Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
Contributions From GAIL BARBER
Gail Barber is the Secretary of the Sutton Coldfield Fuchsia & Gardening Guild with experience of more than 50 years in the garden. Gail even has a cultivar of Fuchsia named after her.
Terry is a member of the West Yorkshire Fuchsia & Pot Plant Society and has been growing fuchsias for a few years. He developed his passion for these plants over lockdown and in 2022, entered 5 of the 7 national fuchsia flower shows - including a 2nd place finish at the BFS National Championships.
IN THIS GUIDE
- Expert Chosen Varieties
- 1) F. ‘Adinda’
- 2) F. ‘Alice Hoffman’
- 3) F. ‘Annabel’
- 4) F. ‘Dark Eyes’
- 5) F. ‘Display’
- 6) F. ‘Dollar Princess’
- 7) Fuchsia ‘Harry Gray’
- 8) F. ‘Howlett’s Hardy’
- 9) F. ‘John Ridding’
- 10) F. ‘La Campanella’
- 11) F. ‘Lady Thumb’
- 12) F. ‘Mrs Popple’
- 13) F. ‘Pink Galore’
- 14) F. ‘Put’s Folly’
- 15) F. ‘Riccartonii’
- 16) F. ‘Snowcap’
- 17) F. ‘Tom West’
- 18) F. ‘Tricolor’
- 19) F. ‘Whiteknights Pearl’
- 20) F. ‘Winston Churchill’
Fuchsias are attractive flowering shrubs that can find a place in many gardens, whether that’s in the ground or growing in pots or hanging baskets.
If you are looking for a hardy fuchsia or perhaps seeking a more tender type, there are plenty of fuchsia varieties to choose from.
When choosing a fuchsia, one of the first things to think about is the hardiness of the option you are considering and where the plant will grow.
Some fuchsias are hardy enough to remain outside in a UK garden year-round, while many others most certainly are not.
“Fuchsia magellanica and its varieties and cultivars are the hardiest Fuchsia for the UK,” shares Colin Skelly, a Horticultural Consultant.
“In the milder, coastal and urban areas of the UK, they can be grown as hedges and will stand all year round. In colder regions, the stems will be killed back to the ground in winter but will regrow from all but the coldest winter weather (-10°C).”
However, you will also probably want to consider other things, such as aesthetics and the colour of the blooms.
Expert Chosen Varieties
We asked two of the most knowledgeable fuchsia growers in the country, Gail Barber and Terry Sykes, to share their favourite varieties with us.
“There are several species of fuchsia that are well worth looking at, including a species called Fuchsia encliandra that has very small leaves and flowers,” shares Gail.
“These plants are just as easy to grow as other fuchsias but are also perfect to train around wire shapes or even grow as bonsai.
“The tiny flowers, which are often less than 1cm in size, are completely captivating.”
Some of Terry’s favourite favourites include:
- ‘Hawkshead’
- ‘Little Beauty’
- ‘Anne Reid’
- ‘Lyndon’
- ‘Brookwood Belle’
- ‘Lillian Anetts’
- ‘Cloe Christine’
- ‘Cherry Pop’
Clearly, there are a number of wonderful options, but here is a list of some of the most highly regarded ones to help you narrow down your options and select the right fuchsia for you.
All of the options below have received the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
1) F. ‘Adinda’
- HARDINESS RATING: H1C
- FLOWERS: pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.5-1m spread
This is a semi-evergreen shrub with triphylla-type blooms and a corolla of a rosey hue that blooms in summer and autumn.
This is a tender type of fuchsia which can be grown outside in summer and can be good for container cultivation.
2) F. ‘Alice Hoffman’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: pink and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
A hardy, deciduous fuchsia with gently arching stems that carry an abundance of pink and white semi-double flowers throughout the summer and into autumn, this cultivar also has bronze-tinted leaves which add further interest.
It grows around 60cm tall and wide, working well in a border or in pots.
3) F. ‘Annabel’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: white and pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
This attractive hardy fuchsia has double blooms with white tubes and sepals that are tinged with pink and white petals which are pink towards the base.
The shrub is deciduous and has an upright form, light green foliage and an H4 hardiness rating.
It will tend to grow to less than 50cm in height and spread.
4) F. ‘Dark Eyes’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: purple and red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
A bushy little shrub standing less than 50cm tall and wide, ‘Dark Eyes’ is another attractive fuchsia to consider.
It has single flowers with deep purple petals and deep red sepals and tubes, which are set off to great effect against the dark green foliage.
5) F. ‘Display’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
This fuchsia is also a deciduous and hardy option to consider.
It has slightly recurved deep pinkish-red sepals, a deep pinkish-red tube and paler pink petals.
These pretty blooms look great throughout the summer and into early autumn.
6) F. ‘Dollar Princess’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: pink and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
This is another fuchsia with particularly attractive and vibrant blooms.
The flowers on this cultivar are double, with a short tube and broad, recurving sepals.
The sepals and tube are a bright crimson red and the petals are purple with red veins towards their bases.
7) Fuchsia ‘Harry Gray’
- HARDINESS RATING: H2
- FLOWERS: pink and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Relaxed and laid-back, this fuchsia, with its double white flowers that have just a hint of pink veining and trailing red stems, is the height of serenity.
It grows to around 60cm in height.
However, this option can withstand cold temperatures but not frosts as it only has a hardiness rating of H2.
8) F. ‘Howlett’s Hardy’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: pink and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
This semi-evergreen fuchsia has flowers with red-pink sepals and a deep purple corolla.
The pendant flowers have a conspicuous tubular calyx. This is one of the hardier fuchsias, with a hardiness rating of H4.
9) F. ‘John Ridding’
- HARDINESS RATING: H1C
- FLOWERS: orange and red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.5-1m spread
Also known as ‘Firecracker’, this fuchsia is also semi-evergreen.
It has orangey-red triphylla flowers with tubular calyx, which are paler towards the tips.
The foliage is also noteworthy, producing greyish-green leaves with creamy edge variegation and purple flushing and veins.
This fuchsia can be grown outside in summer only, with a hardiness rating of H1C.
10) F. ‘La Campanella’
- HARDINESS RATING: H2
- FLOWERS: pink, white and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
This little fuchsia grows only around 40cm tall.
It has a lax habit and boasts attractive flowers.
The sepals are white and tinged with pink, the short tube is white and the petals are purple, lightening over time to a lighter violet hue.
Note that this is a more tender fuchsia with a hardiness rating of H2.
11) F. ‘Lady Thumb’
- HARDINESS RATING: H3
- FLOWERS: pink and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
This compact deciduous fuchsia has semi-double flowers.
The sepals and tubes of these blooms are vibrant pink and the petals are white with delicate pink veining.
These flowers are borne prolifically in summer and into autumn.
12) F. ‘Mrs Popple’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: red and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.5-1m spread
A popular fuchsia cultivar which can grow up to 1m in height and spread, this option has deep green leaves and single flowers that have bright red sepals and tubes and petals with a purple-violet hue.
This is a hardy fuchsia with a hardiness rating of H4.
13) F. ‘Pink Galore’
- HARDINESS RATING: H2
- FLOWERS: pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Semi-evergreen and trailing in form, this fuchsia shrub has pendulous candy-pink flowers with a conspicuous tubular calyx.
The pink sepals are slightly green towards the tips.
This is a somewhat more tender fuchsia with a hardiness rating of H2.
14) F. ‘Put’s Folly’
- HARDINESS RATING: H2
- FLOWERS: pink and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.5-1m spread
This deciduous fuchsia has a trailing or cascading form.
The leaves are fairly light green and against these, the single flowers stand out pleasingly.
The sepals are white to pale pink and the corollas are a deeper purplish pink.
These blooms appear prolifically and remain in flower from summer well into the autumn months.
15) F. ‘Riccartonii’
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERS: red and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 2-4m in height, 1.5-2.5m spread
This medium-sized deciduous shrub fuchsia can grow between 1.5-2.5m in height and 1-1.5m in spread.
It has small oval-shaped leaves and flowers with vivid crimson sepals and tubes and purple-violet petals.
This is one of the hardiest fuchsias on this list, with a hardiness rating of H6.
16) F. ‘Snowcap’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: red and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Growing perhaps as much as 1m tall and 0.5m wide, this upright deciduous shrub has quite deep green foliage.
The flowers, borne in summer and into autumn, are semi-double.
The sepals and tube are scarlet red and the petals are white, with red veining at their bases.
17) F. ‘Tom West’
- HARDINESS RATING: H2
- FLOWERS: purple and red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.1-0.5m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
This fuchsia grows around 50cm tall and wide.
It has an upright but lax growth habit and is prized not only for its flowers but for its foliage too.
The flowers are single, in shades of red and purple.
The leaves are green with cream edges that are sometimes tinged with pink.
18) F. ‘Tricolor’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.5-1m spread
Growing up to around 1.5m tall and wide, this fuchsia has small grey-green leaves that are fringed with cream and flushed with pink when young.
The slender flowers have red sepals and tubes and purple petals.
This fuchsia is a hardy one, with a hardiness rating of H4.
19) F. ‘Whiteknights Pearl’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: pink and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 1-1.5m in height, 1-1.5m spread
Around the same size as the option listed above, this fuchsia has a bushy, upright form.
The foliage is fairly dark and neat, and the flowers are delicate, with slender white tubes, sepals with a pale pink hue and slightly deeper pink petals.
20) F. ‘Winston Churchill’
- HARDINESS RATING: H2
- FLOWERS: purple and pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): summer / autumn
- SIZE: 0.5-1m in height, 0.1-0.5m spread
Growing to around 60cm tall, this deciduous fuchsia has double flowers.
The sepals, which are short and reflexed, are pink and the petals are a deep purple with some pink veining towards the base.
These are, of course, far from the only options that you might consider when looking for fuchsias to grow.
However, this list should give you a good place to start when looking for the right fuchsia for you.
