Fuchsia magellanica (Hardy Fuchsia)

Hardy Fuchsia is a plant that truly belongs on the Oregon coast. Fuchsia magellanica naturalizes so readily in our mild, moist climate that you'll find established plants in old homestead gardens all along the south coast, re-sprouting faithfully from the base every spring even after cold winters kill the tops back. The pendulous flowers, with their swept-back sepals in deep red and violet-purple petals, appear from early summer and continue until frost in a near-continuous display.

Left to its own devices, Hardy Fuchsia builds into a tall, arching shrub of five feet or more. It can be kept more compact with annual pruning to the base or to a low framework in late winter, and this hard pruning often results in the most vigorous growth and heaviest flowering. It makes an excellent informal hedge, a back-of-border shrub, or a specimen plant where its flower color can be appreciated up close. Hummingbirds seek it out consistently.

Hardy Fuchsia is one of the more effortless shrubs for our region. Plant in good garden soil with reliable moisture, and it largely takes care of itself. It prefers some protection from the strongest ocean winds, which can batter the soft stems, but otherwise adapts readily to the coastal conditions that challenge other plants.