I have also tried many times to grow 'hardy fuchsia' here in New York with no luck. I have never seen it growing anywhere in NY, and now believe it impossible to have a plant of quality survive here. Instead I grow phygelius capensis (Cape Fuchsia)which I have had in the ground for the past four years mainly to attract hummingbirds in the fall. Fast growing upright fuchsia can be trained as standards, put in the ground for the summer and lifted in the fall, potted and kept indoors for the winter.

Gerro, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had problems with hardy fuchsias. I just received a small plant of fuchsia magellanica from white flower farm. I plan to keep it in a pot for a year or two until it gets quite large. Then I'll plant it out. Maybe I'll have better luck planting out a fuchsia that's already a large bush. We'll see. By the way I was also tempted by the picture of phygelius in this years Thompson and Morgan catalog. I'll try it next year.

Suggest you go FAQs and click on Growing fuchsias (Hardy Types). There is some excellent advice on this page.
I have grown F.magellanica "riccartonii" and F.magellanica "Alba" successfully in a climate which is cold and wet during the winter.

Hi all,
I see you're zone 6 and 7. Yes grow them on until they are at least in a 5 inch diameter pot. Latest planting in the garden so that they stand a chance of surviving winter temps is middle of your summer.

When planting out into the garden, plant the fuchsias at least 3 inches deeper than it is in the pot. In Autumn (fall) give at least a 2 or 3 inches of mulch over your plant at soil level. Never cut the top growth down until the following year when you see new growth appearing through the ground - Kath:)

Kathy, There are no old stands of Fuchsia magellanica (or riccartonii) on the east coast of the USA, it does not survive here.

Thanks for the info Gerro - Kath:)

I wonder if anyone has read of a Allen Lacy's experience growing hardy fuchsias in coastal New Jersey in his book 'Farther Afield' . One year he planted several which he had obtained from the old Lamb's nurseries in Washington state. Two survived their first winter and grew lustily the following year This book was written in 1981. Has anyone heard anything further of his experiences in newspapers or magazines perhaps? It was his mention of hardy fuchsias twenty years ago that first intrigued me.