Okay, maybe some explanation regarding 'fertiliser' is appropriate. There are two ways of feeding a plant - one is by 'feeding' the soil, meaning you add humus rich material to the ground (such as well rotted manure, soil conditioning compost, garden compost, that kind of thing) and the other is feeding the plant directly. Things like fish blood and bone or Growmore dissolve quite quickly and release nutrients to the plant straightaway; adding humus rich materials to the soil improves the bio diversity of the soil and enables better water retention, making a healthier, richer environment for plants, thus enabling them to seek out and take up what nutrients they need more easily.

The best approach is actually to feed the soil, but adding a more chemical fertiliser like growmore or fish blood and bone at planting time, sprinkled in the hole, is a good idea because it gives the plant a kick start after you've planted it. That's assuming there's sufficient water for the plant to be able to take anything up - water is the prime requirement.

Suggest you turn over the soil, add humus rich stuff, then when you want to actually plant, dig your hole, throw in a handful or so of f/b/b or growmore, mix it in, and plant. No point in adding growmore or f/b/b if the ground is empty of plants.

Sorry its an essay, but hope it clarifies things.

Many thanks for your kind answer and the very useful information.

On the back of my packet of compost it simply states:

"Outdoor Planting of Trees and Shrubs:
Dig a hole in the soil at least twice the size of the root ball. Mix Multi Purpose Compost in a 50:50 blend with the soil and refill the hole around the roots, firming gently. Water well."

I had a look in my local supermarket for fishmeal, etc. and couldn't see any. Do you think I might get away with planting as above with the compost and then adding a liquid fertiliser like Baby Bio which I do have?

Well you might get away without the proper digging, but frankly, if its a border you're planting in and it hasn't been dug over for some time, it's always better for the plants to prepare the ground properly at least a week or two before planting.

'Multi purpose', by the way, is a term applied to potting compost, not the kind of compost the BBC website was recommending. It contains a small amount of feed, which is why the instructions are telling you to put it in the planting hole. There's some argument about whether this is a wise thing to do or not though - one school of thought suggests it isn't because the plant roots eventually encounter 'normal' soil which hasn't been dug over and other materials added, and therefore it stops growing properly.

I wouldn't recommend Baby Bio for feeding outdoor plants, that's intended for houseplants. If your local supermarket is a Tesco, they should at least have Growmore in a granular form somewhere - these break down slowly and feed for up to six weeks.

Be careful too about the variety of fuchsia you buy. You probably know that some are hardy and some not so make sure you buy a hardy one. When you put it in the ground plant it several inches deeper than the soil level in the pot you bought it in. This will protect the crown of the plant when we have a hard winter and frosts kill off the top of the plant.

Mrs Popple, Garden News and Beacon are good reliable varieties but there are lots more. (Not Beacon Rosa though as it seems to be more delicate)
Beware of Hawkshead unless you want a big bush as it will grow to at least five feet high and across.

Just a thought about putting your compost into the planting hole - if you haven't planted much on the site before and the ground is in poor condition it would be worth digging an area a lot bigger than the planting hole and mixing all the soil with your compost and fertiliser. And don't exceed the amount of fertiliser recommended on the packet -you might do more harm than good if its too concentrated near the roots. Good luck with your fuchsia - fabulous plants.

Thanks to you both for the great advice. The name growmore rings a bell, I'm sure my local ASDA has that. So Growmore would be a suitable alternative to 'blood, bone and fishmeal' then?

Yes, I got a hardy fuchsia, it's the Deltas Sarah variety, the blue and white one.

Yes, Growmore will be fine - its more 'chemical' than fish blood and bone, which is organic in origin, which is why some people prefer to use the latter. I don't like using it as a top feed - it attracts too many animals who absolutely love to eat it, so I find its alright under the soil, but not raked or lightly turned into the surface, which is why I prefer to use Growmore (in granular form, not liquid) most of the time.

I am pretty sure Deltas Sarah is not hardy.

And as for feeding use foliage feed first then as buds start to form change to tomato feed.

Good luck.

Thanks for all the info.

P.S. I hope Deltas Sarah is indeed hardy because I've already bought it! At least it said it was on the container. I bought mine from a different source but here it states it's hardy also -
http://www.brooksidenursery.co.uk/hardy-fuchsia-delta-sarah-pack-of-5-plug-plants-21728-p.asp