OT:Hardy Fuschia question

15 years ago

Does anyone live in zone 7 a-b that grow Fushia that are hardy ? I would love to hear from you if you do. I've been wanting to buy some, but would love to hear from someone that actually grows them, and they are hardy for them. Hate to waste my time and money if they won't come back :)

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Comments (16)

karyn1
15 years ago
You shouldn't have any problem with Fuchsia magellanica. There's also Cape Fuchsia that is hardy. It's not a true fuchsia but is very similar looking and very pretty.
givelittle_getlots
15 years ago
Edna I got the Magellanica just in. but is a baby plant. Don't buy it...it will be on it's way on Monday along with everybody elses things. don't have the other one. Do have Black Prince but that one is only hardy for Zone 8-10

I do not know why I did not look for HARDY ones lol. Now it is the same as with the brugs. Haul them in in the winter lol

Lucy
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No need to apologize. Things can be confusing when merchants supply information that isn't accurate. Fuchsias are shrubby and they live from year to year. However, plant merchants sometimes refer to fast-growing plants that bloom on new wood as "annuals" because people in climates too cold to overwinter them can treat them as such. They freeze to death and that's the end of that. I would also suspect that your Fuchsia is probably relatively short, to be used in annual bedding. Now, this is confusing too: Fuchsias are naturally upright, but some have been bred to have weak stems so that they cascade out of a basket. The type that would work best for a basket would be referred to as a "trailing" Fuchsia. Yours might work fine but don't be surprised if it doesn't cascade down the sides of the basket. Palo Alto is very mild and with irrigation your "annual" Fuchsia will live from year to year indefinitely. Now, as for what to do with it; what little frost you ever have, you probably don't even get every year, and when you do get it, it's probably not enough to kill a Fuchsia even exposed in a hanging basket. If you are in a hard frost area (for example, in a cold air drainage pocket, or at some elevation), you could still overwinter it by just planting it in the ground and mulching it a bit. Don't be surprised if it looks a little tired in the winter. It is fine, and will perk up quickly in mild weather. Fuchsias respond quickly to fertilizer, being especially fond of liquid types, and will usually reward you with a flush of growth and blooms. They bloom on new wood. You can clip to train them. If they get senescent (the wood starts looking like it is dying of old age), you can start them from cuttings and start over again. Fuchsias are extremely easy to root from cuttings--as easy as old-fashioned Coleus were. Fuchsias like mild weather. Not too hot, not too cold. They like bright open shade. They can stand a few hours of sun as long as it's not too hot (morning sun better than afternoon in that regard). Dry heat is very hard on them--possibly fatal. In dry weather you will probably have to irrigate your basket daily. If you like Fuchsias, keep your eyes open for Fuchsias that your friends have that you like--they can probably be talked into a cutting. Also consider contacting a local Fuchsia society--they will have hundreds of varieties, probably with bigger flowers, in more variety of colors, than Lowes. Mine are all uprights that I plant in the ground. Easier to take care of than in a hanging basket, which in my climate, that is colder than yours, I would have to protect for the winter, not to mention water it daily in the summer. I grow them along the north side of a fence, open to the sky but shaded from direct sun. They sit on a bank, and so their flowers are close to eye level. It is a very popular feature for my neighbors to look at. Some of mine are wild species--not hybrids. They have some variety of form--for instance one of them in habitat would clamber up a tree almost like a climber. Another one has dainy fern-like foliage and tiny but brilliantly colored flowers, and one has berries that are considered tolerably palatable (usually Fuchsia berries are bland). Another one gets big as Fuchsias go--it can hit about 7 feet tall (and perhaps even wider) or so before its weak wood bends under its own weight. You can grow some I can't--like the beautiful Triphylla types, such as the popular "Gartenmeister Bonstedt". Much too tender for me.
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vaskirt
Original Author
15 years ago
Lucy that is such a sweet offer, but do not send me your baby !! You keep it. Now that I know what to look for I can find one. I hated to get one that was 'iffy' in my zone. I've seen pics of Black Prince, and it's a beauty ! There are sooooo many varieties, that I didn't know where to start !
givelittle_getlots
15 years ago
Edna I was wrecking my brain what I can get you just for saying thank you. got so many things growing in the yard from you.

then you post this thread about my newest addiction lol

It is MEANT TO BE!!! I got 2 of those and even if I only had one. I believe it had your name on it right from the get go!

YES there are THOUSANDS and I still have not looked at all of them lol

So my dear friend....If you need to get more...go for it...but THAT one you will get from me next week :-) By then it has gotten over the 1st shipping shock lol

Hugs
Lucy
karyn1
15 years ago
Edna accept Lucy's offer. She was asking me what you would like. God knows I have a heck of a time figuring out what to send you. You're more difficult then me!
vaskirt
Original Author
15 years ago
Lucy, Since you put it that way, I accept your wonderful offer. I just hated to take your baby. I would love to have it. I have wanted a hardy Fuschia forever, so you made my day !!

You are such a sweetie ! I'm going to rename you........ ' Queen of the GardenWeb ' !! LOL

Karyn ! No one has more plants than you !! Maybe another state does , but not one person... LOL
luvmy3afhounds
15 years ago
You guys are very entertaining! Sure glad you got that settled! I think when Karyn speaks you had better do what she says! LOL!!!
Lucy, how are your fuschia babies doing for you? I hope they grow well for you and we will get to see many beautiful pictures!
Joyce
givelittle_getlots
14 years ago
Edna lol about Karyn having the most in her state lol

Well thank you. Karyn said it...I was looking for something BEFORE you mentioned this :-) I sunk all the clay pots they are in, into the ground today. Keeps the roots cool. Hopefully. I will just have to mist them a lot during the summer. That is ok. I think they are worth it! And I get even more Vitamin D this year ha ha ha

Joyce I hope so also. If the ones I have now, do not make it...there are thousands more I could try rofl

Lucy
gottahosta
14 years ago
Hi, Edna!

Thanks for asking this question. I have been wondering myself about hardy fushias, but never got around to checking them out. And thanks for the names, everybody! That sure is a nice offer, Lucy! That fushia will have a wonderful home in Virginia with Edna!!

Lucy, where did you order your fushia from? Or do I dare go look? LOL!

Edna, how are the hellebores doing? Did I send you a pinellia? If not, I gotta get one to you!

Brenda
givelittle_getlots
14 years ago
Well Brenda...this is truly my lucky day hahaha Go ask Karyn!! ha ha ha Now I know what I can get YOU as a thank you also hahahahahaha So hold your horses ...I am working on it. Until then...I am keeping the seller a secret roflmao

I LOVE ENABLING lol

Lucy
gottahosta
14 years ago
Lol, Lucy, ya mean can't mean you're going to enable me!!

I sure do appreciate such a generous thank you, and of course, one good turn deserves another. I gotta put on my thinking cap and see what I can flabbergast you with!!

Guess I'll just have to do a fuschia search since Lucy ain't tellin!
dimples31312
14 years ago
I do not mean to sound stupid BUT I never knew any Fuchsia's were hardy.
The ONLY reason I'm admitting this is I what to know more. ;o)
I buy one every couple of years stick it in a pot somewhere and never try to over winter it.
The only ones I have seen in the stores always say Annual.
The one I have now is Shadow Dancer Marcia tag says annual.
Will have to do some more looking around. AS if my plant habit isn't bad enough!!!
YA'LL ARE SOOO BAD!!!
Another Addict,
Dorothy
givelittle_getlots
14 years ago
Dorothy don"t worry. Not a stupid question. I just read in the german fuchsia forum the same thing. That when you buy one at the chain stores like Aldi or hobby marts, they always say annuals. They go buy the normal gardener. You know...the ones that buy new stuff every year lol and don't overwinter them. If I am correct then you can overwinter all fuchsia's. I saw the one nursery had a ditch build into the ground and just piled one pot on top of the other...laying down. Then he covered them up with some sort of see through glass lid or what have you.

But then there are winterhardy ones. That you can actually plant in the ground and they will come back from soil level each year.

Hope that helped a little. That is what I learned so far. Not experienced it myself yet.

Love being bad lol

Lucy
fool4flowers
14 years ago
I saw on a garden show once that after the frost hits the ones in a pot you just trim them back and take the pot in the shed or something and bring them back out in the spring and start watering again but don't know for sure. Thats what one guy said he did.
givelittle_getlots
14 years ago
Christine from PedricksCorner at DG wrote me in a mail how to take care of em. I will ask if I can post it.

I know that the winter hardy ones HAVE to be in the ground and I found a great link yesterday.
http://www.nwfuchsiasociety.com/hardies/hardyfuchsias.htm

The next link is from the one nursery in germany on how they overwinter the ones that are not winter hardy

http://www.forumromanum.de/member/gallery/show-user_456110-90716-770043-erdgrube.html

Maybe that helps a little to get ready for the WINTER for them lol

Lucy
karyn1
14 years ago
Dorothy the annual ones that are sold in garden centers in hanging baskets can also be wintered over but they need to go dormant in the winter. You keep them somewhere cool, water very little and take them out in the spring. They don't always grow back that well and it's easier to just buy a new one unless it's a variety that's hard to get. I winter over several tropical varieties like Gartenmeister and Bolivina. There's no such thing as a stupid question. Even master gardeners don't know about all plants.

OT:Hardy Fuschia question

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karyn1

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OT:Hardy Fuschia question

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