climbing fuchsia

Photo: André Karwath aka Aka — CC BY-SA 2.5 · source

Survives zone 7 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Fuchsia berries edible — mild-sweet to bland; flowers edible. Larger edible berries.

Hardiness

Zone 7–9

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Flower, Fruit

Ripens

Late summer–autumn

Mature size

Scandent shrub 2–4 m, leaning and scrambling up through other shrubs rather than standing alone; containerable with pruning

Light

Partial to full sun

Soil pH

5.5–7.0

Environment

Temperate

Native range

South-eastern Brazil — the Atlantic forest of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Paraná, where it scrambles up through other shrubs and small trees rather than standing on its own.

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Years to fruit

1–2 yrs

Growth speed

Fast — 1–2 m of lax growth in a season

Spacing

120 cm (47 in) apart — about 1.4 m² (16 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Opposite or in threes, ovate 3–8 cm and larger than F. magellanica's, thin and finely toothed, carried on long lax stems that lean and climb through whatever is next to them.

Root system

Shallow and fibrous from a woody crown, resprouting from the base after frost damage as the other hardy fuchsias do.

Fruit description

An oblong purple-black berry 2–3 cm, noticeably larger and sweeter than F. magellanica's and the best eating fruit in the genus, though still mild rather than rich. Ripens late summer into autumn. The flowers are edible as well.

Propagation

Softwood cuttings, which root readily, and layering — easy given how the stems lean along the ground.

Pollination

Self-fertile

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.