Scientific Name
Fuchsia boliviana 'Alba'
Common Name(s)
White Bolivian Fuchsia
Scientific Classification
Family: Onagraceae
Subfamily: Onagroideae
Tribe: Circaeeae
Genus: Fuchsia
Flower
Color: White and scarlet
Bloom Time: Late summer and fall
Description
Fuchsia boliviana 'Alba' is an evergreen shrub with large hairy mid-green leaves and a white tube and scarlet petals. It grows up to 13.1 feet (4 m) tall and bears up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) long, red-purple, edible fruits after flowering.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 11a to 11b: from 40 °F (+4.4 °C) to 50 °F (+10 °C).
How to Grow and Care
Fuchsia make excellent houseplants, in part because they are well adapted to growing in shadier conditions. In general, the more heat and light a Fuchsia is subjected to, the more careful you'll have to be about watering. In some cases, you might be watering every day. To prevent fungal problems and pests, be careful not to let your Fuchsia leaves touch the dirt. Even then, whiteflies can be a problem for Fuchsia and should be treated at the first sign of an infestation (look for white webs on the undersides of leaves). When treating for whitefly, make sure to spray the undersides of leaves thoroughly to disrupt their life cycle. To overwinter your Fuchsia, let the leaves drop off in spring, reduce watering, and move it to a cool and darkroom. New growth should appear in the spring.
Repot your Fuchsia in the spring annually. These plants require a rich supply of organic material to flower and perform their best, so even if you're not stepping the plant up to a larger pot, you should repot it into a fresh pot with new soil. Add some controlled-release fertilizer pellets at repotting time to increase vigor.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Fuchsia.
Origin
This plant is a cultivar of Fuchsia boliviana.
Links
- Back to genus Fuchsia
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
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