Fuchsia coccinea
a perennial woody evergreen member of the Fuchsia genus in the family Onagraceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Onagraceae
- Genus
- Fuchsia
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Foliage
- evergreen
- Woodiness
- woody
- Growth rate
- vigorous
- Height
- 3.5 m
- Fertility
- Bees
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
- Pollinators
- Bees
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Fruit - raw or cooked[K]. A juicy berry with small seeds that can be swallowed, it has a sweet and very pleasant flavour with no hint of any unpleasant aftertaste[K]. It is one of our favourite fuchsia fruits[K]. The ellipsoid fruit can be up to 17mm long[8]. There are no edible uses listed for Fuchsia coccinea.
Environment
- Range
- S. America - Brazil.
- Habitat
- Not known
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 9+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe[5] though it can also be sown in the spring[1]. Surface sow the seed in pots in a warm greenhouse and do not allow the compost to dry out[5]. Germination should take place in less than 6 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Inter-nodal cuttings of greenwood, 5 - 8cm long, May/June in a frame. Quick and easy, a high percentage take[78, K]. Overwinter in the greenhouse for the first year and plant out after the last expected frosts. Inter-nodal cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very quick and easy, treat as greenwood cuttings above[K]. Cuttings usually succeed at any time during the growing season[K].
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Succeeds in any fertile well-drained circum-neutral soil[5]. Requires a good soil and a moist shady position in the summer[7]. A fast-growing plant[4]. Plants are not very hardy outdoors in Britain. They are susceptible to frost damage, though they can be grown outdoors in the summer, then lifted and potted up in the greenhouse for the winter[7]. They can succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of the country if they are given the protection of a wall[K]. A plant in a sheltered wall garden at Greenways Garden in Devon had adopted a climbing habit and was 2 metres tall in May 1996. It is said to fruit freely[K]. Our own plant, obtained as a cutting from Greenways Garden, has grown and fruited very well outdoors in Cornwall, the stems have not been cut back at all in the winter, even when temperatures have fallen below -5°c, although new growth in the spring can be damaged by frosts[K]. We feel that this plant is considerably hardier than its hardyness rating of 9 implies, and that it should succeed outdoors in much of southern Britain[K]. Plants are very susceptible to whitefly when grown in a greenhouse[4]. This species is a parent of many of the hardy fuchsia hybrids[3]. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[6]. A good bee plant[2].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981-00-00
Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00
Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
Boullemier. L. The Checklist of Species, Hybrids and Cultivars of the Genus Fuschia. Blandford Press 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-7137-1781-5
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press ISBN 0-333-47494-5 (1992-00-00)