Good thing you asked! Do not prune a hardy fuchsia in the fall - let the branches stay on the plant all winter long to help protect the roots from winter cold. Then in late spring after you see new growth sprouting from the base of the fuchsia plant you can get snippy with it. I recommend you wait and prune your Japanese aralia in the spring as well. Sometimes when you prune tender plants in the fall it wakes them up and they send out new growth instead of slipping into the protective state of winter dormancy. If you wait until spring the plant is less likely to freeze in a cold winter. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti