First, Cape fuchsia is not a fuchsia at all - two entirely different plant families! Phygelius (Cape fuchsia) is very unlikely to be winter hardy for you in zone 5/6. It is native to South Africa and is considered an evergreen shrub or subshrub, although it is most often sold as a dieback perennial in climates colder than the frost-free areas it is native to. I doubt it would even be fully evergreen in zone 7 - it is only semi-evergreen here in zone 8.

There are some newer hybrids on the market that could have greater hardiness. Many newer introductions have limited hardiness ratings only because no one has tested their hardiness thoroughly in wider areas. If not an expensive plant you don't mind losing, it's worth experimenting to see how well it survives your winters.

And yes, the hummingbirds do love it!

Thanks gardengal, I think I'll watch to see of it goes on sale and Then try it. I'm still going to keep my eyes open for something more appropriate. I would like something that gives winter interest as well. We spend a lot of time here in winter mode!
Cathy

I had 8 small vacation cottages on Gun Lake and had planted fuchsia along the sides about 6" from the foundations. Each fall cut them to about 5-6" from the ground and mulched them with about 8" of fine wood chips. In spring after the last frost would uncover them and give them a heavy feeding with a 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer (nitrogen at 400ppm). In about 3-4 weeks they were growing to beat the band.
The cottages were heated all winter and were built on a cement slab with a 12" foundation and this kept the soil around the cottages from freezing even during the coldest winter day. By fall they were about 3' tall and about 4' wide and full of flowers, hummingbirds and butterflies.

Hi there,
The cape fuchsia is a good choice as it is a very nice plant for drier areas in the garden and flowers over a long periode. Plants are easy to overwinter as they do not need special care.
Besides the yellow from of Phygelius aequalis there are some read and salomon forms already available.
HJ