Arabesque
The Age
Saturday March 31, 2007
Fuchsias look like ballet dancers in the garden with their cute tutus, neat bloomers and tippy-toe stamens, writes Jennifer Wilkinson.
FLORAL STARS Fuchsias look like ballet dancers in the garden with their cute tutus, neat bloomers and tippy-toe stamens, writes Jennifer Wilkinson. FUCHSIAS remind me of my dear grandmother. In the back corner of her garden she grew the dainty, single, red-flowered species and as a child I loved to watch the delicate flowers dancing beneath the arching branches, their flouncing crimson-red tutus encircling neat purple bloomers.I still admire this particular fuchsia for its year-round beauty and also because it has proved to be amazingly durable in dry conditions when protected from hot sun and wind.As is often the case with plants, the original species is more robust than most improved cultivars. I am not exactly sure about the name of my grandmother's ballerina fuchsia but I suspect it could have been F. magellanica or a close relative. It had a woody trunk as thick as your arm and the canopy grew to head height (for a 10-year-old) with leaves as dainty as the flowers.A pale pink form is also quite popular in gardens and another similar form flounces an almost-white tutu above crimson bloomers. In botanical terms, the tutu part is actually a ring of sepals, the bloomer bit is made of overlapping petals, and the tippy-toes beneath are the stamens and style. Experts tell me that fuchsias with dark red flowers tolerate more sunshine than those with pale pink flowers.A not-so-common species of fuchsia can be found in the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens. The tall woody shrubs bear small leaves and bunches of tiny lilac flowers, each about the size of a clove. This lilac fuchsia is F. arborescens and the evergreen canopy provides a perennial form among the deciduous shrubs in the gardens' border.Fuchsias hail from rainforests in mountainous regions of Central and South America, so they love a cool, sheltered situation protected from frost and heat. An east-facing garden is best but a southerly aspect or a spot beneath a shady tree can also suit. Complete lack of sunlight will produce lanky growth and few flowers. Soil type is not critical as long as there is reasonable drainage.While waterlogged clay can cause the roots to rot, don't avoid heavy soil because the moisture it holds sustains the plant through dry periods. When grown in sandy soil or potting mixes, frequent watering is required to maintain adequate moisture, difficult in times of water restrictions.Fuchsias look so exotic and luxurious, yet they live long and require little maintenance. Having said this, they flower on new wood and for maximum blooms and compact growth the branches are pruned back in early spring. Alternatively, you can simply nip out the growing tips.The best time to fertilise fuchsias is in summer when growth is most rapid. A complete slow-release fertiliser is ideal.Fuchsia species and cultivars come in different shapes and sizes to suit a variety of situations. They are perfect plants to grow in tubs, adding colour and lush greenery to a shady patio.One popular cultivar, 'Coralle', is ideal for planting in a narrow garden bed because it grows quite upright with bunches of long, tubular, salmon-pink flowers. Fuchsias that form an umbrella-shaped shrub look superb beside a pond, with their overhanging branches dripping with colourful dancing flowers.Many of the more rounded shrub forms bear double flowers, which I think lack the stylish simplicity of single flower fuchsias. The double-ruffled blooms remind me of plump ballerinas.Fuchsias have extra appeal in attracting birds to the garden. The nectar-rich flowers are a beacon for honeyeaters, especially the eastern spinebill, perhaps because this is the honeyeater with the most slender beak, suitable for achieving sustenance from the long tubular flowers.They take readily from cuttings and now (early autumn) is the best time to propagate because the stems are not too soft or woody. Simply take off a side shoot of current season growth, about pencil length, trim out the very top and trim off all but the top pair of leaves. Trim the base if necessary, then dip it into a root hormone compound and insert the cutting into moist propagating mix.For more information on growing fuchsias, visit nurseriesonline.com.au or the Australian Fuchsia Society, www.fuchsia.org.au.
© 2007 The Age