Fuchsia 'Tom Thumb'

Common name: Fuchsia

Description: 'Tom Thumb' is a beloved miniature hardy fuchsia that has been grown in British gardens for over 150 years. It forms a neat, compact, bushy shrub covered from summer to autumn in a profusion of small, classic bicoloured flowers with carmine-red tubes and sepals and a rich mauve-purple corolla. Unlike tender fuchsias, 'Tom Thumb' is reliably frost-hardy and will die back to the ground in winter before regenerating strongly in spring, eventually forming a small permanent shrub.

Other benefits: fully hardy perennial shrub, compact and long-lived, prolific flowering over an extraordinarily long season, suitable for containers and borders, good for low edging hedges

Wildlife attraction: Bumblebees and hummingbird hawk-moths are strongly attracted to the flowers throughout summer and autumn.

Height & spread (approx.) at maturity: 30–45cm x 40–50cm

Position: Full sun to partial shade; very adaptable.

Soil pH: Neutral; moist but well-drained, fertile soil.

Moisture: Moderate; water regularly in summer, particularly in containers. Mulch the roots in colder areas for winter.

Winter hardiness: Hardy to -15°C (H5); fully frost-hardy throughout the UK. Cut back old stems to the ground in spring.