The First All-American Fuchsia
Barney c
The Eardrop, British Columbia Fuchsia & Begonia Society
August, 1999
American Fuchsia Society Bulletin, Sept. / Oct. 1999
Well! It's finally happened—after 60+ years we have the first truly all-American Fuchsia. Who named it so? Me, that's who. I've grown 1,000+ cultivars over the years and feel qualified enough to know an excellent variety when I grow one.
Many years ago the American Fuchsia Society did give Awards of Merit to various fuchsias for characteristics deemed to be at the vanguard for existing cultivars. How they were chosen and by whom I can only guess. I think new varieties were grown by three or four persons in different areas, and those fuchsias that did well in all locations were awarded this distinction. This process disappeared for some reason, most likely by a change in the guard (a new Board of Directors?)
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To my knowledge the only places that give out "Awards of Merit" are all in Europe and it is doubtful these awards will make a comeback in America. The problem with awards is that they must be publicized. To the unknowing and unforgiving first-time fuchsia buyer, an award would be a primary source of electing which cultivar to purchase. The wrong choice at the right time and a possible "fuchsia freak" is lost forever. Since perfection is never an accomplishment but always the goal, my choice for all-American honors receives a 9.8 out of a possible 10.
A few years ago I wrote an article introducing ‘Florabelle’, a seed-grown fuchsia which proved to be a total disaster. In my judgment, it did not make my top 1,200 list. This time I can safely say my choices for all-American recognition are truly worthy. Did you notice the plural "choices" in the previous sentence? It’s true, there are two and both are siblings of the same cross; the blooms look very similar and the foliage is very similar. What sets them apart is what I refer to as "personality" or habit, if you prefer. ‘Angels Earrings’ is a very large growing trailing fuchsia which will get very, very large. It's sibling, ‘Dainty Angels Earrings’ gets to be one to two feet tall and grows in semi-erect or lax bush form. I am growing 90 of them in 61/2" pots and plan to show them very soon at the fuchsia garden I care for at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The plan is then to transport all to the AFS Fuchsia Festival in Pacifica, California on June 12th to be shown as a Tall Christmas Tree.
The really interesting part of this scenario is, where did these two fuchsias come from? Surprise, surprise! If you guessed Europe, wrong. Last guess? Try Japan. Japan is not noted as a hotbed for growing fuchsias, but it is home to a very large conglomerate called Suntory Inc. This old established firm has been a big time player in many ventures, including beer. Not exactly in the horticulture class, they woke up one morning with lots of money lying about and decided to do just that. Conjecture tells me they hired the best scientists and went to work. Lucky for us the larder included many excellent plants besides my two all-American choices. Verbena, petunia, and others are now well established, proprietary, plants all over North America. All their plants, including the fuchsias, are patented and only a few licenced growers are allowed to propagate them.
To my knowledge, Bear Creek Gardens, a subsidiary of Jackson and Perkins Rose Co. in Oregon is the major distributor. Euro-American Propagators, with locations throughout North America, including one in my area of the country, is another.
From what I've been able to find out, ‘Angels Earrings’ and its sibling were products of a cross between two Brazilian species found growing in the hot, humid interior of the country. A guess by me at one of the parents would be F. glazioviana, as both plants have many of the traits of this species. The flowers on both cultivars; are nearly identical, a single red and purple in the classic fuchsia form, with sepals half up. The colors are very vibrant and seem to sparkle in bright light. The stamens and pistil make the bloom much longer than wide, stretching over an inch below the corolla. Both cultivars are self-branching and have a pleasing feathery leaf structure that belies its sturdiness.
Last year I acquired ‘Angels Earrings’ in a 4" pot. Soon I put it in the final 12" basket and placed it in the Wild Animal Park garden. The weather last year was very hot and very humid. By the end of summer the plant was 4' wide and 6' long. It blooms all twelve months here and will flower quite well even though many berries are present on the plant.
What makes these two new-comers all-American is that they will take temperatures into the high 90°F’s with nary a problem. The humidex was 105°F most days during the summer, humidity in the 90's, and the plant kept on growing. They will tolerate low temperatures into the 20°F's. They are quite hardy by Northwest Fuchsia Society standards and will give a fine display even in Walla Walla and Spokane.
The University of Georgia has a world renowned horticulture program and they trial many new plants every year to find out which will survive the heat and humidity of the deep south. Only the best of the plants that last through a Georgia summer are presented awards in recognition of their worthiness.
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the only fuchsia in history ever to win a Gold Medal Award in 1997. Truly we now have a fuchsia that can be grown anywhere in America and that's why I call it the first allAmerican Fuchsia.