World's oldest fuchsia? According to the Olivas Adobe web site and research done by the Fuchsia Society of England (not sure of their exact name), the fuchsia in the north courtyard of the Historic Olivas Adobe is the oldest in the world. I doubt that this is true, as the shrub is unprotected by any barrier from public trampeling and cutting removal. Is there some way to verify the provenance of this fuchsia and is there some value to having cuttings propagated at other sites around the world to preserve the presumed ability to thrive at such a ripe old age. The Olivas Adobe was built in the 1840's, and the fuchsia was apparently planted by the Olivas family. I maintain the grounds of the Adobe.
I'd agree that it is very unlikely to be true, but not because people can trample it or take cuttings from it (that's no different to browsing by an animal, and often considerably less than what a large browsing animal might do). The oldest Fuchsia is far more likely to be a centuries-old plant somewhere in the wild which started growth long before anyone was cultivating Fuchsias in gardens. Perhaps a specimen of Fuchsia excorticata in New Zealand (this species can make a stout-trunked tree in the wild).
There isn't much point in identifying the oldest Fuchsia ever - period. It would be a monumental task trying to look for one in the wild. Perhaps, one could rephrase the question "Which is the oldest surviving Fuchsia in cultivation?". I know of a specimen in the palm house at the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens which is reputedly VERY old. Cna't say if it is the oldest, though.
Oldest Fuchsia Cultivar, not oldest fuchsia. According to the American Fuchsia Society and Leo Boullemier, in his book of 1989, "A Plantsman's Guide to Fuchsias,” the oldest Fuchsia cultivar in the world is the Schiller, Banks 1860, Great Britain. Large cultivars of the Shiller, Banks1860 are available for public viewing at the Olivas Adobe Historical Park in Ventura, California. However, this is disputed by the flower-island of Mainau in the Bodensee in the South of Germany. It is stated on signs near large Chillerton Beauty cultivars that the fuchsias in the park are 130 plus years old. I have contacted the site and the owners of the park if they have any substantiation to the claim and they have not responded.
Re: World's oldest fuchsia The worlds oldest fuchsia is indeed growing in the adobe mentioned. the name of the fuchsia is Venus Vtrix. Dave Green
The phrase "Shiller, Banks 1860" would be the author citation and date of naming of a wild fuchsia species and not a cultivar name.
