Scientific Name
Fuchsia boliviana Carrière
Common Name(s)
Bolivian Fuchsia, Lady's Eardrops
Synonym(s)
Fuchsia cuspidata, Fuchsia lenneana
Scientific Classification
Family: Onagraceae
Subfamily: Onagroideae
Tribe: Circaeeae
Genus: Fuchsia
Origin
Fuchsia boliviana is native to southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina.
Flower
Color: Red
Bloom Time: Late summer and fall
Description
Fuchsia boliviana is a medium evergreen shrub with large hairy mid-green leaves and red petioles. It grows up to 13.1 feet (4 m) tall and has large, up to 8 inches (20 cm) long, drooping corymbs of scarlet red flowers. The individual flowers are up to 2.8 inches (7 cm) long. They appear in late summer and fall. After flowering, the plant bears up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) long red-purple edible fruit.
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.
Cultivars
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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