Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

Fuchsia 'Mercurius'
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

fuchsia 'Mercurius'

A vigorous, deciduous, bushy shrub, the red stems bearing dark green foliage with a distinct sheen and a domed habit. Flowers are large and single with spreading red sepals and purple corolla, borne from summer to autumn

Size
Ultimate height
0.5–1 metres
Time to ultimate height
5–10 years
Ultimate spread
1–1.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Red Green
Summer Red Purple Red Green
Autumn Red Purple Red Green
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
  • Partial shade
Aspect

West–facing or South–facing or East–facing

Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness
H4
Botanical details
Family
Onagraceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Potentially harmful
Although Fuchsia berries are edible, most are not particularly tasty and are sparsley produced on plants. Fuchsia plants are generally grown as an ornamental and not for fruit crops within the UK
Genus

Fuchsia can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs or trees, rarely perennials, with opposite or whorled leaves and usually pendent flowers with conspicuous tubular calyx, 4 spreading sepals and 4 erect petals

Name status

Accepted

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in moist but well-drained, fertile soil in sun or part shade. Hardy outside in most UK regions. Plant the base of the stem 5cm below the soil surface, provide a deep winter mulch and shelter from cold drying winds. See hardy fuchsia cultivation for further information

Propagation

Propagate by softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Patio and container plants
  • Flower borders and beds
Pruning

Pruning group 6

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, fuchsia gall mite, capsid bug and vine weevil

Diseases

May be susceptible to fuchsia rust, grey moulds and honey fungus (rarely)

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.