Fuchsia hatschbachii

Fuchsia hatschbachii, or Hatschbach's Fuchsia, is a bushy botanical species with summer flowering composed of hundreds of small tubular flowers which are red on the outside and purple in the centre. It forms a large climbing shrub with rapid growth and a flexible and trailing habit. It can reach up to 2.5m high. Place it in a semi-shaded exposure, in moist soil.

Fuchsia hatschbachii is a botanical species native to high-altitude areas in Brazil, belonging to the Onagraceae family. This upright shrub is sometimes considered a climbing plant due to its remarkable vigour. It can reach a height of 2.5m, or even more if winter does not cut back its vegetation, if the atmosphere remains humid and temperate, and the soil is fertile but well-drained. In cool climates, it generally reaches 1m high and 75cm wide. Its young red branches develop rapidly in spring, bearing small oval and elliptical leaves with slightly toothed edges along their entire length. They are shiny and a beautiful dark green providing a nice background for the flowers. These small flowers are numerous and bloom from June to October in the axils of the leaves, swaying in the wind at the end of slender stems. They consist of a long fleshy calyx with four thick red sepals, tapering to a point, which arch upwards when fully open. This 'underskirt' is topped by a corolla of violet petals from which long red stamens emerge.

Fuchsia hatschbachii shows good cold resistance, allowing it to be grown in the ground in almost all regions, with winter protection in the coldest areas. Its long branches can be trained against a wall or on a pergola, but as the plant does not have specific organs to cling with, it is necessary to espalier or support it, as with a climbing rose. It can also be left to grow naturally as a bush with large flexible branches. The flowers of this variety are delicate and fine; it is important not to drown them in an abundance of flowers that would overshadow their beauty. This fuchsia is enhanced by foliage plants with similar growing requirements, such as botanical hydrangeas, cimicifugas, ferns, rodgersias, or hostas.