Back to the fuchsia

Thompson & Morgan has developed a dual-purpose – partially edible – fuchsia as part of its unique breeding programme.

Speaking of the plant, a company spokesperson said: ?Always seeking to carve a niche with unusual stand-out varieties, the breeding team were tasked with improving the flavour of fuchsia berries to widen their appeal, as existing strains have proved low yielding and bitter to taste, with little interest from foodies.

?For those without space to grow fruit, the Fuchsia Berry allows gardeners to keep things ornamental while at the same time producing a worthwhile crop from a hanging basket or patio/ balcony container. Each plant will produce around 300 juicy berries, and unlike other Fuchsia varieties will keep on flowering even when producing fruit, right up to the first frost.?

The company?s new product development manager Michael Perry said: “Off the back of our successful 2015 Fuchsia Festival campaign, we know how popular these plants are with UK gardeners. We’ve doubled their appeal by developing a strain that not only flowers from mid-summer to the first hard frosts of autumn, it also produces up to 300 berries per plant through the season with no detriment to flowering habit.

?Our breeding work has brought about a floriferous fruiting variety producing sweet, vitamin-rich berries in plentiful supply.”