Hardy fuchsia

Hardy fuchsia: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Loose, upright shrub of 1–2 m with thin, slightly arching twigs; lower after a hard winter.

Leaf

Opposite or in whorls of three, 2–5 cm, oval to lanceolate, finely toothed, often with red veins and a red leaf stalk.

Bark

Thin, reddish-brown twigs; older stems with peeling bark.

Flower

Hanging flowers (3–5 cm) with a red tube and four red sepals around purple petals, from which the long stamens and style hang down; from July until the first frost.

Fruit

Elongated, purplish-black berries (1–2 cm); edible.

Difference from indoor fuchsias

The fuchsia hybrids for pots and tubs have larger, often double flowers in all sorts of colours and are not hardy.

Flowering: July–October · Pruning: April

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Indoor fuchsias (Fuchsia hybrids): larger, often double flowers in all sorts of colours; not hardy.

Why grow it?

• Months of flowers, from July until the first frost.
• Also flowers in partial shade, when many other shrubs have finished.
• Bumblebees visit the flowers.
• If it dies back in winter, it shoots again in spring.

Hardy fuchsia: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade, ideally with some shade during the hottest hours.
• Humus-rich, free-draining soil that does not dry out in summer or stay wet in winter.
• A sheltered spot, out of the cold east wind, helps the branches through the winter.
• Allow 1–1.5 m width; on the coast it can grow taller and wider.

Light

Sun or partial shade

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

1.5 m tall, 1.5 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Hydrangea: Another late-summer flowerer for partial shade; the fuchsia fills in between the large flower heads.
• Escallonia: Also from South America and tolerant of sea wind: together a flowering hedge on the coast.
• Ferns: Fine green foliage at its foot in partial shade, on the same moist soil.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Suits the woodland edge or the light shade of: ginkgo, box elder, ash, honey locust, field maple, silver maple

Hardy fuchsia: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in May, after the last night frost: it then has all summer to root in before its first winter.
2. Plant it 5–10 cm deeper than it was in the pot: the base is then better protected against frost.
3. Mix compost into the planting soil and firm it well.
4. Water regularly during the first summer.

Care

Watering

In dry spells in summer, especially in the first year.

Feeding

Some compost or a fertiliser for flowering plants in spring.

Winter blanket

In November, spread a layer of leaves, straw or compost around the base.

Hedge

On the coast you can grow it as an informal flowering hedge; trim it lightly in April.

Tip: ‘Riccartonii’ is regarded as one of the toughest forms and is widely planted as a hedge. Fuchsia magellanica var. molinae has pale pink, almost white flowers.

Hardy fuchsia: when to prune it?

Pruning months: April.

When: In April, once the hard frosts are over.

How:

• Cut frost-damaged or dead shoots back to healthy wood or to just above the ground: it sprouts again from the base and flowers on new shoots.
• If the branches have stayed healthy after a mild winter, cut last year’s shoots back to a few healthy buds and saw the oldest stems off at the base.
• Not sure whether a branch is still alive? Scratch the bark lightly: green underneath means living wood.

Caution: Leave the old shoots on over winter to protect the base, and cover the base with a few leaves.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In May–August, take tip cuttings of 5–10 cm from non-flowering shoots; they root within a few weeks in moist cutting compost. Keep young plants frost-free during their first winter.

Layering

In summer, bend a low shoot to the ground and cover it with soil; it roots quickly.

Hardy fuchsia: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• In light frost the branches survive. In severe frost, from about −10 °C, they die back to the ground, but the base survives, especially under a thick layer of leaves or straw.
• Leave the dead shoots on until April. In a pot it is much less hardy: keep it sheltered or frost-free.

Diseases and pests

• Frost-killed branches: Normal after a hard winter: cut them away in April. Be patient: sometimes the new shoots only appear in May or June.
• Aphids: Aphids on the shoot tips; hose them off or let natural predators do their work.
• Fuchsia rust: Orange spore pustules on the underside of the leaves, which then turn yellow. Pick off affected leaves and clear up fallen ones.
• Few flowers: Too much shade or too dry. Give it more light, and water in summer.

Through the year

• April: Prune: frost-damaged shoots back to healthy wood or to just above the ground.
• May: New shoots appear; plant after the last night frost; take cuttings.
• June: Water in dry spells.
• July: Flowering begins.
• August: Full flower; bumblebees on the flowers.
• September: Flowering continues; first ripe berries.
• October: Last flowers until the first frost.
• November: Leave the old shoots on; spread leaves or straw around the base.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Flowers for months in late summer and autumn, even in partial shade; on the coast also as a hedge.

For wildlife

Bumblebees visit the flowers.

Did you know?

• In Ireland and Scotland it has gone so wild on the coast that whole roads are lined with fuchsia hedges.
• The genus is named after Leonhart Fuchs, a 16th-century German botanist; the colour fuchsia was in turn named after the flower.
• In its homeland the flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds; here bumblebees do the job.