Hardy Fuchsia
Anne Jaeger
To my eye, hardy fuchsias are the costume jewelry of the garden. Glitzy, gem toned wonders that take a lickin’ and keep on tickin.’ They sparkle all summer if you just remember to water and fertilize.
I mean, what’s not to love about fuchsias? Except that some varieties just don’t live as long as we’d like. But hold on, there’s a big distinction between “hardy” fuchsias and the dainty hanging basket annual flowers that die at first frost. The biggest difference isn’t the flower, the leaf or the beauty the plant imbues in shade or sun. It’s just that hardy fuchsias survive our winters outside and the annuals won’t. So if you’re tired of buying fuchsias every year, worrying about when to bring the plant in, how to cut it back and revive it next year; buy a hardy fuchsia and forgo the rest. Plant it, forget it and watch it flower year after year.
Monnier’s Country Garden in Woodburn grows and sells hundreds of hardy fuchsias. Owner Ron Monnier can’t really pinpoint his fascination with the fuchsia. “We’ve got some 900 different varieties and it’s a challenge to find ones that will grow in the ground and come back next year” says Monnier. My great big sprawling red and violet colored hardy fuchsia is a magellanica (say: maw-gell-lawn-e-ca) variety, which Monnier calls “Grandma’s Fuchsia” because so many old timers grew it. Monnier classifies this kind of fuchsia as the kind “you can’t kill with a stick.” And based on my experience, I will testify to that under oath, if called upon to do so. The most popular is “Aunt Priscilla,” a “large two inch wide fluffy double flower” even more grand than the “Swing Time” fuchsia so many people love. So apparently we don’t have to sacrifice the need for big blousy flower just to get a fuchsia that will survive the winter. Say it with me now: Hallelujah!
When you plant a hardy fuchsia forget everything the experts told you about planting. Normally, gardeners take special care to settle the plant in the ground at the very same level it came in the pot. Do not cover the crown. Not so, here. Monnier tells people to plant’um deep, like tomatoes. For a gallon size fuchsia, he’ll tell you to sink almost half of the stem into the planting hole, so a full six inches of the plant will be covered. This, in itself, helps make your fuchsia winter hardy. Monnier adds fertilizer twice a year, in late February or early March and then again in June. He swears by a mix called “Perfection” (10-8-8) from Woodburn fertilizer (503-981-3521.) I add that only because I know gardeners always want the dirt on fertilizer!
Hardy or Not?
How do you know if your fuchsia is winter hardy or not anyway? Unfortunately, you can’t tell by looking. For this info, you’ll have to read the tag, ask the nursery or hope the dreaded East wind doesn’t sudden turn in your direction. Once you’ve got a hardy one under your belt, all it takes is a big blanket of mulch (mounding of 4” of garden mulch over the plant every winter) to keep your plants warm outside. So, while other gardeners are trying to baby the annual varieties over the winter inside their garage or basement and watering the semi dormant sticks protruding from the baskets with great hopes for the summer, your hardy fuchsia will be snug as a bug under its mulch rug.
