(Fanfare Fuchsia) Slender and abundant, the 2-inch-long flowers of Fuchsia 'Fanfare' have deep red sepals that flare over a corolla of orange-red petals. Hummingbirds love these tubular blossoms hanging amid glossy, deep green leaves.
Fuchsias range in height from low border shrubs and creepers to vertical climbers that are as big as small trees. Fanfare Fuchsia is a tall, wide climber that grows best if espaliered on wires against a wall or trained up a fence or a trellis in ground or in a planter.
In warm winter areas, Fanfare is a deciduous or evergreen shrub that thrives in full sun in a cool coastal climate. It needs moist, well-drained soil that is rich in nutrients, so regular fertilizing every few weeks is best. In USDA Cold Hardiness Zones where winters are chilly, it's a fine annual. Locate it in partial shade, such as in a patio container, if you live where summers are bright and hot.
Although the Fuchsia genus is mainly native to Mexico, Central America, and South America, the first species introduced to horticulture (F. triphylla) came from Hispaniola - now the Dominican Republic - and was found near the beginning of the 1700s. Hybridization of Fuchsias was common in Europe in the early 1800s and, by the mid 1850s, hybrid Fuchsias were becoming popular in California. Now, 110 species and thousands of varieties of the genus are estimated to exist worldwide, and the San Francisco Bay Area is the West Coast center of their home away from homelands.
One way that Fuchsias are categorized is by number of petals. Fanfare is a semi-double, which means its flowers have 5, 6, or 7 petals. Double Fuchsias have 8 or more petals whereas singles only have 4. Fanfare sometimes is referred to as Fuchsia denticulata 'Fanfare', because at least one of its parent plants was F. denticulata, a cloud forest species native to Peru and Bolivia. It is one of the species most resistant to mites - a quality that gives Fanfare Fuchsia resilience.
San Francisco plantsman Victor Reiter, Jr. (1903-1986), one of the California Horticultural Society's founders, hybridized Fanfare Fuchsia in 1940. Flowers by the Sea is proud to grow this this reliable, historical beauty.