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What plants to put in a pot with a fuscia

mawallace44mawallace44 Posts: 60
in Plants
We have some fuchsia's  which we put  pots last year and they have grown back this year.

We would like to underplant with some small bedding plants - any suggesions?
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  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @mawallace44 I have never grown them but I can envisage them with Erigeron karvinskianus.
    Not sure if they are compatible as far as watering is concerned but this daisy is perennial.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • DaveGreigDaveGreig Posts: 189
    What size are the pots because it can get a bit crowded. I tend to plant spring bulbs or anemone blanda under mine because they’ve generally done their bit before the fuchsia thicken up and block their leaves out.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited May 2023
    @mawallace44 I agree with @DaveGreig there are so many different sizes and colours you would need to be aware of just how big they will get in the pot.
    The darker reds and purples would work well with cool pink diascias. There is also a pink bacopa. Pink fuchsias, white bacopa. Both these plants will survive a mild winter. A bronze Ucinia might not be to your taste but I like it with darker hues.

    How big bedding plants get in a pot during one season can be a' bit of an art' they all get bigger than you think they will.

    The erigeron was used as an edging plant for Pittosporum in one of the Chelsea gardens on TV yesterday. Short term perhaps that might work for you.
    I mentioned it earlier as many gardeners already have it in their gardens. Beautiful but seeds eveyrwhere so if you do have it there should be plenty!  You could always remove if your Fuchsias get too big

    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I agree too - it mainly depends on the size of the pot, and then it's about getting something which will be happy with the same regime as the fuchsia. That's very important too. I would have used bulbs early in the year and then let it get on with it  :)
    As most fuchsias are used for shadier areas, look for anything which will like that too, and decide on whether you want a toning colour or a bright one. White will always work though. Something like Ajuga would trail down edges and might be ok - perennial rather than annual, and is unfussy. The one with dark red/purple foliage would probably tone in well.
    You could use a grass, but again - you need to choose carefully. Most carexes will be happy with shade and lots of water, but I'm not sure those would look right with a fuchsia if it's one of those red/purple, gaudy types.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited May 2023
    Yes a dark Ajuga is another good thought it will have flowered before your Fuchsias but the foliage is good too. It is often a case of taking a look at the GC you could always wander around with one of their fuchsias to pick out colour tones.
    Plants that will survive a winter are always worth considering it doesn't have to be all annuals..
    This weekend millions of bedding plants will be sold many will fiinsh up in bins by late autumn. Looking for more of a mix with sustainable plants is the way forward.

    Sugar pink Fuchsias with Ophiopogon nigrescens ...
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Joyce GoldenlilyJoyce Goldenlily Posts: 2,933
    You do not say if your fuchsias are uprights or trailing. For a spectacular display, use more fuchsias. The same variety or contrasting.
    When showing fuchsias, exhibitors use 3 or 5 plants, depending on the size of basket
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Joyce Goldenlily Saw a huge display at the GC of just Fuchsias as you say they work together. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Joyce GoldenlilyJoyce Goldenlily Posts: 2,933
    I used to lust after the magnificent huge baskets I saw at shows and in GCs.. Then I discovered they were not a single plant as I thought, which made them seem more achievable.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    I stick to 100% same variety, whether trailing or upright.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I used to grow lots of fuchsias,  200 a year, but I wouldn’t put anything with them,  there wouldn’t be room for a start, a fuchsia will fill a pot or basket if it’s looked after well.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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