Fuchsia Checkerboard

The fuchsia 'Checkerboard' offers tricoloured flowers all summer until the frosts. They are pendulous and uniquely combine three colours: pink, white, and currant. This small bushy bush reaches between 60 and 90 cm in height. Place it in a flower bed, a border, or in a pot, in full sun or partial shade in cool and well-drained soil. It is a hardy plant up to -15°C, to be protected in regions with cold winters.

From the Onagraceae family, fuchsias are native to South America, the Caribbean, and Australia. They were discovered in Santo Domingo in the 17th century and owe their name to a German botanist, Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566). The 'Checkerboard' cultivar is an American hybrid fuchsia (Walker and Jones) from 1948. There are about ten thousand of them, mainly derived from Fuchsia magellanica and Fuchsia fulgens, sometimes with the contribution of Fuchsia triphylla, which adds length to the flowers. It is distinguished by its tricoloured flowers: the tube is pink, the sepals are white, and all the petals are currant red. They bloom on dark green foliage and an upright bush from June to October.

Hardy up to -15°C, the 'Checkerboard' fuchsia can be grown in the ground, in a flower bed or border. However, provide winter protection for the stump (mulching and winter cover) to increase your chances of success. It will integrate perfectly into a slightly shaded flower bed alongside Hydrangea macrophylla 'Freudenstein' with pink flowers, Hosta 'Almost' with almost golden light green foliage, and the imposing Rodgersia aesculifolia, whose foliage resembles that of a chestnut tree. The 'Checkerboard' fuchsia blooms until the frosts, so pair it with perennials with autumn flowering, such as Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm' with bright yellow flowers, Sedum 'Autumn Joy' with pink flowers, and Japanese hybrid anemone 'Frilly Knickers' with double white flowers for a colourful and bright autumn flower bed.