Michelle,
I hope someone in the colder zones replies that has successfully overwintered the magellanica. I have considered getting one for two yeasrs now but the nursery that I would get it from here in the Amherst area says it is only hardy to zone 7 so I continue to grow the gartenmeister bonstedy variety. BTW, you don't need anything special to overwinter these indoors. I have mine in the kitchen in front of the patio doors and I take cuttings over the winter to increase my stock for spring. I don't have any special lights, greenhouse etc and they do just fine inside. They do drop a few leaves when I first bring them in until they get acclimated and then they just keep growing. Some people cut them all the way back and put them in a plastic bag in the basement for the winter and let them go dormant.

Penny

Thanks Penny for taking the time to respond to this post. I have always appreciated your wisdom on these message boards. I'd love to try to get it to survive over the winter indoors if I could. Unfortunately I have a cat that is very lovable but so dumb he eats even silk flowers! I hate the thought of losing this plant- it still has flowers on it even now! I had visions of a five foot tall hummingbird magnet in a few years :) How do they grow them as hedges in Sweden?! I guess I will just try to mulch it really well and hope it does well.
Penny, were you speaking of the gartenmeister bonstedy variety that you bring indoors or can they overwinter outside? Are there any fuchsias that can survive our winters?

Michelle
Sometimes I type too fast and my fingers end up on the wrong keys, Yes I was referring to the gartenmeister bonstedt fuchsia. They are not cold hardy enough for this area. The plant tags usually say that they are hardy to 50 degrees but mine have been out until we hit the 32 degree mark and then I bring them in or put them on the porch. Eventually they do have to come inside. I have one hanging up now inside and I cut two of the other pots all the way back. The one that is hanging will be used for cutting over the winter.

The hardiest fuchsia that I am aware of is the magellanica, I did bring this up with our hummingbird gardeners b/c I know a couple of our northeastern gardeners have at least tried it. Basically this is what I was told. If it is in the ground, make sure it is in moist but well draining soil and planted in a protected area with several inches of mulch for the winter. Don't cut it back until spring and don't be too quick to think it is dead. They will sometimes resprout from beneath the soil. In colder zones they may act more like a die back perennial. Here is a link to the full thread:
Fuchsia magellanica info

I hope that helps a little more.

Penny

Thank you again Penny. That's given me a bit more hope for this spring. I'm off to the garden to bed it down for the winter. I'll let you know if I'm lucky enough to get it to come back next year. Thanks once more.

You are welcome Michelle,
Let me know how it works out next spring.

Penny

I grow a hardy fuschia in zone 5. This is my third year, but I've moved it 2 years in a row, so it is not very big yet. It's in a very exposed windy spot. I just leave it in the ground, mulch normally and cross my fingers. I don't know exactly what kind it is, I got it mail order from one of those cheapie nurseries and was suprised that it made it, but it did!

GG
Your fuchsia flowers look more like my gartenmeister bonstedt than the Fuchsia magellanica. I would love to be able to overwinter gartenmeister in the ground. If I get enough cuttings this year like I did last year, I may just try one in the ground. If you ever figure out what kind it is or where you got it please let me know.

Penny

It might be bonstedt. I can bring cuttings to next year's plant swap if you want. Let me know.

Hopefully I will be able to get quite a few cuttings rooted from my plant that I brought inside but you may still want to bring cuttings for others that want to try it. One thing I learned this year is that it takes 10 weeis from the time a cutting roots until it blooms..

Penny