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Fuchsia "hawkshead"

bédébédé Posts: 3,095
edited September 2022 in Plants
Not a discussion.  There was a recent problem that mentioned "hawkshead".  This one is now 2m tall in a shady but dry position.  I was a mere cutting 5 years ago.  Spring 2020-21 it lost all its new growth but recovered.  

It was given to me as Fuchsia "alba".  But it is more very light mauve.

 
 location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    edited September 2022
    It may be Fuchsia magellanica var. molinae 'Alba'....this grows  upright and is taller than Fuchsia hawkshead.

    Fuchsia Hawshead .....sepals should be tinged green

    https://www.google.com/search?q=Fuchsia+hawkshead.+sepals+green&tbm=isch&rlz=1C1CHBF_enGB785GB785&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwpIaixq_6AhWY0YUKHZGPAgUQBXoECAEQOQ&biw=1263&bih=577#imgrc=YlApTviWJa6XJM


    So many 100's of Fuchsias, accurate naming must be a nightmare...differences in colour/shape minute.

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/112741/fuchsia-magellanica-var-molinae-alba/details

    https://www.google.com/search?q=Fuchsia+magellanica+var.+molinae+'Alba'&rlz=1C1CHBF_enGB785GB785&sxsrf=ALiCzsaDmDsyWGveXen5J-F5tN0Gt4_2Ow:1664095557338&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiC2MSEx6_6AhVyTEEAHfG-C38Q_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1280&bih=577&dpr=1.5#imgrc=dUhoFM4NqON6sM
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    My hawksheads are pure white. No hint of mauve at all🤔
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited September 2022
    I had a bit of difficulty getting the pic attached.  Now it is there above.  My aim was to show the size, and hardiness.  

    The flowers are in most years more white.  This year the strong sun, which it gets in the middle of the day, has made the flower more light mauve.  

    I will look at the links.  I will also try a close-up pic to show the flower more clearly.

    My source for identification was "Fuchsias - a colour guide" George Bartlett (1992). I agree that naming is difficult.

    Other hardy (Surrey) fuchsias in my garden are:  Mrs Popple, and magellanica "versicolour" (my guess).  A cutting from my versicolour has reverted , with bronzy-purple leaves.  More vigorous, a good shape, and good late season colour.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    edited September 2022
    I forgot to say ...
    Fuchsia alba is just another name for Fuchsia magellanica var. molinae 'Alba'.
    Quote RHS...

    Fuchsia magellanica var. molinae 'Alba'

    'Alba' is the white-flowered form of Fuchsia magellanica var. molinae, an upright deciduous shrub with small, lance-shaped leaves and slender flowers
    Synonyms
    Fuchsia magellanica 'Alba'
    Fuchsia magellanica var. alba

    More....
    https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2018/09/04/september-2018-plant-profile/
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Just noticed that Bede is on acid soil, I wonder if it’s the acid soil that puts that tinge on them,  mine are a very pale pink tinge.  They don’t get taller than 3’
    I’ve just put a row of cuttings in to make a hedge replacing all my hostas
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    We are on alkaline soil and there are a couple of fuchsia like this in a nearby garden that grow next to eat other. One is exactly like in the picture, upright with a pink tinge, the other more bushy, smaller, but with pure white flowers.
    I bought some hawkshead plugs earlier in the year from a fuchsia nursery and they have a hint of pink to the flowers. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    My Hawkshead are white with a touch of green, no hint of pink/mauve, not even in this year's strong heat and sun. I also have one which is slightly tinged pink/lilac and is a much bigger, stronger grower, more like the red/purple magellanica, but it was unlabelled bargain plant many years ago. I think that one's probably var. molinae but could be Whiteknight's Pearl or some other variety.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited September 2022
    Here's mine.

    In my part of Surrey we get late frosts.  By late, I mean after the sap has started to flow.  Could be late May.


    When I said 3m tall, a plant growin next to and through, a conifer is 4m.  But supported.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I'm beginning to wonder if it's a bit like Penstemon "Sour Grapes" with different forms being sold under the same name.
    Here are mine, "Hawkshead" on the left, the un-named slightly pinky-lilacy one on the right (it has bigger anthers too, when compared side-by-side).

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    JennyJ said:
    I'm beginning to wonder if it's a bit like Penstemon "Sour Grapes" with different forms being sold under the same name.
    Here are mine, "Hawkshead" on the left, the un-named slightly pinky-lilacy one on the right (it has bigger anthers too, when compared side-by-side).

    Good comparison like that.
    Leaves look different as well...can you add pic to show a single mature leaf side by side as well.

    Green tips on sepals showing clearly on Hawkshead.

    Even the very best growers can get plant names wrong.
    Nursery near here recently has a mass of healthy plants labelled Cotoneaster something.
    In actual fact the whole batch were actually Lonicera caerulea....common names blue honeysuckle. Ooops!
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
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