Fuchsia Margaret

The Fuchsia 'Margaret' is one of the hardiest and most vibrant varieties. Its flowers are large and numerous while their red and purple colours are full of vivacity. This plant forms a true small bush with an upright habit, which is adorned with numerous semi-double bells late in the season. An ideal fuchsia to bring a touch of color to shaded areas of the garden. In a pot, it will be equally charming, but slightly less hardy.

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

The Fuchsia 'Margaret' has been awarded the Gold Medal of the plant world: the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in England. This variety quickly forms a dense bush with upright and branching stems, 70-80 cm (27.6-31.5 in) tall. In favorable climates, if its branches are not damaged by winter frost, it can even reach a height of 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in). The stems, initially herbaceous, become woody as the season progresses. They bear abundant foliage, of a rather dark green color, composed of leaves grouped in 3 or 5, entire, lanceolate, and rather narrow. These deciduous leaves fall in autumn and reappear in spring. Flowering occurs from June to September-October, sometimes extending to November if the weather remains mild. Its flowers are of medium size. Each one has a calyx, a kind of long tube extended by 4 long and upturned sepals, surrounding a double to semi-double corolla composed of wide and short petals. The calyx changes from carmine red to dark fuchsia pink, while the corolla is violet with red cherry veins. Long cherry red stamens complete the harmony of colors.

This Fuchsia Margaret is a perennial shrub that can be grown in the ground in mild regions. Its hardiness ranges from -6°C (21.2 °F) (without protection) to -10°C (14 °F) when care is taken to protect the stump in winter. Fuchsias go well with hydrangeas and the foliage of ferns, rodgersias, orange 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!