On Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:05:55 +0100, Jim S wrote:

Hardy Fuchsia are only hardy if planted in the ground, (the root ball
is then insulated) so even a hardy fuchsia, and these are not,would be
at risk in a basket.

Sorry. Not true. I have had hardy fuchsias both in the ground and in
hanging baskets for years. Sometimes I take the hanging baskets down as
they look unsightly, sometimes I forget. I have not last any for as long as
I remember. I am on Tyneside.

The definition of a hardy Fuchsia, is one that has survived somewhere
in the UK for 5 years when planted in the ground.
Those of us in the Fuchsia Society knows that many 'tender ones ' will
survive in the ground through a mild winter, ie those of the last six
years
To guarantee a hardie surving in the UK, through a harsh winter, ie
2010, the root ball must be well insulated, four inches minimum of
earth around it. So that one planted outside in the ground, should
survive, one in a pot may not.
Of course you can be lucky, but the poster wanted to know the 'best
way'


Derek, Lincoln and District, Fuchsia Society