We need a Fuchsia Forum!

Still very interested and if anyone has links to more fuchsia info please post them... Especially anything pertaining to hardies that might survive our southern climate, I need names or at least a push in the right direction LOL thank you so much!

The Fuchsia Society websites and FindThatFuchsia usually have lists for both winter hardy and heat hardy fuchsias. But they are seperate lists...
If I get a chance to, this winter I would like to create a simple database that would allow a person to enter certain criteria and get a list of results. Such as, all upright fuchsias that grow higher than 4 feet, have red sepals, single white corollas, and are both winter and heat hardy, ha, ha!
Even finding out how high an upright fuchsia is supposed to grow isn't easy.
For now, we must go over this and that list trying to find what we are looking for.
My collection is turning into a testing ground. Today was another scorcher and once this heat wave is over, I intend to make a list of those who survived with the least amount of damage. All of my upright fuchsias get at least several hours of full sun every day. None of them have sustained any damage to their foliage, but many had their blossoms fried. Including my huge old Voodoo!! But the Cardinal is fine and so are several others. I will let you know!

This is my ten year old Voodoo before his flowers got fried.....
He looks the same now, just with toasted blossoms!
It's okay, he still has plenty of little buds forming, he'll be blooming again in no time. This guy never stops, even in the winter.

This message was edited Aug 29, 2009 6:31 PM

Your garden looks very interesting. Oh to have fuchsias that bloomed all winter.

I was thinking of your fuchsias today, this heat is awful! Thank goodness there's a cool down in the horizon.

GardenGuyKin: I just had a chance to use your links and check your pics in the plant files for Flash and Neon Tricolor. Absolutely beautiful plants. Do you ever see hummers visiting the blooms?

Thanks PedricksC.
Sure hope you survive the heat spell. I know what your going through we had one last month. It stunned the fuchsias for awhile but they quickly revived.

HummerG
The hummers seldom visited my fuchsias this year. I had them all in the ground or in pots. The reason they stayed clear is because I have cats and too many hiding places around the blooms for them to get attacked by them. Smart little hummers avoided them but had many other plants to feed on.
NOW
This is my first year in a L O N G time I have not had some fuchsias in hanging baskets. When I had the fuchsias in hanging baskets the hummers were all over them!

I forgot to mention that Hummers really like the Phygelius in my garden too.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/b/Scrophulariaceae/Phygelius/none/cultivar/0/

If you or anyone else decide to add a Phygelius to your garden make sure you have room
for it. I know they can be quite aggressive in some parts of the country and can grow as wide as they are tall!

I have been busy researching Fuchsias, and I found a reference that stated the Neon Tricolor is hummer friendly.

Does anyone know which Fuchsia would be referred to as: "Hardy Red Fuchsia"? I found it listed as cold hardy in zones 3-5 with heavy mulch, but no other name was listed.

I also came across a suggestion to water your Fuchsias with ice cubes during severe heat waves, it is supposed to help cool the roots.

Also, both of these Fuchsias were listed for hot climates, but I haven't had time to look for more information:
F. Mephisto
F. ‘Queen Esther”

hummergirl, that's Interesting, Jim

Jim: how many trays of ice cubes would you suggest per plant? :)

I don't think I am going to try that on any of my fuchsias because I don't know how it would affect their ability to "wick" up water fast enough to keep up with the rate it is being pulled out of their leaves by the heat. But if someone else tries it, I'd be interested in hearing was happened.
The only fuchsias that sustained damage to their foliage during our heat wave, were the ones that had just been transplanted and hadn't had a chance to grow roots into their new soil. But they will all be fine.
Here is my Cardinal this morning, as you can see, he (aka Larry) has survived the 104 degree heat we had up here with flying colors!
I am actually in a micro-zone that gets missed by the weather service. It is no where as cool up here as it is down in Watsonville, Freedom, or Santa Cruz.
Plus, I'd have to go buy ice just to be able to put a handful into all 125 containers!
I think the best thing to do if you are going to try and grow hanging basket fuchsias in hot areas, or uprights in smaller containers, is be willing to move them when it is hot. For instance, take down the hanging containers and put them onto the ground in deep shade until the temps fall back down.

hummer_girl, is this a test? I would say to just water them when they are most likely to absorb the most water without stressing out the plant. say, early morning. Jim

Jim: no test, just my twisted dry (ice) humor ;-)

I agree, water in the early a.m. and move hanging plants to a cool shaded area on the ground; probably wouldn't hurt to moisten the ground, either.. But if you really wanted to try the ice cube method, I would suggest misting the plant, also.

I was looking for other pictures and just came across these 2 pretties, taken at a nursery.

Quasar.

Golden Anniversary

I'd really like to find this one for it's golden foliage, 'Golden Gypsy', taken at the San Francisco Flower show last March.

Sue, those are some nice Fuchsia!!! Jim

I especially like the photo of your 'Golden Gypsy' Calif_Sue. We need more photos like the ones you used for this fuchsia in the Plant Files. Because you not only have a close up of the flower, you have a shot of the foliage.
Many times, in trying to identify fuchsias, the flowers from two completely different varieties can look so much alike, that only the striking difference in their foliage enables the true identity to be determined.
If you go look at the fuchsia section of Plant Files, you will notice we are in need of photographic examples of a great many varieties listed there! Which is why I never add a variety until it is blooming and I can take a photograph to go with my addition.

I add all the pictures I can, you can click on my name and see all 6,122! :-) I am a huge supporter of the PlantFiles, and beg people all the time to add their images when they post lovely shots in threads.
I have a friend in Freedom who is a daylily grower and I often go to photograph his field of blooms, would love to see your collection too someday!

We rented a house right on the ocean in Aptos last October. The owner had left Aptos and built a beautiful home in Freedom on a huge lot. Freedom is so nice. Do you get very hot there though?

Funny, I so rarely take pics of my fuchsias for PF. I do not know why either as I am posting in the PF so often

Sue, here is a lime green one that is variegated with a darker green. I am trying to remember the color of the bloom. It had the worst case of fuchsia mites and it is only recently put out all new foliage. No blooms yet this year.

Fuchsia over winter outside here. If only the fuchsia mites would go away, they would be a perfect plant.

Is that Bill! Out on Corralitos Road? He is a character, isn't he? That is if we are talking about the same daylily hybridizer out here. Can there be more than one ;-)?
Yes, I noticed you add allot of photos! I am hoping that we can get a few more people interested in filling in the gaps. But with caution. As there are a few photos I know are wrong. Admin said to write to the member and ask them about the photos. Which I did, but some people added photos years ago and don't appear to be currently interested in DavesGarden.
I'd be happy to show you my collection some time! It needs to recover from the recent heat wave though. Everyone will survive just fine, but most of the flowers got burned. But hey, even all of my roses got toasted! In a few weeks, everyone will have a whole new set of flowers on them.

Doss turned me on to Bayer 3 in 1 systemic granules for the mites, and it is working beautifully! I don't like the fact that it also has a time released fertilizer in it, as one cannot know when the fertilizer has been used up. The weather, how often one watered, how fast does that fuchsia grow, etc.......
Fortunately, fuchsias are usually fast growers and fertilizer hounds anyway, so I just use a bit less when I fertilizer every two weeks with a syphon feeder.
I'll be looking forward to seeing the blossom on your variegated fuchsia.
I actuall live up in the hills above Corralitos. So it gets up into the 100's here. I dread late August and September. But on the flip side, November and December can be warm and sunny with my favorite daytime temp of about 75-80!
Here is a little guy named Amber Rose I think would make a great ground cover on a hillside.

I was hoping you would know the name of the variegated one. I can't remember it. It was more dramatic before it almost died. I suspect it will get better colored as the foliage ages again. I love lime green foliage.

You mean 2-in-1 Systemic Rose & Flower Care Granules?
http://www.bayeradvanced.com/product/2-in-1-Systemic-Rose-Flower-Care/granules.html

Be careful of that stuff. It can really burn your plants. I think it is the fertilizer in it. I used to use it on my brugs a lot, notorious for mites. I have burned them with it more than once. Then I read up on Disulfoton which is nasty stuff even though it is such a low % in it, I still hated having it all over my yard.

I now use Neem Oil. I cheated a bit by adding Avid in it on one spray. Not quite as bad as Disulfoton. But I rather not have a plant that needs constant care like that. Brugs too are such a pain because of mites.

100 degrees is too hot for me. Though your winter sounds great. Do you get frost?

Yes, that's Bill Maryott, I've known him for years, he used to live over here in San Jose when he was a famous iris hybridizer.
If you add the notes to the incorrect PF and the person doesn't reply, just contact admin again that they are MIA and they can take it from there. Most of the time I now write my note and then I contact admin at the same time with a heads up that I just added that note so they put their own watch on it and they eventually clear those out, sometimes weeks later. It's easier than trying to contact them later after you don't get a reply.

Kell, at first I thought that was one of my favorites, Golden Marinka http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/90093/ but it looks different.

Thanks Calif_Sue, I'll try it later this fall and winter when things have quieted down for them and for myself ;-)

Fuchsia Golden Marinka is very nice, Sue. Not them same, mine is lime green mostly and the leaves are big, look much bigger than yours.

Speaking of lime green, have you seen Philodendron Xanadu Gold?

No I haven't seen it, haven't been to a nursery in ages, finally went today, Regans, picked up 2 roses, 1/2 price. I am nuts. Well, I am getting rid of a couple so that's how I justify it. Anyways, love that Philo, fabulous color, will be on the lookout for it. And that fuchsia, whatever it is.

Kell, what a beautiful plant, I will be looking for it in the spring, thanks for posting, Jim

Your diligence has paid off. We are pleased to give you the Fuchsia Forum!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/fuchsia/all/

Enjoy!

THANK YOU!!!!!

Wonderful, thank you too!

I would definitely follow a fuschia forum!

Melody: thank you so very much!

Omigosh! Thank you so much!

I love it here :)

Thanks again Melody, and everyone at Admin who helped monitor our postings!

Totally thrilled that we have a fuchsia forum! Thank you hummer_girl, and of course CatSmiling (my nickname for PedericksCorner).
I love fuchsias and know that we wouldn't have this forum without all the people who really worked hard to make it happen. I posted on the PedericksCorner thread, and I love them.
Hard here to grow them too, but they should survive all year round. I have lots of reading to look forward to.
Thanks! : - )
WIB!
SW

Thankyou Melody!!

Thanks Melody!
I'll go get it "watched" right now!

Yes please, I have some issues I'd like help with.