Fuschia flowers too heavy for stem

Hi everyone, I have a couple of fuscias that are producing lovely flowers but they're just ending up in the soil as they are too heavy for their stems. The purple and white one has a few long stems growing from a central point, seemingly straight out of the soil. So I'm guessing the problem with this one is that it's too leggy? Do I just need to cut it down to encourage it to bush out?

The other one is growing a bit more upwards but the flowers are still too heavy for it.

Sorry the photos are not too clear. My californian poppies are seeding themselves everywhere!

 

Hi,

Do you know the names of the plants, many Fuchsias are trailing types so if yours are , then they are the wrong type for a boarder. Trailers are really intended for benches or baskets where they can trail up to 2 -3 ft without touching anything,

You need ones that clearly state Bush and if you intend to leave them in the soil over winter ? you need to choose a Hardy type as well.

 

The purple and white one is either hardy fuschia Delta Sarah or bush fuschia Lena Dalton. I kept their labels but not sure which is which. They are both purple and white but I *think* it's the first one.

 

Hi,

Yes ,they are very similar plants in terms of flower, but DS is about twice the height.

I have grown DS in a pot for several years, and it can droop over the side of the pot a bit but still has a good canopy about 2ft high. LD is a new one on me, not gown or seen it before.

Not sure about the height of your plants from the photos as its taken looking down on them, but guess they are about 18" tall ?

Also guess that you planted them later on this year as small plants /cuttings ? for this time of year I they look quiet small and a bit 'leggy' - are they in heavy shade ?

Think once the foliage has dropped I would cut back the stems by a half and cover the base of the plant with about 3-4" of peat or good compost to insulate it for winter and in spring give it a good feed and some manure type compost to help it put on plenty of growth so the stems are bigger and hold the flowers up higher.

If you want a really strong upright and very hardy plant that will tolerate full shade or full sun then Mrs Popple is the one to go for, though its will become quiet big after 3-4 years eg 3-4ft high and 4ft wide.

Another new favourite that survived last winter, though took its time to break bud this year, is Lady Boothby, tied up again a trellis or post is grows up to 6ft , if you have somewhere to put it.

 

What catches ones eye, usually dictates to ones pocket or purse.
Some gardeners tend to go for the 'Biggest' be it veg growing....giant leeks or onions, recently tomatoes have entered the big catagory.
With fuchsias there is a wide choice. Trailing types are intended for basket planting, allowing for the stems and flowers to hang down and cascade.
One such large flowered variety is. Texas Longhorn. OK large flowers, but that's about it. To attempt to provide a good exhibit. This plant must be multi planted. In general fuchsia growers want a compact bushy plant with perhaps morte flowers than foliage. This calls for serious pinching out.
With gian flowered types. Usually the breaks, the distance between each pair of leaves, can be upto four inches. No way will you end up with an attractive bush. Most of these giants are not hardy.

 

To me your problem is there is not enough light getting to your plant, with hardy bush type Fuchsia, they need to be grown in high light conditions to give your plants the best chance of basel branching, so in lower light conditions, you end up with long weak stems that do not support the flowers.
Best to move to an area of higher light, get more younger shoots, and pinch out after 3 weeks, to create the goblet shape (like when prunning roses), this will form a much stronger frame work for subsequant seasons.