Michael Waldron & Roger Spencer.
Commemorating Leonhart Fuchs (1501–66), German botanist, Professor of Medicine at Tubingen University.
Shrubs, small trees, or occasionally leaves or trailing plants. Leaves simple, opposite, alternate or whorled. Flower clusters mostly pendulous, axillary or occasionally terminal; stipules present, usually small and soon shed. Flowers mostly bisexual, bell-shaped to tubular with an elongated ovary below the petals and sepals; combinations of white to pink, red and purple. Sepals and petals 4, rarely absent. Stamens 8, generally of different length and, with the style, protruding from the flower. Fruit a 4-chambered soft berry.
Fuchsias are widely grown and particularly successful in containers, hanging baskets, also as bedding plants. Container plants may be grown as standards, conicals, columns, fans, espaliers and pyramids or as topiary. Modern cultivars have a complex hybrid history which may never be unravelled in detail. There are many species in the hybrid background. However, F. fulgens and F. magellanica appear to be the founding parents of the early modern cultivars.A brief history of fuchsias in Australia is given in Butler (1985), and internationally by J.O. Wright (1979). In Australia in the 1970s, Ron Lockerbie of Merimbula, NSW, introduced about 100 new cultivars and in the 1980s, Noel and Lorraine Richardson produced 30-40 new cultivars, while in the 1990s, there were Brian Barby of Avonsleigh, Vic, and Ivan Southall of Healesville,Vic. The American Fuchsia Society maintains the International Register of fuchsia cultivars.
106 species in 11 sections, from tropical C and S America including Mexico, Tahiti, and 4 species from New Zealand.
Cultivars by softwood cuttings, species by both seed and cuttings.
Flowers showy, mostly tubular; fruit a berry.
Species and cultivars: M. and K. Waldron, Fuchsias Galore, Ferntree Gully, Vic. Cultivars: E. and C. Hynes, Carmelflora, Ballarat, Vic; Berringa Valley Nsy, Mt Macedon, Vic; Fuchsiarama, Springvale, Vic; Longwood Fuchsias, Longwood, SA; Weald View Nsy, Ashton, SA; Mason's Fuchsia Nsy, Penguin,Tas.
Munz (1943), Breedlove (1969), Berry (1982), Breedlove et al. (1982). Popular: Butler (1985, 1986), J.O. Wright (1979), Ewart (1982), Sweetman (1991), Nijhuis (1994), Goulding (1995). Cultivars: Boullemier (1975-85, includes species and hybrids), Hassett (1983, 1986).
Source: (2002). Fuchsia. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
Selection of Australian-raised cultivars
, 'Alana', 'Anita's Gem', 'Antarctica', 'Australia Day', 'Australia Two Hundred', 'Bermuda', 'Beryl's Choice', 'Beulah', 'Bits', 'Blessed Event', 'Blue Frills', 'Bunga Bunga', 'Burwood', 'Cairo', 'Campfire', 'Chantelle', 'City of Adelaide', 'City of Melbourne', 'City of Ringwood', 'Consuella', 'Coral Island', 'Countess of Hopetoun', 'Country Garden', 'Crisp', 'c.v.l. Newman', 'David George', 'Dawn Haze', 'Dee Star', 'Delrose', 'Destiny', 'Domacin', 'Donna Louise', 'Drama Girl', 'Dreamtime', 'Dressage', 'Duyfken', 'Elizabeth Rose', 'Elizabeth's Dream', 'Ellis Charmer', 'Essteedee', 'Faith', 'Frivolity', 'Garden Week', 'Gay Garland', 'Gold Rush', 'Greg Walker', 'Handmaiden', 'Happy Anniversary', 'Happy Wedding Day', 'Harbour Bridge', 'Hazel', 'Helen Vera', 'Henry viii', 'Ice Maiden', 'Inverloch', 'Jana Wendt', 'Jane Edmonson', 'Jane Elizabeth', 'Jubilee', 'Justine', 'Just a Tad', 'Kevin Heinze', 'Kirribilli', 'Kite', 'Ladies in Waiting', 'Lady Diana', 'Lady in Grey', 'Lady Penelope', 'Leila', 'Lesley Anne', 'Lilian Mary', 'Lillydale', 'Little Flirt', 'Llewellyn's Lilac', 'Lorraine's Delight', 'Maid of Orleans', 'Marlene Gilbee', 'Michelle's Cream', 'Moira', 'Montrose Village', 'Mornington', 'Mrs Phyllis Reid', 'My Peace', 'My Shirley Anne', 'Myth Maker', 'My Vonney', 'Nancy Warner', 'Olde World', 'Olive Elizabeth', 'Opera House', 'Peaches 'n Cream', 'Raj', 'Red Ros', 'Remembrance', 'Roberta Joy', 'Roman Candle', 'Ronald l. Lockerbie', 'Roslyn Lowe', 'Roy Brennan', 'Sandra Ann', 'Saxondale Sue', 'Sheba', 'Sherbrooke', 'Singapore Girl', 'Snowburner', 'Sorrento', 'Sovereign Lady', 'Steeley', 'Susan's Sunset', 'Tambo Star', 'Tanya Leanne', 'Thorley's Red', 'Tom Wooley', 'Trileen', 'Urchin', 'Waltzing Matilda', 'Wendouree', 'Wendy Wise', 'Wind Lane', 'Wise's Wonder' and 'Yarra Valley'.
It is not possible to list here all the cultivars that are available. The following is a selection based on popularity, availability and Australian origin. A full account of cultivars is given in the Fuchsia International Cultivar Registration Authority publications. Details of the origin of cultivars are not always known.
S Dream' Trailer. Double. Tube short, pink. Sepals bright pink, crepe undersides flaring from the tube. Petals saw-toothed, white with pink markings, spreading and frilly when mature. Raised Mrs Annabelle Stubbs, usa, 1973.
S Delight' Upright. Double. Tube long, crepe, pink. Sepals long, crepe, pink. Petals large, open, pink. Gagnon, 1972.
Bushy. Double. Tube white, suffused pink. Sepals white, suffused pink with bright pink stamens. M. Ryle, 1978.
Upright or spreading. Double. Tube short, thick, pale carmine. Sepals with a pale band along the middle. Petals numerous, deep orange-red. Raised Mrs Annabelle Stubbs, usa, 1978.
Trailer. Double. Tube white. Sepals white, tipped green. Petals blue-violet, fading to rose-violet. Raised Tiret, 1955.
S Choice' Double.Tube short, pink. Sepals pink, dark on the underside with green tips, bent back. Petals mauve-pink becoming darker and rose-blotched at the base, outer ones streaked. Raised Richardson, Australia, 1980, as a sport of 'Georgiana'.
Upright. Double.White with short tube. Raised Pennisi, 1967.
Upright. Double. Tube thin, white. Sepals orange. Petals on outside orange, inner ones magenta. Raised Paskesen, 1976.
Sepals pink. Petals pink overlying blue central petals. Raised Lockerbie, Australia.
Upright. Double. Tube short, bright red. Sepals bright red. Petals blue with purple shading, spreading on opening. Raised James Travis, 1958.
Trailer. Sepals white with pink underside. Petals pale pinkish mauve with pink petaloids. Australian-raised.
Bushy. Semi-double. Tube pale pink. Sepals white, suffused red, tipped green. Petals dark bluish purple outside, pale pink inside, maturing to magenta. Raised Ryle-Atkinson, uk, 1971.
Upright. Single. Tube pink. Sepals pale pink with green tips, deep pink below. Petals pale lavender, pale pink at the base. Raised v.v. Miller, 1967.
Bushy. Double. Tube white. Sepals white. Petals pale blue. Raised Reedstro, 1962.
Upright. Double. Tube greenish white. Sepals pale pink, darker pink below and with green tips. Petals pink, overlaid with shorter salmon petals. Raised Lockerbie, Australia.
Upright. Double. Tube white with pink veins. Sepals white above, pink below with green tips bent back. Petals pale pink with pink veining. Raised Tiret, 1962.
Upright. Semi-double at first, later blooms double. Sepals curved back, narrow, orange, slightly darker below. Petals orange-carmine, deeper orange on inner ones. Raised Mrs Annabelle Stubbs, usa, 1981.
Bushy. Single. Tube narrow, short, crimson. Sepals crimson above, rose red below. Petals violet-blue, becoming violet-blue and pink at the base with cerise veins. Raised Cliff Gadsby, 1974.
Trailing. Double. Tube and sepals red. Petals white to pale pink, veined red. Blooms large.
Open bush. Double.Tube and reflexed sepals pale pink. Petals blue to mauve, marbled with pink. Raised Lockerbie, Australia.
Trailing. Double. Tube short, rosy red. Sepals long, broad, rosy red, reflexed. Petals bluish with pink overlay on outer petals. Raised Tiret, 1951.
Bush. Single. Tube short, broad, greenish white. Sepals white with green tips, reflexed. Petals pale violet-purple, white at the base. Flowers held upright. Raised Newton, 1973.
Trailing. Semi-double. Tube pink. Sepals reflexed, pink. Petals pink. Raised Lockerbie, Australia, 1972. Seedling from 'Pink Galore' and 'Pink Cloud'.
Bush or standard. Double. Tube short, pale pink. Sepals white with pale pink tips, reflexed. Petals reddish orange, marbled at the base of the outside petals. Raised Paskesen, 1973.
Trailer or bush. Single. Tube long, thin, pink with carmine stripes. Sepals carmine with green tips, bent down. Petals red, small. Raised Reiter Sr, 1941.
Bush. Double. Sepals reflexed, white. Petals pale blue, becoming mauve-blue. Raised Lockerbie, Australia.
Trailer, double. Tube long, thick, pinkish white. Sepals pale pink above with greenish tips, orange-pink below. Petals pink, some loose. Raised Stubbs, 1973.
Trailing. Double.Tube short, thick, pink. Sepals pink, upturned. Petals pale lavender with pink veins. Raised Waltz, 1957.
Tube white, striped carmine. Sepals carmine, flushed white above and with green tips, carmine below. Petals purple, sometimes carmine with pink veins. Raised by Cambridge Propagation, Australia, 1982.
Bush or trailing. Single. Tube thick, cream. Sepals short, broad, cream with green tips. Petals pale orange-pink. Raised Webb, 1949.
Trailer. Double. Tube medium-long, deep pink. Sepals dark pink, slightly reflexed. Petals white, shaded pink at the base and with pale pink veins. Flowers large. Raised Paskesen, 1972.
Bush. Single. Tube short, carmine. Sepals carmine, curling upward. Petals white with carmine veins, spreading sideways. Raised Schnabel, 1957.
Bushy or somewhat trailing. Double. Tube medium, scarlet. Sepals bright scarlet, long. Petals purple. Raised Waltz, 1962.
Bushy or trailing. Single. Tube short, thin, pink. Sepals pink. Petals reddish purple. Stamens and pistils crimson. Raised Pugh, 1978.
Trailer. Double. Tube long, medium, red. Sepals long, spreading, red. Petals deep purple, fluffy, forming large blooms. Raised Copley Gds, 1964.
Trailing. Semi-double. Tube short, wide, white, tinged with pink. Sepals white above, pinkish below, turned up at the tips, bent back. Petals purple with pink veins, becoming lavender. Raised Blackwell, 1968.
Bushy. Double. Tube pink. Sepals pink, reflexed. Petals fluffy, pale pink. Raised Erickson-Lewis, usa, 1959.
Upright or trailing. Double. Tube short, pink. Sepals pink on top, darker below, bent back over the tube. Petals violet-blue becoming paler, blotched with pink. Raised Martin, 1958.
Trailer. Double. Tube and sepals pale pink. Petals pale blue to lavender. Raised by Lockerbie, Australia.
Bushy. Single. Tube short, red. Sepals red, frosted on undersides. Petals purple-violet with reddish markings. Raised Pugh, 1974.
Trailer. Double. Tube medium, pink. Sepals long, pink, broad, upturned. Petals deep lavender. Raised Antonelli, 1965.
Upright and bushy. Single. Tube medium, deep pinkish red. Sepals bent back, pinkish red. Petals pinkish mauve with red veins, paler at the base. Raised De Graaf, Holland, 1979, as a seedling of 'Joy Patmore'.
Upright bush. Single. Tube short, narrow, deep pink. Sepals deep pink, slightly curled back. Petals dark purple with red veins, paler at the base. Raised Lemoine, France.
S Delight' Tube red. Double. Sepals rose with pale yellow tips, lower ones long, broad and twisted, covering tube at first. Petals shades of purple, magenta and carmine. Raised in Australia, 1984.
Open, bush or trailer. Single.Tube pale orange. Sepals short, pale orange with green tips. Petals orange. Raised De Graaf, Holland, 1977.
Semi-trailer. Double. Tube short, crimson. Sepals crimson, reflexed. Petals pink to pale pink, flared and ruffled. Stamens and pistil crimson. Raised Soo Yun, 1977.
Bush or standard. Double. Tube pale pink, thickish. Sepals pink above, darker below, reflexed, tips green. Petals white, fluffy. Blooms large. Raised Stubbs, 1971.
Double. Tube and sepals rosy red. Petals purple splashed with pink on the outside and edged with a fine white line. Raised Tambovale, Australia.
Upright bush or standard. Semi-double. Tube pink, medium length and thickness. Sepals pink with green tips, reflexed. Petals blue, splashed with pink and with a slight pink veining. Raised Waltz,1953.
Bushy or trailing. Double. Tube pale pink, longish. Sepals pale pink, tips green. Petals white, suffused pink and with pink veins. Raised Stubbs, 1977.
Upright bush. Double. Tube pale cream, medium long. Sepals pale cream with pale green tips. Petals pink, suffused lavender, large. Raised Gormon, 1970.
Trailer. Double. Tube white, medium long and broad. Sepals white, reflexed. Central 4 petals purple, outer ones splashed pink, white and purple. Raised Kennett and Ross, 1958.
Upright bush and standard. Single. Tube white, long and narrow. Sepals white, bent back, often suffused pink. Petals violet blue-grey. Raised Thornley, 1971.
Trailer. double. Tube white, medium. Sepals white. Petals violet, shaded white at the base of the petals. Raised Walker, 1974.
Upright bush. Double. Tube crimson, medium long. Sepals crimson, long, reflexed. Petals dark purplish violet, shaded red at the base. Raised Erickson and Lewis, 1959.
Trailer. Double. Tube short, wide, greenish white. Sepals white above with green tips, suffused pink below, broad, reflexed. Petals pale violet, blue in the centre, outer petals splashed with pink, fluffy. Raised Paskesen, 1967.
Upright bush. Double. Tube crimson. Sepals short, broad, crimson. Petals deep purple, outer ones splashed crimson, fluffy. Raised Waltz, 1962.
Double. Tube and sepals deep carmine. Petals magenta to vermilion. Blooms large. Raised Brand, usa, 1949.
Trailer. Double. Tube short, white. Sepals white with a pink flush, darker below. Petals white, splashed pink. Raised Pennisi, 1968.
Upright bush sometimes as standard. Single.Tube short, white. Sepals long, narrow, reflexed. Petals white, forming a bell shape. Raised Schnabel, usa, 1954.
Bush or trailer. Double. Sepals red. Petals white with red at the base. Flowers becoming more fluffy at maturity. Raised Lockerbie, Australia.
Upright bush or standard. Semi-double. Tube scarlet, medium thick. Sepals scarlet, short. Petals white with reddish veins. Raised Henderson.
Trailer. Double. Tube white, medium long. Sepals long, broad, white. Petals white. Stamens pink. Raised Stubbs, usa, 1975.
Upright bush. Double. Tube pale pink. Sepals pale pink, slightly deeper below. Petals pale pink with deep veining, fluffy. Raised Walker and Jones, 1952.
Upright bush, single. Tube orange-pink, long. Sepals orangepink, reflexed. Petals white, tinged with pink at the base. Raised Cannell, 1900.
Upright bush. Double. Tube scarlet, medium long. Sepals scarlet, reflexed. Petals white with scarlet veins, fluffy. Raised Tiret, 1950.
Trailer. Double. Tube long, narrow, scarlet. Sepals long, narrow, pendulous, scarlet. Petals white with pink veins. Flowers long. Raised Fuchsia la, 1961.
Bushy, spreading. Single. Tube long, slender, white, flushed pink. Sepals white, pink below with green tips. Petals white with pink veins. Raised Hodges,1955.
Upright to spreading bush. Single. Tube small, red. Sepals short, broad, red, spreading. Petals small, purple. Raised Meillez, 1853.
Upright bush. Double. Tube white. Sepals white with green tips. Corolla deep red, mottled rose and magenta. Raised Antonelli, 1965.
Upright bush or standard with arching branches. Double. Tube medium long, crimson. Sepals long, broad, crimson, reflexed. Petals violet, paler at the base. Raised Reiter, 1947.
Trailer. Double. Tube dark pink. Sepals dark pink, broad, reflexed. Petals dark lavender splashed with pink and red. Raised Nix Nsy, 1971.
Upright bush. Double. Tube short, dark red. Sepals dark red, broad, reflexed. Petals purple-violet, fluffy. Raised Tiret, 1953.
Trailer. Double. Tube short, thick and white. Sepals long, white, bent back at the tips. Petals large, pleated, white, fluffy. Raised Pennisi, 1968.
Fuchsia 'Andenken An Heinrich Henkel'
Leaves with dark magenta veins. Tube long and thin, pale pink. Sepals slightly darker, small. Petals deep pink. Raised Rehnelt, 1897.
Upright habit. Tube long, pinkish orange. Origin unknown, c. 1966.
Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt'
Leaves reddish purple below. Tube long, thin, brick red, slightly swollen. Sepals brick red, small. Petals brick red, short. Raised Bonstedt, 1905.
Leaves velvety. Tube long, salmon. Sepals short, salmon. Petals small, orange. Raised Bonstedt, 1905. ['Coralle']
Leaves bronzish. Tube dark carmine. Sepals dark carmine, short, pointed. Petals dark carmine, small. Raised Reiter,1948.
Leaves with purplish veins, purplish below.Tube long, narrow, scarlet. Sepals short, scarlet. Petals short, bright scarlet. Raised Bonstedt, 1894.
Leaves with red veins and lower surface. Tube red. Sepals coral pink with green tips. Corolla orange. Raised Baker and Dunnet, 1974.
Leaves with magenta veins. Tube long, slender, red. Sepals small, pointed, red. Petals small, compact, orange-scarlet. Raised Turner, 1855.
Plant trailing. Tube long, thick, pale-coloured. Sepals short, pointed. Petals same colour, short, compact. Raised Reiter,1946.