Fuchsia 'Martha 'Werle'
Wednesday, October 01, 2025
What's in flower at the Fuchsietum? Fuchsia 'Martha Werle' was from the hybridizing hand of Henry Werle and introduced in 1940. It was named for his wife, Martha. The Werles were owners of the well-known Bungalow Nursery in Colma, Calif. that sold both fuchsias and tuberous begonias on location and by mail.
'Martha Werle' forms a small plant to about a foot tall (30 cm) and does equally well as a hardy in the garden as in a pot. Its double flowers are of a medium size and have a gracefully arched flair to the sepals.
The Bungalow Nursery display of new fuchsias in the Hall of Flowers, along with displays by the San Francisco Branch of the American Fuchsia Society, at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939 reignited much interest in fuchsias.
This Exposition was a World's Fair that drew an estimated 17 million visitors to the expressly built Treasure Island in Francisco Bay over its long run. The Werles also exhibited at the Oakland Flower Show that year.
The Town of Colma is located close to San Francisco. Interestingly, it consists mostly of cemeteries. Often called the City of Silence, its dead inhabitants are said to outnumber its living ones by about a thousand to one!
Fuchsia 'Martha Werle' remains anything but silent, however, and is a lovely living monument to both Martha and her husband, Henry.
'Martha Werle' forms a small plant to about a foot tall (30 cm) and does equally well as a hardy in the garden as in a pot. Its double flowers are of a medium size and have a gracefully arched flair to the sepals.
The Bungalow Nursery display of new fuchsias in the Hall of Flowers, along with displays by the San Francisco Branch of the American Fuchsia Society, at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939 reignited much interest in fuchsias.
This Exposition was a World's Fair that drew an estimated 17 million visitors to the expressly built Treasure Island in Francisco Bay over its long run. The Werles also exhibited at the Oakland Flower Show that year.
The Town of Colma is located close to San Francisco. Interestingly, it consists mostly of cemeteries. Often called the City of Silence, its dead inhabitants are said to outnumber its living ones by about a thousand to one!
Fuchsia 'Martha Werle' remains anything but silent, however, and is a lovely living monument to both Martha and her husband, Henry.
