Xela's Garden

Fuchsia hardy 'Tom Thumb'

Genus: Fuchsia.

Species: Fuchsia (Vistabile).

Planted Vistabile '03

'Tom Thumb' is a popular miniature variety of red fuchsia which is sufficiently hardy to plant permanently in the garden in many climate zones as an edging plant which grows to little more than a foot, and less in a container.

Having been bred in France in the mid-nineteenth century Tom Thumb now has a family of Thumb varieties, of which Lady Thumb is probably best known, her red and white semi-double flowers contrasting nicely with Tom's red and purple when grown together.

Tom Thumb is a good choice for the upright component in a window box planting as it low height avoids any problem of blocking the view or the light from the window.

Fuchsia

Fuchsias add colour to borders, pots and hanging baskets. With a long flowering season, they range from upright bushes to trailers and large standards. The flowers include singles, semi-doubles and doubles, and can be upward or outward facing.

Recommended varieties

There are thousands of different types of fuchsia, having been bred from a handful of wild species found in Mexico, the West Indies and New Zealand.

The first to be named was F. triphylla, found in the Dominican Republic, probably around the end of the 17th century. The discoverer, Father Charles Plumier, was a French Franciscan monk and botanist who named the plant after Leonhart Fuchs - a 16th-century German doctor and herbalist.

Colours vary from pinks, purples, whites and reds to sober or flashy multicoloured mixtures (true yellow is still elusive). Several (for example Fuchsia magellanica) can even be grown as hedges.

They basically divide into the hardy ones that can be left outside all year, the bushy or upright and tender kind for pots, and the dangling, trailing ones for hanging baskets.

All of the flowers have three parts: the upper tube; the sepals beneath that often point out like wings (they look like petals but aren't); and the corolla (the real petals) - the skirt-like growth underneath the sepals. Each can be a different colour in some varieties.
Hardy fuchsias

These involve little effort, apart from a spring pruning to generate new growth.

* F. magellanica: flowers non-stop from mid-summer to autumn. It makes a terrific red-flowering hedge, reaching 3m (10ft) high and growing nearly half as wide. Its two best forms are the 1.5m (5ft)-high var. gracilis with scarlet and purple flowers, and the low-growing, 60cm (2ft) high 'Variegata' with white-edged, light green leaves. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has given var. gracilis and 'Variegata' its Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
* F. 'Riccartonii': widely grown and justifiably popular, it makes dense, twiggy growth that can reach 1.8m (6ft). Its large number of single flowers have a scarlet tube and deep purple corolla. The RHS has given it the AGM.
* F. 'Tom Thumb': a dwarf hardy variety, about 23cm (9in) high, which has single flowers of crimson and mauve. It's ideal in a rockery, where it can be seen clearly. This plant's also been given the AGM.
* F. 'Madame Cornelissen': low-growing at 30cm (75in), it makes a small hedge or divide, and has semi-double scarlet and white flowers.

Pot plants

* F. 'Annabel': at 60cm (2ft) high and wide, this has beautiful white flowers with a pink flush. Because the stems are quite lax, it can also be grown in hanging baskets. It's been given the AGM.
* F. 'Celia Smedley': highly rated by professionals and amateurs, it has a mass of large pink and red flowers, set off by the fresh green leaves. Vigorous and strong growing, 75cm (2.5ft) high and wide, it can also be grown as a standard. The plant's been given the RHS' AGM.
* F. 'Tennessee Waltz': upright and bushy, with a height and width of 60cm (2ft), this has an abundance of pink and lilac flowers right through summer and early autumn. It has AGM accrediation.

Trailing fuchsias

* F. 'Pink Marshmallow': makes a terrific show in a hanging basket, with scores of large, pink flowers set against its light-green leaves. It's been given the AGM.
* F. 'Swingtime': a popular, flashy variety which produces double blooms of red sepals and fluffy bright white corollas. It's not for the timid. Measuring 60cm (2ft) high by 75cm (30in) wide, it too has been given the AGM.

Growing tips

Hardy fuchsias: Plant them in spring, with the roots slightly deeper than if they were in a container, to offer extra protection during winter. In colder areas of the country, place them at the foot of a sunny, sheltered wall in well-drained soil, and provide winter protection.

Prune hard in spring, leaving just 15cm to 30cm (6in to 12in) of stem, from which new growth will shoot. Plants grown as hedges should be less severely pruned, although a portion of the old frosted wood should always be removed. Only prune when new breaking buds are visible.

Standard fuchsias: Begin by allowing one stem from a young plant to grow upwards, pinching out the side shoots as they appear. Once the stem has reached the desired height, allow three pairs of leaves to grow at the top, and pinch these out to create bushy growth.

Problem solver

Look for attacks of whitefly or greenfly. The bugs can either be squashed manually or treated with a proprietary spray.

Photos of this plant

Reminders for this plant