I don't know if it is the same variety but I have seen a climbing fuchsia. It wasn't labeled. It was growing up a mature yew hedge at the Portland International Rose Test Gardens. Gorgeous. Truly a climber.

Lady Boothby is the only climber I've seen.

Does any anyone know about Lady Boothby? Is it a hardy or a perenial fuschia? etc? Thanks, Joyce.

Hi Joyce,
Go to the link below - Kath:)

Here is a link that might be useful: http://hortiplex.gardenweb.com/plants/jour/nph-jdisplay.cgi?username=fuchsiabonsailady&key=gw1095782&order=alpha&page=1

Hello, Joyce. You are talking about Fuchsia regia I think (note spelling). It is often referred to as a "climbing" Fuchsia.

It doesn't really climb, it "clambers". It doesn't have tendrils or suckers, and it doesn't twine. It just leans on nearby trees and shrubs. It does need to be supported one way or another; it has very long, wirey shoots. If you plant it near something taller, they will tend to work their way throught their neighbor's branches and twigs. I think it can hit 30 meters or so (maybe not in z7).

I have several.

What would you like to know about it? It looks like a typical wild Fuchsia, with typical old-fashioned "Lady's Eardrops" type flowers, red tube and sepals with "fuchsia" purple corolla. The flowers are not huge like those of some massively polyploid hybrids.

Although it is native to Brazil, and not necessarily at particularly high latitudes or elevations, it is incredibly cold hardy. One of the most so of any species (F. campos-portoi also quite hardy). It will go deciduous in cold winters. Fuchsias are ancient and this is probably vestigial hardiness from when that part of the world was colder than it is now.

If it freezes back, not to worry. It is apt to recover from the base, and it blooms on new wood. It grows very fast. It will bloom over a long season. Not as floriferous as some species and hybrids, but it is an interesting-looking plant.

atash,

Thanks for the info. that was what I needed to know. Would you recommed them? Do you like them a lot? Thanks, Joyce.

Hello, Joyce. Yes, I would recommend them. Yes, I like them.

They are easy to grow, healthy, vigorous, one of the hardiest of the Fucshias, and because of the long, flexible shoots, they are trainable. The shoots rarely freeze back in my climate. The foliage is narrow, glossy, and attractive. My only warning is that they are not as heavy bloomers as most Fuchsias. Maybe they are "programmed" to wait until they get tall before they put much energy into blooming. They do bloom, just not as heavily as F. magellanica types.

Hi I have just bought 3 lady Boothby Fuschia plug plants on ebay I should like to know if at the end of the flowering season you leave the climers or do you cut them back like other fuschia's.

Hello. This forum has been slow so I have not been around as much. Sorry to take so long to answer.

I am not entirely sure how to answer the question. Most Fuchsias are everbloomers; they'll keep blooming, on and off, as long as conditions are to their liking.

I can't tell what your climate is like from your post but I am guessing from your habit of clipping them that you live in a climate where you have to protect them. Depending on how you protect them you might clip them back just to reduce the amount of mass in storage (like in a garage), or if you trench them you can leave them as is and clip off whatever is dead in the spring, and whatever else you want to remove to shape it.

Does that answer the question?

Will it do well in a container? I'm talking about Lady Boothby. In our hot humid summers here in Washington, DC will it be OK in full sun or should I give it partial shade? Should it overwinter outside all right?

As has been said previously, there is no such thing as a climbing Fuchsia.There are some Fuchsias that grow very tall and as such need support. Lady Boothby is one. Magellenica Gracilis is another. I have one (Magellenica Gracilis) that is about ten years old and every year it clambers up through a hedge up to 12 feet high and looks fantastic. Here in England most people cut back Fuchsias by about one third after the growing season has finished leaving the old stems to disapate any frost that might come along also covering the crowns with compost,straw or any other suitable material.When the fuchsias start to grow again see where they are shooting from and then decide where to cut them back.Some Fuchsias shoot from the old stems and some Fuchsias shoot from the base of the plant.

Thank you all for the above info, as a new grower it is most usfull. Ioan