Communist trap? On the contrary, not Hardy (6)
I believe the answer is:
tender
'not hardy' is the definition.
(tender can mean soft, ie not hardy)
'communist trap? on the contrary' is the wordplay.
'communist' becomes 'red' (red can informally mean communist).
'trap?' becomes 'net' (net is a kind of trap).
'on the contrary' says the letters should be written in reverse (letters in the opposite or contrary direction).
'red'+'net'='rednet'
'rednet' backwards is 'TENDER'.
(Other definitions for tender that I've seen before include "Gentle, not tough" , "Caring" , "Legal ..., official money" , "Romantic" , "Offer - sensitive to pain" .)