Hardy fuchsias to grow

While many are sensitive to cold weather, there are lots of hardy species and varieties that can be grown outdoors all year as garden shrubs. While in flower, they'll be visited by bees seeking nectar and are a good food plant for elephant hawk moth caterpillars.

Their bright flowers make fuchsias quite striking plants, so planting them next to clashing colours can appear a bit brash in the border. Avoid this effect by surrounding them with similarly toned cosmos or astrantias, plus foliage plants like hostas and ferns to soften the overall effect.

When planting fuchsias, opt for a spot in dappled or partial shade with little direct afternoon sun. They aren't fussy about the soil they're growing in, but it does need to be well-drained.

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Discover some of the best hardy fuchsias to grow in the garden.

Fuchsias aren't fussy about the soil they're growing in, but it does need to be well-drained

Fuchsia 'Alice Hoffman'

Fuchsia 'Alice Hoffman' is a small, bushy variety with standout white and pink blooms, set against bronze-green foliage. A particularly showy variety, it suits being grown alone in a large pot or container.

Fuchsia 'Beacon'

This upright variety has bright pink sepals and cosmic purple petals. 'Beacon' looks beautiful planted alongside purple-leafed heucheras and pink-flowered astrantias that help to complement the colourful blooms.

Fuchsia 'Lady Boothby'

As a climbing fuchsia, 'Lady Boothby' can be trained to cover walls, obelisks and fences to create dramatic pillars of colour. This variety has fresh green foliage and deep pink and purple blooms.

Fuchsia 'Rose of Castile'

'Rose of Castile' is a vigorous, free-flowering cultivar with rosy, off-white sepals and purple-pink petals. Upright in habit, it's a good choice for training as a standard or against a wall.

Fuchsia 'Brutus'

This old variety was bred in 1897 by French horticulturist Victor Lemoine. 'Brutus' has since garnered a reputation as a reliable, vigorous and particularly free-flowering variety, with intense purple and pink blooms.

Fuchsia 'Mrs Popple'

Fuchsia 'Mrs Popple' is a popular variety bearing masses of blooms from early summer and into autumn. Given its bushy, upright growth habit it's a good option if you're looking to create a flowering hedge.

Fuchsia magellanica

With pink, tapering sepals and rich purple petals, Fuchsia magellanica and its cultivars are decidedly elegant. They can reach a height of 150cm, or more in warmer climates, which is relatively large compared with most other fuchsias you might come across.

Avoid transplanting fucshias

Hardy fuchsias don't respond well to transplanting, so be sure to plant them in a spot they're unlikely to outgrow or need moving from.