Fuchsia Mrs Popple

The Fuchsia 'Mrs Popple' is an old English variety dating back to 1899, still highly appreciated for its floribundity and good cold resistance. Vigorous, it forms a rounded bush, dressed in dark green leaves and adorned with a multitude of very large scarlet and purple bell-shaped flowers that continue to bloom late in the season. It goes dormant in winter, under a thick layer of straw mulch, only to come back stronger in spring. A generous, faithful and very reliable fuchsia, ideal for adding a touch of cheerfulness in the shaded areas of the garden. In a pot, it will be just as spectacular, but less hardy.

Hybrid fuchsias are countless, and most of them come from Fuchsia magellanica and Fuchsia fulgens, sometimes with the contribution of Fuchsia triphylla, which adds length to the flowers. They are then characterized by thin tubes and violet-reversed leaves. 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 Caribbean and Australia.

The Fuchsia 'Mrs Popple' was awarded by the RHS in England for its ornamental qualities and its performance in the garden. This variety quickly forms a dense bush with upright branches, about 1m (3 ft 4 in) tall and 70cm (27.6 in) wide on average. In favorable climates, if its branches are not frozen in winter, it can become even more imposing. The stems, initially herbaceous, become woody as the season progresses. They bear abundant foliage, a beautiful bright green, composed of narrow, opposite, whorled leaves in groups of 3 or 5, entire, 5 to 8cm (2 to 3.1 in) long, lanceolate form The leaves, deciduous, fall in autumn and reappear in spring. Flowering occurs from June to September-October, sometimes until November if the weather remains mild. Its flowers are single, large, composed of a long tube of scarlet red extended by 4 long and upturned sepals, and a corolla of violet petals, wider and shorter, with cherry red veins. Long pink stamens complete the color harmony.

Usually grown as an annual, this Fuchsia is a shrubby perennial that can be grown indoors, but also in the ground where frost is not too severe. Its hardiness ranges from -6°C (21.2 °F) (without protection) to -10°C when the plant is properly sheltered in winter. Fuchsias pair well with hydrangeas and the foliage of ferns, rodgersias, orange heucheras or light green hostas. In a flowering pot, they can be accompanied, for example, by ivy, lobelias or begonias. 

Discovered in Santo Domingo in the 17th century and acclimatized in Europe, it was named Fuchsia (not Fuschia) in honor 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!