Re: Fuchsia procumbens (was Fall Color, Fall Berries)
Janet Smithen wrote:
>
> > Thanks, Louise, for the wonderful walk with you. I felt I was along side
> > feeling the crist, cool air and tasting the wild strawberries!
>
> >
> > The berries in the fall garden are so lovely now. Fuchsia procumbens has
> > dusky rose berries that are bringing the Stellars Jays to my rock garden to
> > glean. They are pesky sometimes and raid my seedling pots, picking out
> > choice tiny bulbs, the rascals! They are so beautiful with their rich inky
> > blue and black attire that I have a very large soft spot for them.
> >
> > I thought that it might be nice to save the seed from the creeping fuchsia
> > but wonder if it is ephemeral as so many of the genus are. This is an odd
> > but charming plant with brown-tipped yellow flowers that remind me more of
> > a scrophularia than a fuchsia. It can get rampant here but I give it some
> > room in a low rock wall for more robust dwellers than typical rock garden
> > plants. The array of fine threads of bare stems draped over the rocks in
> > the winter is such a pleasant sight that I do not cut it back until late
> > winter. In fact I leave all of my collection of fuchsias pretty much alone
> > until March or even April. Some are marginal for hardiness and seem to
> > suffer less in the cold if left with generous stems.
Hi Janet
I don't think you need to worry about F procumbens being ephemeral in
any typical "fuchsia-type" climate (never very hot, never very cold,
never very dry).
This would just about describe my climate, and my plant of F procumbens
is over 30 years old and still as spry as ever.
I looked up my "Propagation of Native Plants" and it says to sow seed as
soon as ripe in cool-intermediate conditions and expect good germination
within 4 weeks. Watch out for damping-off which can sometimes be a
problem.
Can also be propagated from root divisions taken just as growth
commences in spring.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
