Fuchsia x hybrida Connie

The Fuchsia 'Connie' is a hardy fuchsia, with an upright and bushy habit, of medium size. This variety is vigorous, robust and reliable, easy to grow and floriferous. It has bright pink sepals that are not recurved and a double pale pink corolla veined with bright pink on medium green foliage. The flowers bloom continuously from June to September-October. Hardy in zone 8, from around -7 to -11 °C (19.4 to 12.2°F) in open ground, it is a perfect plant to brighten up shaded areas of the garden. In a pot, this fuchsia is just as desirable, but slightly less hardy.

Hybrid Fuchsias are countless, and mostly derived from Fuchsia magellanica and Fuchsia fulgens, with sometimes the contribution of Fuchsia triphylla, which adds length to the flowers. All these herbaceous to woody plants, more or less hardy and more or less erect or trailing, belong to the Onagraceae family. They are native to South America, the Antilles and Australia.

The Fuchsia 'Connie' quickly forms a dense bush with upright and branching stems, reaching a height and width of around 80 cm (32in). The stems, initially herbaceous, become woody as the season progresses. They bear abundant foliage, dark green, composed of leaves grouped in 3 or 5, entire, lanceolate, rather narrow and small. These deciduous leaves fall in autumn and reappear in spring. Flowering occurs from June to September-October, sometimes until November if the weather remains mild. The flowers are of medium size. Each one has a calyx, a kind of long tube extended by 4 long sepals, surrounding a double corolla composed of wide and short petals. The calyx and sepals are cherry red to bright pink, while the corolla is pale pink or rosy white. Long cherry red stamens complete the colour harmony.

The Fuchsia 'Connie' is a perennial shrub that can be grown in open ground in our not too cold regions. Its hardiness ranges from -7 °C (without protection) to -11 °C when care is taken to protect the base in winter. In shaded areas of the garden, fuchsias are often combined with plants requiring similar conditions: hydrangeas, hostas, heucheras, ferns and the beautiful foliage of rodgersias and brunneras. In a large container, they can be accompanied by ivy or begonias.

Discovered in Santo Domingo in the 17th century and acclimatised in Europe, it was named Fuchsia (not Fuschia) in honour of a German botanist named Fuchs. Native to South America, botanical Fuchsias have gradually been multiplied. There are now believed to be tens of thousands of hybrids!