Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

A few weeks ago, I came across one of my favourite Native trees: the Tree Fuchsia. Most people in the world that grow house plants know Fuchsia as an elegant producer of flowers. I took my Dutch Cousin to Banks Peninsula, and he simply thought I was taking the micky: how can you have a Fuchsia species that grows up to 12 meters? The flowers are beautiful and the bark is outstanding – literally. But the seeds are something else again, dark purple, soft and edible.   Instead of eating these seeds raw or cooking them into a jam, I felt they were miniature purple plums that could be planted to become new Fuchsia seedlings, and that’s what became my new harvesting project.   These seeds are tricky to germinate, simply because they are so tiny. Soak them in water as soon as they are soft and ripe, try to remove the flesh or pulp, and spread the seeds on a good, wet seed-raising mix in a shady spot.    When they germinate, put them into a lighter, warm, moist place and keep your fingers crossed