Plant Encyclopedia

Group/Class:  Sun Kisses Series

Description:

A striking fuchsia variety featuring nodding flowers of electric pink and dark purple against the green foliage; very attractive to hummingbirds; a dense self supporting round shrub that is a perfect color accent in the garden or containers

Ornamental Features

Electric Lights Fuchsia features dainty nodding hot pink trumpet-shaped flowers with deep purple throats and white anthers along the branches from early summer to mid fall. Its attractive pointy leaves remain grayish green in color throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Electric Lights Fuchsia is a dense multi-stemmed annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects

Electric Lights Fuchsia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Electric Lights Fuchsia will grow to be about 30 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Electric Lights Fuchsia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.