Plant Database

Description:

A striking variety featuring nodding cream trumpet flowers against the blue-green foliage; very attractive to hummingbirds; a dense self supporting round shrub that can be treated as a tender perennial in colder areas

Ornamental Features

Moonraker Cape Fuchsia features dainty nodding creamy white trumpet-shaped flowers along the branches from mid summer to mid fall. It has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage which emerges light green in spring. The serrated pointy leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Moonraker Cape Fuchsia is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects

Moonraker Cape Fuchsia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Moonraker Cape Fuchsia will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Moonraker Cape Fuchsia makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.