Fuchsia Heidi Weiss

The Fuchsia Heidi Weiss is a sophisticated and remarkable hardy variety. Its flowers are of a good size for this type of plant. This plant forms a true small bush with an upright habit, which is adorned with numerous double bells with an exotic and refined appearance, featuring red calyxes and white corollas veined with red, with long red stamens. An ideal fuchsia to bring brightness to shaded areas of the garden or to plant in a pot to admire up close.

Hybrid Fuchsias are countless, and most of them come from Fuchsia magellanica and Fuchsia fulgens, with sometimes the contribution of Fuchsia triphylla, which brings length to the flowers. All these herbaceous to woody plants, more or less hardy and upright with relaxed branching, belong to the Onagraceae family. They are native to South America, the Caribbean, and Australia.

The Fuchsia Heidi Weiss was obtained in 1973 by Tacolneston Nurseries. This variety quickly forms a dense bush with upright and well-branched stems, reaching a height of 70-80 cm. The stems, initially herbaceous, become woody over the course of the season. They bear abundant foliage, dark green in color, composed of leaves arranged in groups of 3 or 5, entire, lanceolate, and rather narrow. These deciduous leaves fall in autumn and reappear in spring. Flowering occurs from June to September. Its flowers are of medium size. Each one presents a calyx, a sort of tube extended by 4 sepals, surrounding a double corolla composed of wide and short petals. The calyx is red, while the corolla is white veined with cherry red. Long red stamens complete the harmony of colors.

This Fuchsia Heidi Weiss is a perennial shrub that can be grown in open ground in our regions that are not too cold. Its hardiness reaches -15°C when care is taken to protect the stump in winter. Fuchsias go well with hydrangeas and the foliage of ferns, rodgersias, orange-colored heucheras, or hostas. In a flower pot, they can be accompanied, for example, by ivy, lobelias, or begonias.

Discovered in Santo Domingo in the 17th century and acclimatized in Europe, it was named Fuchsia (not Fuschia) in honor of a German botanist named Fuchs. Native to South America, botanical Fuchsias have gradually been multiplied. There are now believed to be tens of thousands of hybrids!