Popular fuchsias overseas Jan Wiggelinkhuizen
Euro-Fuchsia (1984) is an association of 14 National Fuchsia Societies from Northern, Western and Central Europe with some 14,000 members. (http://www.eurofuchsia.org/)
Euro-Fuchsia meets once a year for discussions, lectures and visits to fuchsia events. Delegates report on the favourite fuchsias in their countries, and cultivars are given 1 to 5 stars based on their popularity in Europe. Popularity is based on beauty and ease of growing rather than their show potential.
The all time most popular cultivar in Europe is Celia Smedley which every year since the inception of the award system in 2001 has received 5 stars. The other 5 star fuchsias are mostly veteran worldwide favourites: Swingtime and Checkerboard have had 5 star status since 2002, Annabel, WALZ Jubelteen and Windhapper first being awarded 5 stars in 2003 and the newcomer Rohees New Millenium for the first time in 2006. Swingtime, Windhapper and Rohees New Millenium are trailers, while Celia Smedley, WALZ Jubelteen, Checkerboard and Annabel are bushes suitable for open gardens. WALZ by the way is written in capitals as they refer to the initials of the parents and parents-in-law of the hybridizer Waldemeyer.
The website http://www.nkvf.nl/nkvf/euro-06.htm has pictures of all cultivars awarded stars in the 5 years of the popularity poll. All these European favourites are available in South Africa, and the more recent additions Windhapper and Rohees New Millenium are particularly exciting. Windhapper is an extremely vigorous trailer with spectacular single large flowers with white sepals and a bluish-violet corolla – I can recommend it.
Rohees New Millenium, hybridized by Roes and Heesakkers (1999), is a double with deep red sepals and a striking black-purple corolla usually grown as a bush, but I have grown quite striking multi-planted baskets of this cultivar. What is interesting is that so few of the more recent introductions feature e.g. Maxima (Roes 2001) a self-branching single bush with beautiful dark purple black corolla and purple sepals – perhaps it is just a question of time.
Empress of Prussia and Delta’s Groom were awarded 4 stars in 2006, while Land van Beveren, Nicis’ Findling, la Campanella, Quasar, Deep Purple, Pink Marshmellow, Blue Eyes and Harry Gray all received 3 stars.
In the United Kingdom a different approach to assess popularity is made. Every year Carol Gubler Honorary Assistant Secretary of the British Fuchsia Society collates lists of the winning cultivars, in 13cm and above pot sizes, at BFS National Shows and regional competitive shows and the findings are published as the “Top Ten” in the BFS Spring Bulletins (www.thebfs.org.uk)
2005 2004 2003 2002
1. Border Raider Shelford Shelford Shelford
2. Shelford Border Raider Sophie Louise Brookwood Belle
3. Sophie Louise Wigan Peer Wigan Peer Sophie Louise
4. Wigan Peer Sophie Louise Rose Fantasia Katrina Thompsen
5. Lillian Annetts Rose Fantasia Brookwood Belle Rose Fantasia
6. Rose Fantasia Lillian Annetts Lillian Annetts Twinny
7. London 2000 Katrina Thompsen Pink Fantasia Wigan Peer
8. Brookwood Bell Love’s Reward WALZ Jubelteen LillianAnnetts
9. Alison Patricia Pink Fantasia Border Raider Border Raider
10. Love’s Reward London 2000 Katrina Thompsen Nellie Nuttall
Winning show cultivars are usually not the most spectacular, but rather are short-noded, self-branching and easy to shape symmetrically and extremely floriferous i.e. easy to shape to the mushroom form so desired at British Shows. In the past 5 years the rankings have changed little and only 18 different cultivars featured in the Top Ten, 4 of them only once!
In South Africa with our longer growing seasons and different climate it is more difficult if not impossible for many cultivars to achieve the “ball of flowers” seen on UK shows. In this country many prefer this more natural look, but it cannot be denied that a well-grown UK exhibit is quite impressive.
Singles best lend themselves to be grown in the mushroom shape and in recent years the only regular (small) doubles featured were Lillian Annetts, Wigan Peer, Paula Jane (semi) and Brookwood Belle(table); all the others in the Top Ten are small singles of which Shelford is outstanding, but it does get boring to see the same few pinks and whites at shows year after year. Shelford was superceded in 2005 by Border Raider yet another red and white single.
The Western Cape Fuchsia Society is trying to address the problem of the “boring” sameness at shows. Their Show Schedule allows more than one plant per pot in all classes except standards, so as to encourage a greater variety of cultivars which as single plants would not be suitable for show purposes. There is also a class which is judged solely on the spectacularity of the blooms, irrespective of cultural proficiency, symmetry etc and another class “Back to Nature” for cultivars allowed to grow in a more natural way after only a few pinches. These measures also aim to encourage more participation by less experienced growers.
In 2005 UK shows in the 8cm pot classes Border Raider and Sophie Louise were far ahead of Katrina Thompsen, Nellie Nuttall and Twinny, yet again the same few cultivars as in previous years. The more vigorous growth under South African conditions does not allow growing fuchsias to show standard in 8cm pots.
Of interest is that a variegated foliage fuchsia Roswitha (Bos 1994) was the second most common winner (after Tom West) in this class in the UK in 2005 – it is a sport of Joan Cooper and was registered at the American Fuchsia Society International Registry by Gwen Bos – a long-time member of the WCFS. It is now widely available in Europe from a cutting given to Jack Lamb when he visited us in 2000.
The best performing basket fuchsias in 2005 were Waveney Gem with Sylvia Barker, Janice Ann, Caradella and Marinka far behind – again all singles and floriferous, but it leaves some spectacular doubles unseen by the public. Surprisingly Harry Gray does not feature high – at the WCFS shows it is a frequent winner in its class and even “Best on Show”.
Should you wish to see pictures of any given cultivar the website http://www.fuchsiamagic.com has excellent photos of about 400 common cultivars