For some reason, I found myself always attracted to those plants that have dangling pretty flowers, such as Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra) and Fuchsia (offen misspelled as Fuschias). Those delicate flowers just look so elegant and graceful to me. So when I spotted this Fuchsia at Lowes, I did not hesitate to bring one home.
This Fuchsia has exotic-looking flowers. Their red-purple two-tone colors are just brilliant. When the flower is only a bud, the sepals are closed. As the flower bursts open, the sepals part and curl upward. The flower itself (corolla) consists of many petals from which the stamens and stigma protrude. How can somebody not love this beauty?
After the initial excitement, I went online to do some "research" about the proper care of this plant (like I always do when I got a new plant). The result is a little discouraging.
Apparently, Fuchsia is known as a difficult plant to grow. It prefers the mild weather like the one they have in California, mild winter and cool summer. In Florida, the summer is just too hot for them. It was suggested that in the summer, we have to bring them inside the house or keep them in the shade, water them daily and mist the leaves to keep them cool throughout the day.
Sounds very high maintenance to me! Maybe that is a lesson I have to learn: stick to the zone appropriate plants!
For now, I will try my best to keep it happy. I will report back if I ever find a good way to grow it.
My fellow floridian gardeners, if you ever have any good experience/lesson about this plant, please share with me! I hate to see such a beauty die on me.
