Fuchsia procumbens flaunts one-of-a-kind flower
Posted by: Melissa Panos in Gardening Direction Add comments
Creeping fuchsia is a well-behaved groundcover.
Gazing upon its tiny, delicate foliage and odd little flowers, you might be forgiven for not recognizing it as a fuchsia. The masses of half-inch heart-shaped leaves dot spreading, wiry stems that hug the ground. One plant will eventually cover a 3-foot area, scrambling in and around other plants as needed. The foliage is motivation enough to choose this as a shade groundcover but then you come across the one-of-a-kind flowers.
I’m glad to have found an amazing close-up photo of the quarter-inch flowers, so readers can experience the wow factor of these miniature gems. The greenish-yellow to orange, upright tubular flowers, with purple-tipped green sepals and bright blue pollen seem to have been beamed straight from Alice’s Wonderland.
Though they are indeed tiny, their upright form and the open habit of the foliage mean that they are easily spotted. The flowers may be followed by surprisingly large, red-ripening fruit that remind some of small plums.
Use Fuchsia procumbens in a shady or morning sun-dappled bed, giving it room to spread out. It may slow its growth in the winter but will resume growing once the weather warms. This fuchsia’s foliage doesn’t form a dense thicket, meaning the look resembles more of a mosaic. It’s also a well-behaved groundcover, not spreading too quickly or overwhelming other plants. It would make an excellent top plant under which you could plant shade-loving bulbs such as snowdrops, brodiaea and scillas. It also makes an ideal plant for trailing over a rock wall.
Did you know?
This creeping fuchsia is native to New Zealand. It was discovered in 1834 by Richard Cunningham, though it wasn’t introduced into Europe until 40 years later. It has at times also been known as Fuchsia prostrata and Fuchsia kirkii.
Cultivation
Grow in fertile, moist, well-drained soil in shade or dappled morning sun. When grown in a flat bed, stems will self-root, adding to the vigor of the plant. This fuchsia is also ideal for a hanging basket where it can create a waterfall of green droplets and where its flowers and fruits will be more visible. Hardy to 28 degrees.
Pests & diseases
This fuchsia is much less prone to the fuchsia mite and other common fungal diseases that afflict other members of this genus.
Availability
Look for this creeping fuchsia starting in early spring at your local nursery. There is also a variegated form available.
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