Hardy fuchsia
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Forgiving Among the more tolerant plants here.
Also called Hardy Fushia, hummingbird fuchsia and Magellan Fuschia.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
- Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drained or Well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H4 — -10 to -5°C -10 to -5 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No harm is recorded, only a note: Fuchsia berries can be eaten, but most taste unremarkable and plants bear few of them. In the UK, Fuchsias are grown for ornament rather than as a fruit crop.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Brown, papery patches on the leaves nearest the glass
Scorched leaves on the hardy fuchsia turn from pale to brown and brittle, and the damage stops where the shade of another leaf fell across it.
Even a plant described as full sun, partial shade can take more through glass than it would outdoors, because glass removes the breeze that carried the heat away.
Telling it apart: Whether it followed a move or a season. Scorch appears within days of a change in position.
RHSHardy fuchsia brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Crisp margins that appear in winter
The hardy fuchsia shows browning on many leaves at once, all at the margin, with no spots or soft patches anywhere.
The edges fail first because they are the end of the plumbing. Penn State Extension cites 30% to 60% as the recommended indoor range, and winter heating regularly takes a room under it. That applies while it is grown indoors; its RHS rating of H4 describes a plant that also grows outside, where the air is seldom that dry.
Telling it apart: Where the plant stands. Browning concentrated on the side facing a heater points at the air.
Penn State ExtensionHardy fuchsia brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Leaves bruised and browned along the edges after a gale
After a windy spell the hardy fuchsia shows dry brown edges and torn leaves on its exposed side. New growth that follows is undamaged if the weather settles.
RHS describes it as needing shelter. Moving air dries leaf surfaces quickly and bruises soft tissue, so a plant in a windy spot is marked on the side the wind reaches.
Telling it apart: Timing. Damage that appeared after one windy day is weather; damage that builds slowly is water or roots.
RHSHardy fuchsia brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Leaves but no flowers
The hardy fuchsia flowered well at first, then less each season, while its leaves stayed healthy and new stems grew longer.
Its source places it in full sun, partial shade. Flowers cost more than leaves, and a plant kept darker than that keeps growing leaves while it builds few buds or none.
Telling it apart: The rest of the plant. A healthy, leafy plant without flowers is short of light or of a season it needs; a plant that is also yellowing has a root or water problem first.
RHSDiagnose no flowers or dropped buds on this Hardy fuchsia- The lowest leaves on each stem turn yellow and hang
Whole leaves yellow at once rather than browning at a margin, and the hardy fuchsia looks deflated despite soil that has not dried since it was watered.
Kept wetter than the moist but well-drained or well-drained its source describes, the root tips die back. A plant with fewer working roots cannot drink, which looks from above exactly like one that has not been watered.
Telling it apart: The smell. Healthy compost smells of earth; compost that has been wet too long does not.
RHSDiagnose yellowing leaves on this Hardy fuchsia
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Hardy fuchsia.
Routine care
- Propagation
- Seed, stem cuttingsNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Increase from softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- If it does not die back, you can cut the stems down to the ground in spring to renew growth.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by aphids, twospotted spider mites and whiteflies.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Can be troubled by vine weevil, capsid bug, fuchsia gall mite and aphids. Diseases: grey moulds, Fuchsia rust and, rarely, honey fungus can occur.RHS · read 13 September 2026
Move something and watch
Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.
Photographs
About the plant
Fuchsia magellanica – commonly known as the hummingbird fuchsia, hardy fuchsia or chilco – is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family Onagraceae, native to the lower Southern Cone of southern South America.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- C. & S. Chile to S. ArgentinaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026South America: Peru, Chile, Argentina, south to Tierra del FuegoNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Chile, ArgentinaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- temperateWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial, Shrub, Vine; habit arching, irregular, rounded, spreadingNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (deciduous, semi evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 60–120 in; width 60–120 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 1.5-2.5 metres; spread 1-1.5 metres after 2–5 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers red/burgundy; blooms in summerNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers purple in summer and autumn; red in summer and autumnRHS · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Hardy fuchsia
Other Fuchsia
Plants with similar care
Blue passion flowerA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Bush lilyDry, curled edges on leaves near a heater
Dog roseEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
English lavenderBuds form and fall before they open
Flaming KatyA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
HyacinthFlowering stops while the foliage carries on
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.