All that Glitters is not Gold
Maintaining and improving a fuchsia cultivar database and associated website such as FuchsiaFinder.com ensures a lot of international contacts.
Recently a photo was sent to me by an American fuchsia collector. The cultivar in the photo was purchased with a “Glitters” label. The flower on the photo was different from the photos that were displayed on the FuchsiaFinder website. As a result, the collector in question was unsure of the correct identity of his plant.
The original AFS description for “Glitters” (Erickson, 1963, USA, AFS 579) is very short. AFS describes “Glitters” as a single upright cultivar with a white tube and an orange-red corolla. The new photo ticked all the boxes, but that also applies to many other cultivars.
The strange thing is that the photos that were already on the FuchsiaFinder website did not correspond with the AFS description. When adding cultivar images to the FuchsiaFinder database, I normally check if images and descriptions match. This one must have escaped my attention, probably because all the “Glitters” photos I had collected so far looked very similar.
My curiosity was aroused and I started investigating. Online sources seemed to agree with FuchsiaFinder. 
The German DDFGG database, the Dutch NKvF database, the vanschaik.nu database and the NZ online register all showed similar photos to FuchsiaFinder. Case closed? No. When I searched for ‘Fuchsia Glitters’ on the worldwide web, a photo caught my attention. The flower in the photo at https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/186931/ was exactly the same as that of the American fuchsia collector. The photo in question has been added by user “PedricksCorner” to the davesgarden website. I remembered that Pedricks Corner was a small-scale American Fuchsia nursery.
It was time to use the FuchsiaFinder Cultivar search function (https://fuchsiafinder.com/find-your-favourite-fuchsia-cultivar/) to see which other nurseries sell “Glitters. It became clear that “Glitters” is currently still being sold at a few Dutch and Belgian nurseries. The Australian nursery Fuchsia Fantasy also sells “Glitters”. When checking the different nursery websites, it turned out that all fuchsia specialists sell the same salmon-orange single cultivar with the name “Glitters”. So European and Australian nurseries sell a salmon orange “Glitters” and an American nursery sells a red-white single “Glitters”. It is impossible for both cutlivars to sell the “Glitters” introduced by Erickson in 1963. Which “Glitters” is the right one?
Dr. Spack, the American collector who sent me the photo, had already helped me when I researched the cultivars introduced by breeder Pike. I knew he had a copy of Salli Dahl’s books about American fuchsia cultivars. So I asked him if “Glitters” happened to be mentioned in one of 
Salli Dahl’s books. Indeed, Dr. Spack sent me a scan showing the white-red cultivar with flared corolla and raised sepals.
Consulting the FuchsiaFinder BookFinder tool (https://fuchsiafinder.com/bookfinder/) revealed that Glitters was also mentioned in a few other fuchsia publications. To my knowledge, “Glitters” is only mentioned in publications from the UK and the Netherlands. And of course also in “Still Wildly Seeking Fuchsias” by Salli Dahl.
The descriptions are shown at the bottom of this article.
When reading the descriptions it becomes clear that two different sets of descriptions can be distinguished in the fuchsia publications. The earliest publications (Boullemier, Clapham, Bartlett and Stanley Wilson) seem to describe the white-red ascending cultivar with fully erect sepals and flaring corolla. More recent publications clearly describe the salmon orange cultivar.
Conclusion: Based on the above findings, I think labels were lost or changed at some point. This probably happened in the United Kingdom during the 1970s or early 1980s. At that time, the original Erickson cultivar was probably not yet widely distributed. Later the false cultivar may have spread to the rest of Europe, Australia and New Zealand. This assumption explains why the original white-red cultivar is still being sold in the US. The “Glitters” sold in Europe and Australia is not, in my opinion, the original cultivar that Erickson introduced in 1963. The correct name of this cultivar could not be traced to date.
Please send remarks to fuchsiafinder@gmail.com
Descriptions for ‘Glitters’ from various sources:
SET 1 : describes a single red/white cultivar
- AFS original description (1963 USA)
Glitters, 579, Erickson 1963, sgl, up, corolla orange red, sepals white - Boullemier checklist (United Kingdom, 1985-1991)
Glitters. Single. Waxy-white tube, sepals waxy-white, inside lovely salmon colour; corolla glowing orange-red. Medium sized flowers, produced in profusion with spreading corolla. (One of the parents of Celia Smedley from which it obtains its very vigorous growth (Note : this information about the parentage of Celia Smedley is wrong)). Growth upright and vigorous, heat resistant. Erickson – American – 1963 – AFS 579 - Stanley J.Wilson : Fuchsias – A complete Guide to their propagation and cultivation for house and garden (United Kingdom 1974) (no picture)
Glitters (Erickson 1963). Single. Waxy-white tube and sepals, but the underside of the sepals is a lovely salmon. The spreading single corolla is a glowing orange-red. Medium-sized flowers are produced in profusion on a tall, vigorous, upright grower. An attractive easy plant to grow. - George Bartlett : Fuchsias – A colour guide (United Kingdom 1976) (no picture)
Glitters (Erickson, USA, 1963) Single H2 Bush. Tube waxy white. Sepals have similar colouring but are a lovely salmon colour on the inside; green tips. Corolla a glowing orange-red. Foliage medium green. The flowers are very freely produced on strong upright growth - Clapham Sidney : Fuchsias for House and Garden (United Kingdom 1982 (no picture)
Glitters An easy single variety of attractive colouring. The tube and sepals are waxy white except for the salmon underside of the latter and the wide-spread corolla is a vivid orange-red. Makes a strong tall plant with a profuse display of medium sized flowers. - NZ Fuchsia registry
Glitters (Erickson 1963 USA) Upright Bush – T.WAXY WHITE.S.WHITE OUTER.INSIDE SALMON.C.GLOWING ORANGE RED
SET 2 : describes a single salmon orange/red cultivar
- A Second Colour Guide To Fuchsias (G. and A. Walker, United Kingdom) (picture similar to those on FF)
Glitters : Single.Sepals salmon-pink with green tips. Corolla bright orange-salmon. Flowers small and free, vigorous upright bush. - Eileen Saunders : Wagtails book of fuchsias Volume 1 and 2 (drawing similar to the pictures on FF)
Glitters ( Erickson 1963 USA) Tube : salmon pink – Sepals : salmon pink, paling towards green tips – Corolla : salmon orange, single – Filaments pink – style pink – Foliage medium green – Growth upright. Almost too vigorous a grower for greenhouse cultivation. best to grow this one as a summer bedding-out plant in a dry-ish, sunny position. Here it will make a tall upstanding bushy plant & bloom freely throughout the summer - 500 Fuchsia’s te Kijk (Miep Nijhuis, 1995, The Netherlands) (picture similar to those on FF)
Glitters : E; T diep zalmkleurig met oranje vleug; S diep zalmrose met oranjekleurige vleug, overgaand naar crème, eindigend in groene punt, aan de binnenkant licht zalmrose; C dieporanje,aan de basis lichter, donkerder streepjes, middelgrote bloem, bloeit mild; vertkt spontaan; opgaande bossige groeier; geschikt voor volle zon. - Fuchsia Lexicon (Ron Ewart, UK, 1983) (no picture)
Glitters, Erickson 1963, AFS 579. Single. Tube salmon pink, long and of medium thickness. Sepals salmon pink with green tips, short and held over the corolla. Corolla orange salmon, very bright, small and compact blooms. Foliage medium green, small to medium-sized, serrated leaves. Growth very vigorous, upright , bushy and free-flowering. Bush or summer bedder. - Fuchsia’s hebben en houden (NKvF, The Netherlands, 1985) (no picture)
Glitters (Erickson 1963, USA)E. T&S : zalmrose, lichter wordend naar e (groene) toppen). C.: zalmkleurig oranje. Helmdraden en stijl : roze. Middelgroen blad. middelgrote bloem.Milde bloei. groei : rechtop. Krachtige groeier. - Lijst van in Nederland aanwezige species en cultivars van de FUCHSIA (van der Zee-Kruseman & van der Haven, The Netherlands, 1984) (no picture)
Glitters (Erickson 1963, USA, AFS 579) E. T & S: zalmrose, lichter wordend naar de (groene) toppen (SII) (wasachtig wit, van binnen zalmkleurig CL) C: zalmkleurig oranje. Helmdraden en stijl: rose. Middelgroen blad. Middelgrote bloem. Milde bloei. Groei : rechtop. Krachtige groeier. (CL en SII) (waarbij CL verwijst naar Boullemiers Checklist en SII naar Eileen Saunders boek 2) - Fuchsia’s van stek tot stam (Nijhuis Miep, The Netherlands, 1986) (no picture)
Glitters (Erickson 1963 USA)- enkel. Bloembuis zalmroze, lang. Kelkbladen : zalmroze met groene punten, kort. Kroonbladen : zalmoranje. Blad : middelgroen, klein tot middelgroot. Groei : opgaand, krachtige groei. Middelgrote bloem, zeer rijke bloei - CIL Losbladige Cultivarlijst (NKvF, The Netherlands) (no picture)
1310 GLITTERS (Erickson 1963 USA, AFS 0579) Bloem : enkel, middelgrote hangende bloem met opvallende ongewone kleur; bloemen staan aan het einde van de stengels twee aaan twee in de bladoksels en vormen zo trossen. Bloembuis: lang en tamelijk dik; dof diep zalmkleurig met lichtoranje zweem. Kelkbladen : halfneergeslagen kelkbladen met iets opgebogen toppen; diep zalmroze met lichtoranje zweem, geleidelijk overgaande tot crême, eindigend in groene top; binnen kant lichtzalmroze. Kroonbladen: vrij korte compacte kroon, mooi uitkomend tussen de kelkbladen; dieporanje, lichter aan basis; donkerder adering; vanuit basis crêmekleurige smalle baan tot halverwege kroonbladen. Helmdraad: lang, roze. Helmpknop: roze. Stuifmeel: crême. Stijl: lang, wit. Stempel: crême, gelobd. Bloei: mild. Bloeitijd: normaal. Knop: langwerpig, zalmroze met groene top. Blad: middelgroot, langwerpig tot lancetvormig; puntige top; puntige voet; getande rand; donkergroen blad met geel-groene zweem; lichtere nerven; voet hoofdnerf en bladsteel rood. Groeiwijze: rechtopgaande krachtige groeier; bossige struik, die spontaan vertakt. Kweekwijze: struik voor zonnige plaats; mooie sterke fuchsia door bladkleur in combinatie met fraai-gekleurde knoppen: zalmroze met groene toppen en de bloemen.
Pictures for Glitters for various sources :
• https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/186931/
• https://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2009/07/29/PedricksCorner/d986d1.jpg
• https://fuchsiafinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/600x800EdwardSpack-Glitters.jpg
• Salli Dahl’s book ‘Still Wildly Seeking Fuchsias’
• https://fuchsiafinder.com/fuchsia/glitters/
• https://www.ddfgg.de/fuchsien/fuchsienverzeichnis/fuchsienverzeichnis_ausgabe_name.php?num=5615&sprache=englisch
• https://vanschaik.nu/_data_sigrid/public/index_gb.php
• http://fuchsiavereniging.nl/component/jshopping/product/view/1/4742
• http://nzfuchsia.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/Glitters.jpg
• book A Second Colour Guide To Fuchsias (G. and A. Walker, United Kingdom)
• book Eileen Saunders : Wagtails book of fuchsias Volume 1 and 2
• book The Fuchsia Album Volume 3
• book 500 Fuchsia’s te Kijk (Miep Nijhuis, 1995, The Netherlands)
