Skip to main content

Fuchsia adds a striking pop of color to any vertical garden: Your growing guide

Vertical gardens, whether they take the form of a living wall or a simple trellis, are beautiful ways to add visual interest to your garden while saving space. If you’re looking for another plant to add to your existing vertical garden or want to start one, then you might be interested in learning about fuchsia. This is a gorgeous plant that you’ll find as shrubs, trees, or trailing vines. It has stunning pink, purple, and white flowers, and you can easily propagate it. We have everything you need to know to add this wonderful plant to your garden here in this simply growing guide.

When to plant fuchsias

Fuchsias are sensitive to the cold, which can make planting them a bit tricky. Although you can plant them in the early to middle of spring, you shouldn’t plant fuchsias until all danger of frost has passed. This varies from region to region, but in general, late spring to early summer is the best time to plant fuchsias. April and May are two of the most popular months for planting fuchsias, but it’s important to find out your local area’s last frost date before you plan your planting.

You can plant fuchsias later in the year as well, but this requires special consideration. Planting them during the middle to late summer requires extra water, as young plants need a lot of water and water evaporates more quickly during the heat of summer. Planting fuchsias later than summer isn’t generally recommended. Temperatures that are consistently below 40 degrees Fahrenheit can kill adult fuchsias, and young fuchsias are more vulnerable to the cold.

A person holding a small fuchsia plant in a pot

How to plant fuchsias

Fuchsias can start from seeds, cuttings, or seedlings. You can find seeds easily online or in garden supply stores, and seedlings, also called starter plants or nursery starts, are a common sight in many nurseries. Cuttings can come from an adult plant if you have access to one. If the plant isn’t yours, make sure you ask first!

Many gardeners choose to start with a nursery fuchsia, as it’s the quickest and easiest method. Fuchsia seeds germinate slowly, so they require patience and care. Since they take a few months to germinate, seeds are best to start indoors during winter. Cuttings are much faster than seeds, but they require more attention than a nursery start.

Choosing the right location for your fuchsia saves you heartache down the road. Look for a location with average, well-draining soil. It should also receive partial or filtered light. Fuchsias are not fond of direct, bright light, so an area under a tree or in the shadow of a building is a good choice.

Close-up of a fuchsia plant with red and purple flowers

Caring for fuchsias

Fuchsia care is simple once you know what the plant likes. The most important thing is to keep the soil moist, but not soggy. The ground around this plant should be slightly damp to the touch, but not muddy, and if you scoop some up in your hand, it shouldn’t drip. Fuchsias need consistent moisture, but overwatering can cause problems.

Pruning is also helpful for fuchsias. It keeps them the size and shape you want, and it encourages new growth. Fuchsias produce flowers on new growth, so pruning helps keep them flowering. Prune fuchsias in early spring, before they come out of dormancy and begin to grow. Start at the base of the plant and move toward the upper and outer edges. Look for dead, damaged, or diseased branches, as well as branches that touch or cross.

To grow them on a trellis, position your plant next to the trellis and gently weave the ends of the branches into it. Keep an eye on the fuchsia as it grows, tucking any new branches or loose ends into the trellis. Plants grown on trellises often need water more frequently, as the ground receives less protective shade from the plant.

A fuchsia plant with pink and white flowers in a pot on a patio

What type of fuchsia is right for you?

There are many varieties of fuchsia, with different flower colors and shapes and various mature sizes. However, they all fall into two categories: upright and trailing. Upright fuchsias are bushes, shrubs, or even trees. They are typically larger than trailing varieties, but they come in a range of sizes. Trailing varieties are vine-like plants. They are smaller and usually have fewer branches.

Both categories contain many varieties, and there are some circumstances where either kind of fuchsia works. However, there are some situations in which one is a better fit than the other. If you want fuchsias for a trellis, vertical garden, or hanging pot, then the trailing variety is the better choice.

Trailing fuchsias are also better suited for containers, but small upright varieties can also grow in pots. Upright fuchsias work well for free-standing gardens, and their taller stature makes them a good choice for areas where shorter plants are hidden from view.

Whether you choose a tall, upright variety of fuchsia or a sleek, trailing variety, the gorgeous flowers this plant offers will brighten any home or garden. As an added bonus, the flowers and berries of fuchsia are edible. Although not everyone is fond of the flavor, and the taste varies by variety, some people find the berries and flowers to be a tasty treat. Whether you enjoy its appearance or flavor, fuchsia is a wonderful plant that anyone can grow.

Editors' Recommendations

Cayla Leonard
Cayla Leonard is a writer from North Carolina who is passionate about plants.  She enjoys reading and writing fiction and…
Loofah plants are unique and interesting vegetables – here’s how to add them to your garden
How to grow and care for your own loofah plants
A ripe loofah gourd on a vine

Summer vegetable gardens are often filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans, but there are other options for more adventurous gardeners. The loofah plant, sometimes also spelled luffa, is a prime example. Loofahs are tasty, useful, a great conversation starter, and even make wonderful gifts. Want to know more about growing this unusual vegetable? Here’s your simple guide to growing loofahs.
What are loofah plants?
When you hear the word loofah, your first thought is likely the sponges — and you’d be right! Loofahs are a member of the cucumber family native to South and Southeast Asia. When the vegetables are young, they’re edible and have a flavor similar to zucchini. If the vegetables are left to mature and dry, then they can be harvested and turned into sponges.

Loofahs are warm-weather vegetables, and they don't tolerate the cold. Additionally, they are annuals. If you want to keep growing them, you’ll need to plant more each spring.

Read more
Your guide to choosing a garden cart for all your yard projects
From material to weight capacity, consider these factors when you buy a garden cart
Green garden cart with basket on the side full of fruit

Gardening can become quite the workout as you pace back and forth to retrieve planting tools, toss away weeds, and unload soil. To make matters easier for yourself, invest in a garden cart. While you might need to set aside some money, your body will thank you for this initial investment, and you'll be able to take your go-to gardening supplies with you as you work. If you're in the market for a garden cart, here's our cheat sheet on what to look for.
Why should you use a garden cart?
Gardening is seldom as easy as plopping down a plant in your garden. It's a game of long-term maintenance that requires mulching, weeding, planting, and digging. While you'll get your cardio in, it can get very tiring very quickly. A garden cart is a tool that'll make your time in the garden so much easier and quicker when you need to get heavy items from point A to point B.

While a 4-inch flower pot might be no big deal to carry, a 50-pound bag of decorative landscape rocks is a different story. When you need to transport heavy tools and supplies — think shovels, soil, mulch, and pots — you'll be grateful to have a garden cart by your side.

Read more
Focus on color: The most vibrantly purple plants to add to your garden this season
Want more purple in your garden? Try these gorgeous plants and flowers
A field of lavender flowers

Purple is a popular color when it comes to flowers, and it's easy to see why. With lighter shades that can relax and soothe you, darker shades that add depth, and bright purples that are exciting and cheery, there is a purple flower for any garden. For flower bed layering, purple blooms also provide your garden with bold, yet not-too-overwhelming pops. To find the most beautiful purple plants out there and learn how to care for them, read about our top purple plant picks ahead.

Lavender
We couldn’t write a list of purple plants and not include lavender! Lavender is an incredibly hardy plant that's typically perennial in climate zones 5 through 9. Its delicate purple blooms and calming fragrance are highlights of its appeal, but they aren’t the only ones. Lavender is also an easy plant to take care of. It grows prolifically and is incredibly forgiving with occasional bouts of neglect. It appreciates full sun and well-draining soil for lush expansion across your garden bed. You only need to water it when its soil feels dry—there's not much need to fertilize it, as mixing in compost when you first plant it should be sufficient.

Read more