How-to Guide
How to Grow Fuchsia
The short answer
First sort out which fuchsia you have, because the RHS warns that tender and hardy fuchsias look very similar — check the label. Tender trailing varieties are the classic hanging-basket plants: they flower non-stop with daily watering and feeding, but any frost kills them, so they must overwinter somewhere frost-free.
Hardy fuchsias are genuinely shrubby garden plants in milder climates: plant them with the base about 5cm (2in) deeper than the soil level to protect the crown, leave the old stems standing over winter, and cut back to live buds — or to the ground in cold areas — in spring. For tender types, bring plants into a frost-free bright spot around 5–10°C (41–50°F) before the first frost, trimming the season's growth back to a short framework of stems.
Fuchsias in hanging baskets
Trailing tender fuchsias are made for baskets — their stems tumble over the edge and carry the big, showy, often double blooms all summer. Plant after the last frost in good potting compost.
Baskets dry fast: fuchsias in containers and hanging baskets need more watering than in-ground plants — daily in summer — plus regular feeding (a compost with added fertilizer or slow-release pellets covers the base, topped up with liquid feed in high summer).
Pinch out the shoot tips of young plants to build a full, branched basket: removing the top set of leaves encourages side-shoots, and each pinch multiplies the eventual flower count — though pinching delays the start of flowering, so stop pinching several weeks before you want bloom.
Hardy fuchsia: the UK-garden workhorse
Hardy fuchsias (forms of Fuchsia magellanica and hardy hybrids like 'Riccartonii' and 'Mrs Popple') grow as permanent flowering shrubs and hedges in mild-winter climates — they are a staple of UK and Pacific-coast gardens.
Plant in spring or summer so they establish before cold weather, and set the base about 5cm (2in) deeper than the surrounding soil, covering the lower stems — the buried crown survives winters that kill the top growth. Mulch annually with organic matter to protect the crown.
Leave the stems on over winter (they give the crown some protection), then in spring cut dead growth back to live shoots or healthy buds; in colder regions frost kills all stems to ground level, so cut the lot down and let the plant regrow from the base — it will.
Overwintering tender fuchsias
Before the first frost, move tender fuchsias into a frost-free place — a cool greenhouse, conservatory, or bright windowsill at roughly 5–10°C (41–50°F). Any freeze kills them outright.
Trim the year's growth back to a framework of stems about 7.5–15cm (3–6in) high, water only sparingly through winter, and restart watering and feeding as growth resumes in spring. Harden plants off before they go back out after the last frost.
No frost-free space? Take cuttings in late summer and overwinter those on a windowsill instead — or simply treat basket fuchsias as annuals and replace them each year.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- RHS — How to grow tender fuchsias (Growing Guide) — Trailing tender fuchsias are ideal for hanging baskets and need daily watering in containers plus feeding; pinching out tips increases potential blooms but delays flowering; overwinter in a frost-free place (heated greenhouse, windowsill, or conservatory) at about 5–10°C (41–50°F), trimming growth back to a framework of stems about 7.5–15cm (3–6in) high; tender and hardy fuchsias look very similar so check the label.
- RHS — How to grow hardy fuchsias (Growing Guide) — Plant hardy fuchsias with the base 5cm (2in) deeper than soil level to protect the crown; in colder regions cold kills stems to ground level but plants regrow, so cut last year's growth down in spring, removing dead growth back to live shoots or buds; mulch annually with organic matter.