Cardinal - Bush

'Cardinal' is one of the fastest growing fuchsias I have ever grown! It went from a small cutting to a full sized bush as tall as me in less than one year! You can read about how I found it (aka Larry) in the archived posts here. A friend of mine says he has seen this one growing up to the second story of houses here on the central coast of California, and I believe him because I have seen magellanicas do as well. But magellanica's don't have flowers this big. This one can put out enough new canes (if you imagine roses) full of flowers all spring and summer long, that it could easily produce enough to fill and refill your cut flower vases. Yes, fuchsia make great additions to floral arrangements and the flowers last a long time.

This afternoon and I went and purchased a few new varieties for my collection. I now have 148 varieties. I can't wait to see what the new guys look like when they bloom ;-)

Burgundian - Bush

'Burgundian' is headed for the sky! This is one upright fuchsia about which there can be no doubt, it grows straight upwards, and fast. Not as fast as a magellanica, for example. But certainly faster than all of those surrounding it. Except 'Mood Indigo.' This spring will be it's second year here. Last year it was just a 2" start and now it is in a 15 gallon container. I expect future photos of this one to show a large bush covered with flowers. This photo is from last summer.

Blue Eyes - Bush

'Blue Eyes' is often grown as a hanging basket, but I've grown it as an upright bush in the ground. And without much pruning, it has filled in a low space very well. It's about two feet tall now and as it's trunk ages, I expect it to get to about three feet. 'Blue Eyes' has a bit more shade than most of my collection because it is surrounding on three sides by taller varieties of upright fuchsias, but it hasn't gotten weak or leggy. Best of all, it has never sustained any damage from freezing winter temperatures which have occasionally damaged others.

Black Prince - Bush

'Black Prince' makes a small leaved dense bush about two feet tall. Perhaps more, I keep mine trimmed because it is between two much larger bushes and I wanted a different height there. Unfortunately, that also means it doesn't get as much sun as the others. But it still puts on a year round show. This one also grows much slower than most other upright fuchsias. Making it a great candidate for containes and bonsai. Perhaps even as an indoor blooming houseplant in a sunny window. I am growing a few indoors myself and may bring in a small one of these.

Billie Green - Bush

'Billie Green' is only about six months from a 2" start in this photo! So I expect this one to become a good sized bush in my area. Except that I made the mistake of not covering it when I did cover others, at it was severly burned by a freeze this winter. Some need to be covered and some don't. This one does. Don't quote me on this, but I believe the Triphylla tpes (long orange tinged corollas such as Gartenmeister Bonstadt) are more sensitive to cold snaps. It started to recover immediately afterwards though and will be blooming again soon. The 'Beauty of Cliff Hall' right next to it, didn't notice there was a couple of freezes at all!

Amber Rose - Bush

'Amber Rose' is would be best cascading over the sides of a wall, large container, or down the sides of a slope. It's growth pattern is dense and slow, so if it is used as a hanging basket, it would be best in areas where one intends it to live in that container for years to come. I have chosen 'Amber Rose' to be one of my first efforts at bonsai. I have a beautiful and simple clay oval bonsai pot I set aside for years, thinking about what I wanted to use it for. I planted two starts of 'Amber Rose' in it and have begun to twine the trunks together inside of a curled wire support. In the end, it will look somewhat like the carved jade bonsai statues one sees. Only this one will have these cute little colorful blossoms dangling from the tips of it's branches. To watch it's progress, check out the Fuchsia Forum at DavesGarden.com! The bush in this photo is two years old and in a five gallon container.

Abby Rose - Bush

'Abby Rose' is a mounding bush which is doing very well next to a seven foot high 'F. magellanica molinae.' Abby would be even bigger if it wasn't in the shade of a fence for half of the year. But it fills in the space under the magellanica very well and is a profuse bloomer.

Yes, the alphabet is starting over with photos of each fuchsia in my collection as a bush, if I have been able to take of photo of the variety as a bush. Some are still a bit small. But here it is mid February and they are all busting out with new growth. Many which were just a few inches high when winter set in, are now over a foot high and beginning to produce new flower buds.