.
Great to *see* the variety out there. I checked out your website Pedrick great Fuchsia selection ,are they all in your garden or do you have a nursery?
My house is surrounded!! I collect them and now have 125 varieties. With an ever growing list of new ones I'd like to have.
I am looking forward to seeing the results of your seed cultivation. I would imagine that it is very difficult to get new varieties there, due to the length of time it would take to ship them there and strict rules about shipping plants across international borders. But I imagine there is a great deal of varieties available via the big fuchsia following in europe. I hear fuchsias are everywhere there!
I have some seed I have considered planting myself. I just don't know how long it takes to get from sprouted seed to blooming plant.
When you pick the berries, they should be plump and black. And you should not have to pull on them, they should come right off.
Have you been to the Australian Fuchsia Society website?
125 varieties,oh my,that's a collection (or is that an addiction?)
We do have a great variety in Australia but Fuchsia's haven't really been a Tropical plant as such. When I mention that I have Fuchias growing here,I get the raised eyebrows and the shake of the head,with the comment...... they don't do well in the tropics......so I really am alone here, so to speak....going to be a whole lot of trial and error,hopefully not too many errors..........they are such a graceful flower, that I can't resist and the colours are exquisite.
Thanks for the seed info,I love raising anything from seed,such an achievement.
We won't even mention our strict quarantine import rules,not worth the effort and cost to import plants into Australia unless you hope to sell them off.
I think I've visited every Fuchsia website on the web,I love looking at the pics............
Your friends are mis-informed, I think ;-)
Fuchsias are from the tropics! They are from South America all the way up to Mexico. There are allot of different species and their climate range is very diverse. From decidious tropical forests (dry season) to evergreen tropical forests. I think the reason people have trouble with growing them in the heat, is they try to grow them in hanging baskets. In order for them to cope well with high heat and humidities, they need to either be in large containers (mine are out in the full 104 degree heat in 15 gallon containers) or in the ground and in the shade.
Fuchsias in smaller pots like hanging baskets, cannot grow a root system large enough to cope witht the rapid loss of water in the heat.
There are tropical species of fuchsias that literally grow into 40 foot trees!!
Yes, I would imagine that Australia fuchsia lovers are on their own in terms of developing new varieties, as imports probably wouldn't survive the wait in quarantine! Hey, you could come up with a whole slew of new varieties!
I wonder if I could send you some dried berries to tease the seed out of and see what comes up!?
Hi All, I'm aware this is an old thread. I'm in Darwin Australia (Plant Hardiness Zone 12). Are there any fuchsia's that will thrive in our hot humid wet season and dry winter?
