FUCHSIAS 2020

Hi
I was just wondering with the crazy weather we have been having is it too soon to repot my Fuchsias?
I have about 60 of them and several need repotting they are all budding and/or have a fair amount of growth on them. Hanging baskets need to be done as well.

 

Have grown Fuchsias for many years but had a first with the cuttings this year.

Took 40 cuttings last month and inserted them into shallow clear pots( cut down plastic beer pots) filled with just Perlite and water, using a simple heated prop and provided some cheap led lighting from day one.

Just lifted them out and potted on into compost, all 40 growing well with decent roots.

Was a method another forum member suggested the other year, but cannot remember who it was, so cannot directly pass the thanks on to him.. just hope he sees this post

 

Ive taken cutting s from Fuchisia Boliviana and Boliviana Alba over the winter as the plants were getting leggy inside.

Ive moved them into the polytunnel now and they are doing ok but don't seem to enjoy the changes in temperature. Hoping I can get them to limp through the back end of winter and that they will take off in spring when it finally arrives

 

Hi,

All quiet in here ? not many folk growing Fuchsias this year ?!

Wondered if anyone could suggest whats the name of this one please?

Think its a tender one and most of ours are gnerally popular names but have lost the label and memory not as good these days...

The plant is upright, now about 40cm tall , at least 2nd year and the flower is about 40mm+ across.

 

Hiya Ricky. When did you ‘start’ the parent plants?

 

Maybe ‘Voodoo’?

 

Forget that, ‘Voodoo’ is a trailer.

 

Hi @Freddy

Thanks, Voodoo and Royal Velvet are very similar, but as you say Voodoo more a trailing habit.

Those cuttings took about 3-4 weeks to delevop good roots for potting on.

The parent plants are about 2+ years old as we overwinter them in the greenhouse which is kept at a minimum of 4c by means of a small electric fan heater and a separate electronic thermostat.

Most winters they will keep their leaves on , but this year in January we moved them to a heated bench at 9c minimum which allowed them to put out plenty of new shoots ideal for cuttings.

Only expected half of them to take at best , now even the neighbour has filled up all their hanging baskets with them !

 

Hi @andrews ,
Your Bolivianas aren't necessarily leggy. The thing to remember with these is that they are naturally 15 to 20 ft high trees. They're just growing as they should.

 

Hi @ricky101 , looking at the shape of the buds ( like balloons), I'd say Dark Eyes.

It's not the right colour for Voodoo and it's the wrong flower shape and colour and size for Royal Velvet ( my favourite Fucgsua of all time ).

 

Thanks for that. I quite often buy in plug plants, which are fine, but usually receive them later than I’d like. I made up some hanging baskets with around 36 plants (Pink Marshmallow) recently, and they still require another ‘pinching’, not ideal. I have propagated my own in the past, but couldn’t remember the timing.

 

Hi,

Agree, the mail order ones do seem to arrive quiet late , making it late July before you have a good looking full basket.

That Perlite water method does seem to work well, but this year we also suspended a simple strip of white leds over them which we feel really aided their rooting and growth once potted up.

By chance we did pick up a small pot of Pink Marshmellow from a local garden center just before lockdown, its grown well and the buds about to open then this cold snap.
However have found that it does not like strong sunshine or high heat, wilting quiet quicky if it gets too much, though recovering ok once back in cool shade, unlike most other trailers we have.

Would you say this is normal for PM or we have just got a poor plant ?

 

I haven’t used PM for a long time, but I do remember I had a great show with them. They were in full sun, but were well established/a good size when I planted them out. That said, I do feel that Fuschias like a bit of shade at some point, but I’m no authority.