While fuchsias are grown as perennial garden shrubs in mild climates worldwide, in South Carolina they are grown primarily as potted flowering plants. Fuchsias are ideally suited for hanging baskets because of their drooping stems and colorful, bell-shaped flowers. Avoid plants showing signs of insect or disease damage. Although fuchsias may flower almost continuously from spring to fall outdoors in the Mountain areas of South Carolina, they are unlikely to bloom indoors for more than three or four months at a time. Oftentimes, fuchsia blooms are bicolor with the sepals one color and the corolla a different color.
Flower color can be almost any combination of white, pink, red, magenta and purple.
There are 3,000 to 5,000 cultivars. Many of these cultivars are available with upright or trailing growth habits. Upright growers include Beacon, Black Prince, and Winston Churchill. Cultivars with trailing growth include Dark Eyes, Starry Trail, and Swingtime. For heat tolerance, consider cultivars of F. magellanica .