Phygelius 'Purple Prince'
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CAPE FUCHSIA
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Pronounced: foo-GAY-lee-us
GROWING GUIDE
Geographic Origin:
Garden.
Plant Group:
Shrub.
Hardiness:
Sunset zones: 4-9, 14-24, H1, H2.
USDA zones: 7-9.
Heat zones: 9-8.
Mature size:
Height: 24-36 inches (60-91 cm).
Width: 36 inches (91 cm).
Flowering period:
May-October.
Flowering attributes:
Tubular, deep violet flowers with darker hue on tips.
Leaf attributes:
Four-inch long, deep green, ovate leaves.
Growth habit:
Suckering shrub.
Light:
Full sun.
Soil:
Moist, well-drained, fertile soil.
Propagation Methods:
Softwood cuttings in late spring. | Remove suckers in spring.
Pruning Methods:
In the Northwest, cut back to the ground in spring.
Rainy Side Notes
I thought I had enough cape fuchsias in my garden until Terry at Mesogeo Nursery on Bainbridge Island, handed me this Croftway series phygelius. The outstanding violet-purple hue in the flowers made me take it home. Unfortunately, I lost it in a container mistakenly left outside, unprotected over winter. This plant is hardy in the Pacific Northwest, but appears not to be hardy as a container plant during a colder than normal winter.
At Croftway Nursery in England, Malcolm Spencer began a cape fuchsia breeding program called Croftway series. Out of this breeding program came this handsome compact shrub, Phygelius ‘Purple Prince’, one of the new flower hues he bred. Spencer bred his plants for compactness, bushiness and more blooms per stem.
Debra Teachout-Teashon
Photographed in author's garden.
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