Hi Neal, Mary Ann and Debra.

I hope you find me again OK. Yes Neal as you say the larger the container the better if you really want to see fuchsias at their best. The smallest I use are 2Ltr to let them flower in, but do use very large pots, up to 12" to let them do their stuff. Most fuchsias do hang down, but there are a few that point up now, the fantasia's come to mind.

I have a fondness for any flower with pendulous blooms, there is just something reminiscent of fairy tales about them. Having said that, I would still love to try some upright varieties!

They're very popular here in the US for Mother's Day. Those hanging baskets typically have 3 or 4 plants (to fill in quickly I'm sure), but 8-10" hanging baskets just won't accommodate that many fuchsia plants for very long. A lot of people think they're difficult to grow when actually the problem is the small container.

Neal

All my hanging baskets or hanging pots do hold 5 plants. They will be all right, but they must be watered every day when the weather is hot and must be fed every week at least with a general purpose feed. I don't know what is available over there, but I use either Chempak or miracle grow. I think you also mentioned that we have mild weather here so don't need winter protection. Don't you believe it. At the moment here it's just above freezing, and they are forecasting a severe frost over the next few nights and snow likely tomorrow, although not much. All my plants are put away in the greenhouse for the winter,

Hi John, just courious, do you know the average temperature of the greenhouse in winter?

Hi Phillip

I keep my greenhouse at 60f. That's because I'm doing cuttings all the time, and over wintering new seedlings, plus other tender plants. The person who just wants to over winter their stock plants only need to keep it a 40f. This should be sufficient to keep them in the green. Just keep a check on them, and don't let them dry out, but again don't keep them too wet. It might sound stupid but I say keep them a dry moist. Does that make sense?

It does, I will have to try Fuchaias again following your advice.