Hardy fuchsias: how to grow & best varieties

Hardy fuchsias produce their elegant flowers from mid-summer until the first frosts of autumn, which is an unparalleled length of service among shrubs, writes Geoff Stebbings

Perfectly combining bright colour, dainty flower form and ease of growth, hardy fuchsias are the answer to many gardeners’ prayers. In bloom from midsummer to the first frost of autumn, this is a length of service unrivalled by any other shrub save, perhaps, roses.

Because of their responsiveness to both light and hard pruning in spring, hardy fuchsias have a multitude of garden uses. In mild areas, most keep their framework of branches and can be used as short hedges or mixed with other summer-flowering shrubs including Hypericum ‘Hidcote’, Leycesteria, Buddleia and Caryopteris. Smaller varieties can be treated as herbaceous plants and cut back in spring, mixed with plants that flower later in summer such as Agastache, Solidago and Helenium alongside other late-summer daisies.

In general, the hardiest varieties of fuchsia are forms of, or hybrids with, Fuchsia magellanica, which is native to Tierra del Fuego, one of the coolest and windiest parts of South America. Unsurprisingly, the plant finds conditions just to its liking on the western coasts of the British Isles. Wind and salt spray hold no fear but extreme cold can be a problem. That said, if the woody stems are cut to the ground by cold in winter, new shoots appear in spring from the woody rootstock.

All these plants have small, slender flowers with a prominent ovary – that often turns into a sweet, purple, edible berry – a colourful flower tube, four spreading sepals, usually in the same colour, and four petals that are most often in a contrasting colour.

The best fuchsias for gardens

Fuchsia magellanica is the classic hardy fuchsia, with a deep red tube and sepals, and deep purple petals. The flowers produce abundant nectar and the red colouration and tubular form are typical of flowers pollinated by birds, especially hummingbirds. It has many natural varieties that vary subtly. Fuchsia magellanica var. gracilis could be thought of as a more delicate plant, with gently arching branches that display the hanging flowers perfectly. There are two cultivars that are more widely grown: ‘Thompsonii’ which tends to flower more abundantly and has shorter leaves and smaller flowers and variegated ‘Versicolor’. This plant is a gem, with leaves overlaid with grey and cream and suffused with red to create a smoky-pink blend that is beautiful, even before the flowers open. Unless grown as a hedge, it is best pruned hard in spring to produce a fresh fountain of new leaves. In shade it is grey in tone, developing pink tones.

‘Genii’ has very similar flowers but is grown more for its leaves than blooms. It has a lower, more spreading habit than some others and, like many gold-leaved plants, colour depends on light intensity. If planted in a little shade, leaves will be lime green, but in sun the leaves turn bright yellow and are sometimes stained red. The leaves are so bright the plant needs careful placing or it can become too dominant. It is best to prune it back to the ground in spring so it makes a low mound reaching 60cm high by summer’s end. ‘Dying Embers’ will grow to a similar size but has dark green leaves and richly coloured flowers in beetroot red and aubergine.

All is not lost if colours other than purple and red are desired. While these traditional fuchsia colours look beautiful in sun, they are too subdued to make much impact in shade. It is here that whites and pale pinks make a contribution. The pastel pink blooms of elegant, airy F. magellanica ‘Molinae’, dripping from its arching stems, are beautiful in shade.

For a slightly stronger pink, try ‘Whiteknights Pearl’. It makes an upright shrub reaching 1m high with showy but delicate flowers in sugary pink. It makes a lovely low hedge. ‘Greyrigg’ is similar but has definite signs of modern breeding, with slightly thicker corolla tubes and tailored flowers with deeper pink petals and green tips to the sepals.

‘Anna Sunshine’ goes one better, having large but slender, rather spidery flowers of rich pink with green sepal tips and very short, tailored petals. It was introduced four years ago, so its hardiness is unproven but it certainly has a unique look.

I have also been impressed by ‘Lady Bacon’, ever since I first saw it and exclaimed that it could not possibly be hardy with such vivid flowers. With upright, rather angular stems, tiny leaves, thin branches and jewel-like, almost exotic flowers in pink, white and lilac, do not let the innate grace of this plant belie the fact that it is very hardy.

There are many variations on a beautiful theme but look further afield and there are real surprises to be found in this diverse genus. Fuchsia microphylla ‘Lottie Hobby’ is one of a range of bushy fuchsias that are usually hardy and distinctive with tiny flowers in shades of pink, white and red.