MikeCT wrote:
Hi,

Last year I planted fuchsias in three hanging baskets. Instead of throwing
the plants on my compost heap at the end of the year, I re-planted them in
an out of the way part of the garden without any hope that they would
survive the winter. Today whilst weeding, I was very surprised to see that
they have survived and have all started healthy new growth from the ground.
I know that this is the case with everlasting fuchsias, but surely not the
more tender varieties. The ground has been frost hard for quite a time
during the winter. Perhaps I should have retained all the other fuchsias I
threw away in autumns passed.

MCT



Hi Mike,

I've noticed the same thing.
I grow a lot of different fuchsias every year and plant them out in
May/June.
In the autumn I take cuttings to over-winter and just leave the plants
in the ground over Winter.
I've been surprised like you and find that over half survive and grow
back from the base, even after this relatively hard Winter.

Fuchsias are generally labeled as hardy or non-hardy but I believe it's
a sliding scale from the bog-standard hardies to the one's that just
won't take frost.

However - I find the 'tender' ones that do grow back take a while to get
into flower (like late summer) and never really look a good as a plant
grown indoors and planted out after the frosts so I still take cuttings
to grow on in the house and have flowering plants by early Summer'

Cheers,

Jeff
NE England