Kath- I "think" Gonsolves means that this is the first fuchsia that can be grown all over the US and he didn't breed it- bred by the Suntory firm in Japan. I think PW is a subsidiary of Suntory in the US. Sorry hannah I don't think 'Papoose' or 'Winston Churchill' are part of the "Angels Earrings series"- and I think this is what is causing the confusion. The PW/Suntory company's marketing strategy seems to be a "series" of heat tolerant hybrid fuchsias - hence the name "Angels Earrings". The only cultivar names that I've found are: 'Cascading Angels Earrings', 'Dainty' and 'Snowfire'. The link of the PW website that Eclectic_Gardener gave above makes it even more confusing since they mix standard cultivars with the Angels Earrings "series". The three cultivars above seem to be the only real heat tolerant ones so far- hopefully there will be more in the future. As you can tell, PW likes to give their plants rather catchy names. Eclectic_Gardener: You might want to ask your favorite nursery if they can order them for you- if they carry other PW plants surely they can get the fuchsias too. I'm looking for 'Snowfire' myself.-- Frank

The Dark Eyes is a trailing fuchsia. It is supposed to droop. I even lay strips of cloth (worn out towels) about 1" by 6" on the stems that do not droop in order to make them trail properly. I need a source of 14" plastic hanging baskets if someone knows one. The 12" baskets are not large enough for my plants. Email address is davepyro@wavecable.com.

Right now I'm feeding my Fuchsias 20-20-20 half strength every two weeks, when I planted them up early in the spring I added some time release fertilizer to the potting mix. I have a lot of hanging baskets in a shade house, rather then climb up to check the soil for moisture I can tell by how heavy the basket feels as to whether it needs water. You don't want your basket or pot to dry out completely but the top inch should feel dry to the touch. More Fuchsias have been killed by over watering then not enough. I've done it myself. This is what I do, others might do it differently. Annette

Take cuttings in the normal way (see Fuchsia cuttings instructions). For standards it is better if you can find a three-leaf cutting, not absolutely necessary but the advantage is the resultant head , produces 50% more branches. The difference between growing a plant for a standard instead of a bush is that the intention is to grow the stem strong and straight so we should do all we can to encourage upward growth. All the energy should be directed up the central stem, and any sideshoots which develop in the leaf axils should be removed as early as possible. Do not remove large leaves on main stem (next to where you have removed side shoot, these give strength to main stem and will fall off naturally). Never let your plant become pot-bound, this will encourage it to flower and we do not want this to happen before we have achieved growing a strong, shaped standard. When you first see roots at bottom of pot, pot-up into next size. When the plant is growing strongly ( 3 pot size ), place a thin cane alongside the stem, tie very loosely, turn the pot every day to encourage a straight and strong stem. When the plant has reached between 15 and 18 inches let side shoots develop on the next four sets of leaf axils. As further sideshoots develop remove the lowest set so that you always have four sets at the top of the developing standard. Continue to grow the stem of your standard until it reaches the height you require then pinch out the shoot at top of the main stem. When head begins to develop pinch out growing tip after you have 2 pairs of leaves. Do this on each stem to produce a nice shaped head. Feed plant with a balanced feed NPK 20-20-20.Trailing varieties used for hanging baskets make excellent standards, but experiment, start off with a smaller flowering variety and try to grow a mini standard, later try a larger standard. Mini-standard - 'Red Rain'