Hello, Lola. My sister is in Davis and she was complaining about the cold and wet. I only have one Billy Green so I better not lose it. Still no show. It was pretty cold up here back in February. Can you grow other Triphyllas like the beautiful Gartenmeister Bonstedt? Hopelessly tender here, although it is common as an annual. One Fuchsia (not a triphylla) that is supposed to be pretty hardy, but I think that it is such an old cultivar that it is probably full of viruses, is Madame Cornellison. It has never performed very well for me. Hard to find anymore. The blossoms could be a little more symmetric, too. I would like to get some seedlings off it some day and see if I could get something similar, but more vigorous. In its day it was supposed to be a big, hardy landscaping Fuchsia. It started shooting recently; I was getting worried. It was doing OK last year until an accident involving a plank from a dilapedated fence falling on it and smashing it. I'd better propagate it before I lose it. I grow them on the north side of a fence, next to the sidewalk, and people out for walks on warm afternoons get to admire them. It's a popular spot. Rain1950, ouch! It was even colder there than it was here. A lot of my really old (19th century) cultivars are surprisingly hardy. They weren't bred to be; they were bred for big flowers. But time culled all the tender ones, and a lot of the survivors of that era are very hardy. Every once in a while someone at one of the Fuchsia Societies brings back something interesting from Chile or Brazil. Someone has a Magellanica type that does not freeze back in Bellevue (which is colder than Seattle). The form "molinae" also known as "mag-alba" (bad name; it's neither alba nor precisely magenta, but more of a pale purplish rose) from Chiloe is almost that hardy. Nice plant. I had an enormous one about 7-8 feet tall and maybe 10 wide, until I moved. My starts that I brought with me never took. So it will be a while before I have one that big again. It is a common plant so I can buy another one. It was a popular plant with visitors; the novelty of standing under (barely) the canopy of a Fuchsia was intriguing to many who had never seen one that big and didn't realize it was in the realm of possibilities. One I don't have--and it's not so hardy--but I would like to have, is Fuchsia boliviana. It will freeze back but it comes back from surviving buds on the stump. I tried it from seed but it was a failure. The form I would like is "alba"--which isn't really an alba, but it has off-white tubes that contrast with the scarlet sepals and carolla. It's one of those types that has a panicle of flowers at the ends of the shoots, instead of blossoms coming out of the leaf axils.

Earthworks is local to me, and their rooted cuttings are a good bargain. >>Are there any other suggestions for this area? I'm partial to the bright red/purple or pinks ... upright prefered but not required. MUST be ground hardy. Good news is that all magellanica types should be root-hardy for you with a mulch. Bright red/deep purple is by far the most common coloration among wild Fuchsias and tends to dominate the hardies, although there are other possibilities. F. magellanica has a huge range, and varies slightly in hardiness. Some types, such as from subalpine scrub or at the Straits of Magellan which are its southern limit, are quite coldhardy. A typcal magellanica type will survive somewhat north of you with a mulch and people used to grow them in parts of the midwest in Victorian times. F. campos-portoi is a close cousin that looks a lot like it (finer leaves and smaller flowers than most magellanicas but really not significant); it is a little coldhardier than an average magellanica and reputedly more heat tolerant. Not as easy to root tho, which seems odd. Fuchsia regia is strangely coldhardy for a plant from a climate whose winters are about as cold as Florida's. It should do fine in Virginia. It looks like the other two but is a tall plant whose long stems reach into the trees for support. There are a lot of hybrids that are close to F. magellanica; some have white corollas instead of purple. Not a huge color range typically. F. magellanica var molinae, which some people call "magalba" (it's not really an alba), is a big hardy form from Chiloe island with small pale purple ("pink"--not really but people call them that) blossoms. It is worth mentioning, but hard to get the real thing in this country, that there is a magellanica type called "Riccartoni" which is extra-hardy. It is named for a garden or perhaps castle in Scotland, where it was noticed and named. It is distinguishable from other magellanicas by its short tube. Technically I do not have it, but I have a short-tubed magellanica seedling that showed up in my garden as a volunteer, probably having reverted from a hybrid ancestor. Most plants sold as "Riccartoni" in the USA are nothing but plain old typical versions of magellanica. Here is something I am not sure of in terms of hardiness limits, so others please chime in--some encycliandra/thymifolia types are relatively coldhardy. They have wee blossoms, one species is fragrant!!!! (probably the only Fuchsia that is), not quite typical Fuchsia shape (the petals are vestigial I think), and fine, "ferny" looking foliage. Some of them get big (wee blossoms and tiny leaves on a good-sized shrub). They are not typical Fuchsias, but come from cloudforests of southern Mexico, far north of typical Fuchsia country. Although typically pollinated by bees, the ruby-flowered types still attract hummingbirds. They also come in cerise, whites, pinks, mauves, pale purples, etc. I hate to say this but...non-variegated plants will be easier to grow. The variegation compromises hardiness, vigor, blossoming, and shade-tolerance.

I had a "Lena" that overwintered in a sheltered spot outside in portland and we had Ice and snow too this year. I also had a "clair De lune" that overwintered, out side, and I have heard that it it only marginally hardy. I know you didnt want to join one, but as another forum member pointed out the other day, the web site for the northwest fuschia society has a proven hardy list for our area. They have pictures, I have had great luck with this sight. As well, one reader of this forum who resides in Alaska was able to get some special fuschias sent to her from "Moniers country gardens". They are reported to have one of the largest selections of fuschias in the pacific north west. They are not my personal favorite as much as"Fesslers" but They mail, and I dont think Fesslers do.The combination of finding the ones you like at the NEFS sight, and then ordering them from Moniers, might be the ticket. Hope this helps. NO one should have to go throughlife with out a few fuchsias :)

Unless you are living in an area of savannah woodland I suspect a good diversity of native shrubs may have occurred on your site pre-clearing. There should be quite a few local natives, especially in your area (which I envy). I live on hard clay loam and have great success with Banksias and Grevilleas, but they're all species from areas with clay. I know quite a lot of the most popular WA plants come from deep sand so would doubtless kark it on clay. My past experience with Eucalyptus caesia (pretty much a shrub where I was in western Sydney at the time) shows it to be tolerant of clay, as is Grevillea biternata. Other WA species I am familiar with or have heard of taking well to clay include: Alygone huegelii Astartea fascicularis Boronia megastigma (well, maybe touch and go) Calothamnus quadrifidus Chorizema cordatum (if given a reasonable humus-rich topsoil) Eremophila - most seem to tolerate clay around here Hakea laurina, petiolaris Melaleuca coccinea (worth a try), diosmifolia, laterita Solanum aviculare (grows like lightning to about 2.5m) Some of the eastern natives (and are not too tree-like) that do well on clay in my experience include: Melaleuca parvistaminea, ericifolia, styphelioides Kunzea ambigua, parvifolia, ericoides Banksia marginata, ericifolia, spinulosa, robur, paludosa Grevillea hyrids of many sorts, aspleniifolia, juniperina Baeckia virgata Acacia species (most, especially feathery-leaved ones) Allocasuarina paludosa Atriplex nummularia Bauera rubioides Callistemon citrinus and cultivars Calytrix teragona Correa alba, reflexa cultivars Crowea all Dodonaea viscosa Prostranthera lasianthos, incisa, saxicola Philotheca myoporoides (used to be Eriostemon myoporoides) Indigofera australis Jacksonia scoparia Leptospermum, lots Myoporum montanum and various others Westringia longifolia, fruticosa Mind you, if you grow on limestone this list may be of sparse use. While most of these species are pretty hardy, some loathe high pH. Also, this list applies mainly to better drained clay (white or yellow to reddish) not soggy stagnant clay (grey). My personal preference would be your own local natives, you have so many real beauties.