SEATTLE — Gardening expert Ciscoe Morris' plant of the month for August is hardy fuchsia. "I love the tweedle out of these things!" Ciscoe said.
"This will keep blooming full speed, it's just getting started right now, past Thanksgiving. Hummingbirds die for them, and how do you get any flower that is more beautiful than that?" he said, gesturing to the scarlet and purple drooping flowers. He added that they're easy to grow as long as you keep a couple of things in mind. Main item - some like sun, some don't.
"So this one's called 'Lady Boothby' it just loves sun," Ciscoe said, pointing out a hardy fuchsia in his front parking strip that gets blasted by sun all day long. Another sun loving hardy fuchsia is 'Aztec' with bright red blooms.
Ciscoe also has a shade loving hardy fuchsia called 'smoky blue.' "That one really doesn't like being in sun, bright shade is its favorite. Maybe a little morning sun but that's it. And look at that handsome stud that fuchsia is growing in, oh la la!" Ciscoe said, pointing out the green container holiding his 'smoky blue' fuchsia. Someone made for him and it has a face on it that bears a striking resemblance to you-know-who. "Hard to get a container that good looking!"
"Make sure that you give them adequate water because if you don't they'll punish you by turning it all brown and ugly, that's a heartbreaker," Ciscoe said.
"The last thing about these, it's really important, is that this particular hardy fuchsia, 'Lady Boothby' will grow close to about 14 feet tall. If I don't stake these up they're gonna flop over and trip people walking by on the sidewalk," said Ciscoe. He tied the plant to a freestanding trellis in his garden using some gardening twine, just using a couple of well-placed loops. "I don't want it just tied up so it looks like a hostage out in the front garden you know."
August's Plant of the Month adds a much needed bright spot to fading late summer gardens. "This plant is gonna add beauty and attract hummingbirds all the way past Thanksgiving!" Ciscoe said.
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