Fuchsia x hybrida Pink Marshmallow - Fuchsia hybride

The fuchsia 'Marshmallow' is a superb trailing variety bearing very large double flowers in a pastel pink on a white background. Its abundant flowering lasts all summer and often continues until the first frosts. This variety is an excellent choice for decorating hanging baskets. The plant is easy to grow in partial shade, in fertile, moist and light soil.

This variety belongs to the Onagraceae family; it is a horticultural cultivar. Hybrid fuchsias are countless, and mostly derived from Fuchsia magellanica and Fuchsia fulgens, sometimes with the contribution of Fuchsia triphylla, which adds length to the flowers, which are then characterised by thin tubes and leaves with a purple underside. These are herbaceous to woody plants, more or less hardy and more or less upright or trailing. Botanical fuchsias are native to South America, the West Indies and Australia.

The cultivar 'Marshmallow' was obtained by Annabelle Stubbs in California in 1971. It belongs to the great tradition of Californian doubles, famous for the size of their flowers and their elegance in hanging baskets. It has received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. The plant first forms a branched clump, then its stems soften and trail downwards. In a hanging basket, it measures 30 to 45 cm in height; in open ground, in a frost-free and sheltered garden, it can eventually reach 50 cm to 1 m in all directions. Its foliage is deciduous, light to medium green, quite pale. The leaves are opposite, oval to lanceolate, finely toothed. Flowering begins in June and continues until October. The flowers, pendulous, are very large, 7 cm wide. The floral tube is long, pale pink. The sepals, also broad and pale pink, curl back noticeably and often retain a greenish tip. The corolla, very double, white to pinkish white, shows veins or a light pink wash. The overall effect is decidedly pastel. The stamens and style remain visible under the petal skirt. A few small berries may form, as in other fuchsias, but they remain scarce and are of secondary interest here.
This cultivar is still one of the best from the work of Annabelle Stubbs, an important figure in fuchsia hybridisation in California.

Usually grown as an annual, this fuchsia 'Marshmallow' is a perennial that can be grown indoors, in a large pot that you bring indoors in winter to protect from frost, but also in the ground for one season, or even longer in very mild climates. Fuchsias pair well with the foliage of ferns, orange-toned heucheras or light green hostas. In a large flowering pot, you can accompany them, for example, with a few Coleus Copinto Sangria, Lobelia pendula 'Regatta' Mix or bacopas with very light flowers. In the garden, fuchsias are remarkable alongside hydrangeas or annual Impatiens balfourii. Large-flowered double varieties will be enhanced by upright varieties such as 'Price Noir' or 'Winston Churchill'.

Discovered in Santo Domingo in the 17th century and naturalised in Europe, it was named Fuchsia (not Fuschia) in honour of a German botanist named Fuchs. Originally from South America, botanical fuchsias were gradually propagated. Today, there are said to be around ten thousand hybrids!

Green plants 4 to 8 cm in sleeves of 5 small plug plants each 2.8 cm in diameter and 4 cm high. Our plants are at least eight weeks old and strong enough to be planted in open ground.

Note: Our young plug plants are professional products intended for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them under cover (conservatory, greenhouse, cold frame…) at a temperature above 14°C for a few weeks before placing them outdoors once the risk of frost has definitively passed.