Though most often seen as an indoor plant, fuchsias grow very well when given bright shade and regular water in Davis.

Fuchsias are herbaceous plants populating the genus Fuchsia, named in 1703 after German botanist Leonhard Fuchs (15011566). Fuchsias belong to the evening-primrose family (Onagraceae) and include about 100 species and thousands of cultivars native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, New Zealand and Tahiti. Fuchsias are grown as perennial garden shrubs in Davis and other mild climates, and flower almost continuously from spring to fall.

The bell-like fuchsia flowers hang downwards and have long stamens and an extremely long style. Oftentimes, fuchsia blooms are bicolor with the sepals one color and the corolla a different color. Flower color can be almost any combination of white, pink, red, magenta and purple. The flowers attract hummingbirds, Honeybees, and the fruits are eaten by birds. In Davis, fuchsias provide wonderful color in shady gardens which protect the frost-, heat- and humidity-sensitive plants.

Fuchsias are heavy-feeders, benefiting from regular fertilizer applications, and can be propagated by seed or stem tip cuttings. Whiteflies are the fuchsia's most common insect pest but other pests are aphids, thrips, mealybugs, spider mites and scale insects.

To find out what other plants grow in the Davis area, please visit our Town Flora page.

Fuchsia is also a color somewhere in the shade of pinkish-purple. It is sometimes confused with magenta.