{"id":111281,"date":"2026-09-23T14:04:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/?p=111281"},"modified":"2026-09-23T14:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:04:20","slug":"fuchsietum-makes-strong-case-for-hardy-fuchsias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/?p=111281","title":{"rendered":"Fuchsietum makes strong case for hardy fuchsias"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\"IMG_4776\"<\/a>\n<\/div>
Theo in ball cap with a visitor framed by a rose and fuchsia-covered arch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Theo Margelony<\/a> moved with his fuchsias from Manhattan to Portland in 2019. Knowledgeable, warm and very friendly, I have bumped into Theo and his partner Kevin Gepford  a couple times on garden tours. Knowing there’d be a warm welcome at their open garden in early September, it was that more than an interest in fuchsias that prompted me to attend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fuchsia ‘White Knights Amethyst’ — not an easy one to source but I love the elegant branching habit and slim dark flowers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’ve grown a few hardy fuchsias in my time but otherwise haven’t explored the genus much. But I am completely open to plants with a long season and something to offer hummingbirds. Hummingbirds currently are lured by phygelius and Lobelia tupa in my Oregon garden late September, but some backup would be nice. In the Los Angeles garden grevilleas and aloes handle the job year-round, and it’s in that garden that I became a fan of the equivalent of having your own private troupe of tiny circus acrobats perform multiple times a day. In a small garden, I think it’s fair that where my plant interests and aesthetics converge with supporting wildlife, we can collaborate, whether the needs are shelter, pollen, nectar. And surprisingly our interests as far as plant choices converge quite a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"IMG_4833<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As cutback shrubs, and\/or spared a hard winter, hardy fuchsias can make great size in summer, with nectar available at least July to frost. And with warmer winters, possibly even longer. Theo’s garden had more examples than seemed possible for a Portland city garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The shrubbiness made for a sheltered, relaxed and easy-going garden. You gotta appreciate the specialists for congregating the best of their favorite genus in one garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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With over 200 hardy magellanica cultivars in Theo’s garden, September never looked so fresh, and with plenty of steam left to roll til frost. For a fuchsia devotee, the PNW is the place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"IMG_4813\"<\/a>\n<\/div>
hardy ‘DebRon’s Draco’ — if a label was missing Theo knew what it was<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Fuchsietum makes the case that fuchsias can share space with and complement all kinds of plants. Palms, perennials, abutilons, crepe myrtles, daphnes. And even though fuchsias are an obvious favorite, the garden wastes no time waiting for their summer arrival. Theo says it’s bustling with incidents and successive schemes starting with the early bulbs of spring, whose leaves are now buried under the skirts of fuchsias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disporum cantoniense ‘Moonlight’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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didn’t catch the tag on this daphne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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fall-blooming cyclamen and fatsia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\"IMG_4840<\/a>\n<\/div>
pulmonaria still flawless in September<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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fuchsia with fall-blooming asters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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fuchsias and a dwarf conifer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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fuchsia with the toad lily tricyrtis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Theo says there are three pomegranates in the garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The enthusiasm for plants surrounds the house on all sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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the new greenhouse for overwintering tender fuchsias and propagating<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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back of the house<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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patio on side opposite the greenhouse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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frontyard through the breezeway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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and back to the front porch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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looking across the front garden to the driveway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\"IMG_4846<\/a>\n<\/div>
and back down the front steps, leaving the Fuchsietum for a world that. now seems just a bit toned down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’m guessing full sun here at the coast, zone 8-9. Some hardy fuchsias are supposedly root-hardy to zone 7 and possibly even zone 6 (‘Riccartonii.’) I should be able to fit in at least one of these exceptionally long-blooming shrubs for my hummingbird friends. Thank you, Theo, for the recommendations! More soon, AGO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Theo Margelony moved with his fuchsias from Manhattan to Portland in 2019. Knowledgeable, warm and very friendly, I have bumped into Theo and his partner Kevin Gepford  a couple times on garden tours. Knowing there’d be a warm welcome at … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paNJ2E-sWR","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111281"}],"version-history":[{"count":72,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111355,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111281\/revisions\/111355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrowingobsession.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}