Browsing the 2004 Fuchsia Introductions by
Elsie Sydnor AFS Editor

So here you have them, all 279 of them! They are the results of the work of forty-four hybridizers from eight countries. Both Great Britain and The Netherlands have twelve hybridizers on the list and two of The Netherlands’ hybridists are the most prolific. J. Comperen registered forty-nine new cultivars while Carl Roes registered thirty-nine. Nine people registered fuchsias from Belgium. Five Americans introduced new fuchsias.

Two father and son teams, the Allsops of London and the Geerts of Itegem, Belgium produced eighteen new fuchsias. An American couple is even represented on the list of hybridizers. It’s hard to count how many women hybridizers there are because of first initials, but there are a few. Two hybridizers furnished explanations for special fuchsia names, which are in frames after the descriptions so you can find them easily.

To make the descriptions more fun, have pencil and paper handy. Jot down the names you like best. Take note of the fuchsias that have species parents. Which descriptions strike your fancy? One that I like is “hairy flowering!” Look for names of people you know of, especially in the parentage. What old favorites are still being used for developing new varieties? Perhaps an activity like this would be entertaining at a Branch meeting.