On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 02:42:45 GMT, lid (Rodger Whitlock)
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 20:17:22 +0000 (UTC), Franz Heymann wrote:

There are very, very few hardy fuchsias, so it would be safe to assume
that it is *not* hardy.

Actually there are a surprising number that *are* hardy to a
greater or lesser extent. Many, for example, will be killed back
to the ground in a normal winter but will then re-shoot from the
roots. I've kept a plant of 'Hidcote Beauty' on the go for years
in spite of its touchiness vis a vis winter cold.

If you have a fuchsia you'd like to grow outside, my advice is to
plant the thing out, and protect it with a thick mulch of dry
leaves or compost for the first two winters or so, then let it
take its chances. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Being a new-ish gardener and a bit of a fool I bought 8 hardy fuchsias for a tenner
last August. Planted them out (far too late) and sat back & waited. That late snow we
had had me cussing good and proper. Well, the headcount is better than I expected.
Four have definitely survived, two are maybes (or wishful thinking) and the two
Thalias were probably doomed from the start.
A good result all in all.

Liz