Climbing Hardy Fuchsia
Fuchsia 'Lady Boothby'
Climbing Hardy Fuchsia
Fuchsia 'Lady Boothby'
Ordering in autumn or winter? Many hardy exotics arrive dormant or cut back right now. This is normal, and the best time to plant.
Seasonal by nature: what to expect
- Grown outdoors, the way nature intended. Weather-tested and hardened in real UK conditions, so they thrive in your garden. A few marks on the older leaves are normal, the sign of a tough, real plant rather than a flaw.
- It follows the seasons. Depending on when you order, your plant may arrive cut back, dormant or leafless. That's healthy: dormancy is the ideal time to plant.
- Posted, not posed. Big leafy plants like bananas and gingers may be trimmed or gently folded to travel safely. It does the plant no harm, and it powers away again in spring.
Not sure what to expect from yours? Dormant, cut-back or weather-marked plants are all perfectly healthy and normal. Read what to expect through the seasons
The Fuchsia 'Lady Boothby' is the climbing hardy fuchsia, a vigorous, upright variety that throws up tall stems reaching well over head height in a single season. Unlike the mounded bush fuchsias, 'Lady Boothby' wants to go up, so it can be tied in to a wall, trellis or obelisk to build a living column dripping with flower. From midsummer until the first frosts it is smothered in masses of elegant single blooms, each with a rich crimson tube and sepals framing a deep, dusky purple corolla.
Rated RHS H4, this is a genuinely hardy fuchsia for British gardens. In milder areas it behaves as a woody deciduous climber, dying back in the coldest spells and shooting again from the base in spring. A dry winter mulch over the crown protects it in colder gardens, and the harder you cut it back in early spring the more vigorous and floriferous the new growth. See our hardy exotics what to expect guide for how these plants behave through the seasons.
How and where to grow
- Position: full sun or dappled part shade, in a sheltered spot out of cold, drying winds.
- Soil: any fertile, moist but well-drained soil across the full pH range, enriched with organic matter.
- Size: a vigorous climber to around 2.5 to 4 m tall with a 1 to 1.5 m spread when trained.
- Hardiness: hardy to roughly -10C once established, cut back and mulched in spring.
Give the young stems something to scramble up and tie them in as they extend, and 'Lady Boothby' quickly earns its place among our hardy exotics. Trained against a warm wall or up an obelisk it doubles as an informal screening plant, while its long flush of nectar-rich flowers makes it a magnet for bees and a natural fit for plants for pollinators. It is equally happy woven through an exotic border or grown as a striking specimen in a large container, so it sits comfortably among our plants for pots.
Every Fuchsia 'Lady Boothby' we supply is nursery-grown and carefully selected for a healthy, well-rooted plant that establishes quickly and flowers freely in its first season.
Hardiness & Frost
Hardy across most of the UK (RHS H4), tolerating around -10C once established. In milder gardens it holds on as a woody climber; in colder spots it dies back in hard weather and reshoots strongly from the base in spring. Protect the crown with a dry winter mulch and cut back hard in early spring to drive vigorous new growth. Avoid a cold, waterlogged crown over winter, as wet is a bigger risk than frost, so ensure sharp drainage.
Sun & Aspect
Flowers most freely in full sun to dappled part shade. Choose a sheltered position out of cold, drying winds, ideally against a warm wall, trellis or obelisk that the vigorous stems can be tied in to as they climb.
Soil
Grows in any fertile, moist but well-drained soil across the full pH range, from chalk to clay, loam and sand. Enrich the planting hole with plenty of organic matter, and grow container plants in a good quality peat-free compost that holds moisture without waterlogging.
Watering & Establishment
Water freely through the first summer and never let the roots dry out while the plant is in full flower, as fuchsias quickly sulk in drought. Once established, feed every couple of weeks through the growing season with a high-potash feed and mulch each spring to sustain the long flush of bloom.
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Yes. Fuchsia 'Lady Boothby' is rated RHS H4, which means it is hardy across most of the UK and takes temperatures down to around -10C. In colder gardens it dies back in winter and reshoots from the base in spring, so cover the crown with a dry winter mulch and cut the old stems back hard once new growth appears.
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It is a vigorous climbing fuchsia that reaches roughly 2.5 to 4 m tall with a 1 to 1.5 m spread when trained, usually within two to five years. The upright stems are not self-clinging, so tie them in to a wall, trellis or obelisk as they extend.
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It is the closest thing to a true climbing fuchsia. Rather than twining, it sends up tall, vigorous stems that are tied in and trained upward against a support. Grown this way it makes an unusual flowering column and doubles as an informal screening plant. It sits comfortably alongside our other hardy exotics.
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Expect flowers from July right through to the first autumn frosts, each bloom carrying a crimson tube and sepals around a dusky purple corolla. The long, nectar-rich display is a magnet for bees, which makes it a strong choice among our plants for pollinators.
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Prune in early spring. Wait until you can see new shoots emerging from the base, then cut all the old stems back hard. The harder you prune, the more vigorous and free-flowering the new growth will be. When planting, set the base of the stem around 5 cm below the soil surface to protect the crown.
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Yes. Grow it in a large, well-drained container with an obelisk or trellis for the stems to climb, and keep it fed and watered through the growing season. It is a natural fit among our plants for pots, and can be moved to a sheltered spot for winter in the coldest areas.
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Your plant will arrive in its nursery grow pot — the plastic pot it's been growing in. We don't include a decorative pot as standard, and there's a good reason for that: it means you get to choose one that fits your space and style, rather than being stuck with something that doesn't suit your home.
It also means you're not paying extra for a pot you might not want. The nursery pot is perfectly fine to keep your plant in for a while, just pop it inside a decorative cover pot or cache pot and you're good to go. When you're ready to repot (usually after a growing season or when roots start poking out the bottom), you can move it into something more permanent with fresh soil.
If you're not sure what size cover pot to go for, check the pot selector tool listed above, you'll want a decorative pot that's a centimetre or two wider than that to give it a comfortable fit. -
Every plant on our site includes the pot size (e.g. 12cm) and, where possible, an approximate height. That's the most reliable way to set your expectations, photos can sometimes make a plant look larger or smaller than it really is.
If you're thinking "that sounds quite small for the price," here's something worth knowing: younger, smaller plants almost always adapt better to your home than larger ones. They adjust faster to your light and humidity, put out new growth more quickly, and tend to establish stronger root systems long-term. A plant that grows into your space will usually outperform one that was already big when it arrived.
That said, every plant is an individual. The one you receive may vary slightly in height, shape, or fullness compared to the photo, that's the nature of living things, not a quality issue. We select healthy, well-established specimens, and if you ever feel your plant doesn't match what you were expecting, just get in touch and we'll take a look. -
There's a big difference between a plant that's been sitting under on a retail shelf and one that's been looked after and cared for by people who specialise in exactly this.
Our plants are grown in house or sourced from specialist nurseries, many of them varieties you simply won't find at your local garden centre or supermarket. Before anything leaves us, it's checked over by our horticultural team to make sure it's healthy, well-rooted, and ready to thrive in your home. We're not shifting volume off a pallet, we're choosing plants we'd want to keep ourselves.
When you buy from a supermarket, you get a plant and a generic care label. When you buy from us, you get the knowledge that comes with it, detailed care guidance, a team you can actually contact if something isn't going right, and the confidence that what's arriving has been looked after properly from the moment it was grown to the moment it reaches your door.
We're a specialist nursery first, not a retailer that happens to sell plants. That's the difference, and you'll see it the moment you open the box. -
First things first, unbox it as soon as you can. Plants don't love being in dark boxes any more than you would, and the sooner yours is out and breathing, the better.
Remove all the packaging carefully, give the soil a check with your finger, and water lightly if it feels dry. Then find it a spot with appropriate light, but avoid putting it straight into harsh direct sun or next to a radiator. Think of it like arriving somewhere new after a long journey: it needs a moment to adjust.
It's completely normal for your plant to look a little tired or droopy after transit. This is called transit stress, and most plants bounce back within a week or two. You might see a yellow leaf or some drooping, don't panic, and resist the urge to overwater or start repotting straight away.
Our advice for the first couple of weeks: leave it in its nursery pot, water it only when the top layer of soil feels dry, and let it acclimatise to your home's light, temperature, and humidity. Once it's settled in and showing signs of new growth, you can think about repotting or moving it to its permanent spot.
Every plant we sell comes with a care guide on the product page so you'll know exactly what it needs going forward. And if anything doesn't look right, get in touch with our team, we're always happy to help. -
Yes! and we go to serious lengths to make sure of it. Every plant is hand-packed by our team with protective wrapping and secure, custom-designed boxes to keep it stable and safe in transit. We've shipped hundreds of thousands of plants across the UK and our packaging methods have been refined over years to handle the bumps and jolts of delivery.
During colder months, we monitor weather forecasts and offer heat packs where needed to protect against frost. In extreme conditions, we may hold your order for a day or two rather than risk sending it out, we'd rather you wait an extra day than receive a stressed plant.
That said, plants are living things, and the occasional transit wobble can happen. If your plant arrives damaged or isn't in the condition you'd expect, just get in touch within 48 hours with a photo, and we'll make it right, whether that's a replacement or a full refund. No fuss.
The short version: we treat every box like it's going to someone who really cares about what's inside, because it is.
All plants are covered by our 7-day live arrival guarantee. We pack every order in protective, sustainable packaging designed to keep your plants safe in transit. Whether grown in our own nursery or sourced from trusted partner growers, every plant is checked before it ships. On the rare occasion something isn't right on arrival, we'll make it good, provided the plant is still in its original nursery pot.
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