I started gardening at a very early age, parents and grand parents were all very keen gardeners. I can remember having my own 'little garden patch' way before I went to school at the age of five. My favorites have always been the perennial plants. Approximately 20 years ago I visited a Fuchsia Show and from then on was 'hooked on fuchsias'. I joined several local Fuchsia Societies and became involved with showing Fuchsias for approximately 10 years. I purchased 2 greenhouses and a later on a shade-house.

Showing is very intense work, I used to have over 100 potential Show Plants in the shade-house, and approximately 40 of these were show quality at the appropriate time. I thoroughly enjoyed showing but became more and more involved with growing fuchsias bonsai-style. This is also time consuming, so I stopped showing and now do displays of fuchsia bonsai at Fuchsia Shows and Horticultural Shows. I still have over 70 varieties of bush fuchsias in the front garden and also several hanging-pots under the pergola every year. There are aproximately 50 fuchsia bonsai and more fuchsia plants growing in the greenhouse for future bonsai.

Fuchsias are very easy to grow and propagate, and continually flower throughout the summer months, so here is a general growing-guide for garden fuchsias.

Cuttings:
Make sure that the plant you are going to use for cuttings are in good condition, free from disease and pests and has been watered a few hours beforehand. Soft-tip cuttings are the best, it is not necessary to use hormone rooting powder. Soil less compost (peat based) is ideal, a little vermiculite can be added if you wish. Using a sharp knife remove cutting from stem just underneath a leaf node (cutting approx. half to one inch long according to variety). Hold by leaves not the stem, bruising of the stem can result in failure. Place cutting into prepared compost, do not press compost too firm with fingers, give your pot or tray a tap, this will settle compost.

Then water and place in propagator 60F – 15C. If you do not have a propagator, cover tray with clear plastic lid or pot with clear plastic bag, place in a well-lit situation, but not in direct sunlight.

After approximately 3 weeks new growth will appear, get plants acclimatized from their humid growing conditions. Remove plastic lid or bag 2 or 3 times per day for a few minutes. When more growth is apparent it is time to plant into individual pots. Start off by transferring the rooted cutting into a 2-inch pot, when you see the roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, pot-on to next size pot. From a 3-inch pot size upwards add 10% perlite and 10% small horticultural grit to the soil less compost.

When you have two or three pairs of leaves, pinch out the growing tip, this is the beginning of a nice bushy/compact plant. You can continue 'pinching out' as long as you like, but remember that every time you do this it will delay flowering; singles approximately 6 weeks, doubles approximately 10 weeks and triphylla types approximately 12 weeks. These times will of course vary according to which variety you are growing and also your climate i.e. the more daylight hours you have the more they will grow.

Upright/Bush Plants for Growing in the Garden (Hardy Types), Tubs, Large Pots etc. Continue potting-on until your plant is growing strongly in at least a 5-inch pot, make sure that it has been 'hardened-off', and then your plant is ready to be planted in the garden or patio tubs etc. Plants outside in pots prefer a position that is not directly in hot pm sun, partly shaded or shaded is ideal. Water pots in the mornings, if they have wilted due to heat, in the late afternoon or early evening spray the foliage, preferably with rainwater. Do not drench the pot with water, fuchsias do not like like their roots standing in soggy soil overnight, this can cause rotting of the roots and leaf drop. Plants in the garden can be watered at the end of the day because the excess water will of course drain away.

Preparation for a hardy fuchsia border can begin in the previous autumn by digging in well-rotted manure. You must remember that a plant will be in situ for many years, so preparation is important. Before planting your new fuchsias into the garden, wait until all risk of frost has gone and night temperature is no lower than 10c or 50f.

A position of dappled shade is ideal, if this is not possible don't worry. As long as the root system has plenty of moisture they will virtually thrive in any position in the garden. If you only intend planting a single plant in an established border, just prepare the planting area. Make hole at least twice the size of pot and a few inches deeper, add a sprinkling of a nitrogen type fertilizer. Before placing plant in hole, remove any leaves on bottom of stems, 2"/3" inches. Level of garden soil will come up higher on stems than when it was in the pot, quite alright, by placing deeper this will help protect the 'crown' of the fuchsia during it's first winter against frost. Water-in and make sure soil is kept moist for the first few weeks.

In late autumn when they begin to die down you can trim them back to 18 inches (never cut them down to ground level at this stage, especially if your area is prone to frosts).

Only cut the old stems to ground level in late spring when new growth appears at soil level. If you live in areas e.g. Zone 10 and do not really get cold winters, give them a light trim and feed, this will strengthen your plant. The only exception to cutting down to ground level is if you are growing the Magellanica type for hedging.

In late spring when new growth appears dig in a granular type Nitrogen feed, during the summer months dig in e.g. fish, blood and bone meal, pellet chicken manure, or fish emulsion.

When flowering season arrives, remove dead flowers/seed pods, and then your fuchsias will continue to flower for a much longer period

Trailing Types for Hanging Pots/Baskets, Wall Planters etc. Grow these on in the normal way until in a 3-inch pot, now they can be transferred to your hanging basket/pot. It is usual to place 3 plants in an 8 inch hanging pot and 5 plants in a 15-inch hanging basket.

If you wish you can add slow release granule feed to pots or baskets. Be careful, don't overfeed, this can cause damage to the roots. Personally I use a balanced feed NPK 20-20-20 from March to September, using quarter strength every watering. On most feeds the instructions usually say 'once full strength every 10 days', my reply to this is "You wouldn't feel very well if you were only fed once every 10 days would you?" Have found over the years, feed little and often is much better.

Over wintering Fuchsias in pots. During late Autumn all fuchsias in pots that I wish to over winter have all flowers and foliage removed and anything between one third and one half of stems and branches cut-back, (this depends on variety of fuchsia). As a general rule always leave between 4 and 6 inches of old stems above soil level. Also remove at least 1 inch of soil from top of pot; give them a real good clean. Spray with insecticide and fungicide. If leaving your plant in same pot treat with ‘Provado’ (kills vine-weevil larvae).

You can if you wish ‘pot-down’ at this stage. This procedure means that (a) the plants take up less space when over wintering and (b) it is better for the plant and roots not to be in too bigger pot during over wintering. Remove plant from pot, tease out at least half of old soil; remove any old brown roots leaving as much fine white root as possible. Place in new pot, at least 2 sizes smaller, add fresh soil, give adequate water to settle new soil, but do not drench with water.

Place in greenhouse for the winter at 45f/8c. (If you do not have a greenhouse, and wish to bring them back into growth straight away, place in a well lit, cool room e.g. windowsill, no direct sunlight, but you must turn them frequently, so as to keep their shape.) Keep them moist but not wet. Spray branches and stems with tepid water once per day (this helps new foliage to come back). As soon as new foliage appears start shaping again, ready for next season. Re-pot in spring if necessary.

Another way of over wintering is to keep plants frost free, with little or no light, and just keep slightly moist, (otherwise they will die). They will not start to shoot new growth until you bring them back into light and warmth. Even if you live in parts of the world where they really don’t die down for the winter, it is still best when they are looking a bit ‘tired and weary’, to let them have a ‘rest period’, trim them back and re-pot if necessary

Growing a Fuchsia Standard Take cuttings in the normal way. For standards it is better if you can find a 'three-leaf' cutting, not absolutely necessary but the advantage is the resultant head, produces 50% more branches.

The difference between growing a plant for a standard instead of a bush is that the intention is to grow the stem strong and straight so we should do all we can to encourage upward growth. All the energy should be directed up the central stem, and any side shoots that develop in the leaf axils should be removed as early as possible. Do not remove large leaves on main stem (next to where you have removed side shoot, these give strength to main stem and will fall off naturally).

Never let your plant become pot-bound, this will encourage it to flower and we do not want this to happen before we have achieved growing a strong, shaped standard. When you first see roots at bottom of pot, pot-up into next size

When the plant is growing strongly (3" pot size), place a thin cane alongside the stem, tie very loosely, and turn the pot every day to encourage a straight and strong stem. When the plant has reached between 15 and 18 inches let side shoots develop on the next four sets of leaf axils. As further side shoots develop remove the lowest set so that you always have four sets at the top of the developing standard. Continue to grow the stem of your standard until it reaches the height you require then pinch out the shoot at top of the main stem.

When 'head' begins to develop pinch out growing tip after you have 2 pairs of leaves. Do this on each stem to produce a nice shaped head. Feed plant with a balanced feed NPK 20-20-20.Trailing varieties used for hanging baskets make excellent standards, but experiment, start off with a smaller flowering variety and try to grow a mini standard, later try a larger standard.

Pests and Diseases. Pests: Common to fuchsia are Whitefly, Greenfly, Red spider Mite, Capsid Bugs, and Vine weevil.

A lot of the above can be irradiated with regular spraying of insecticide - follow manufacturers instructions. If you do not like using insecticide - spray with a 'soft-soap' solution (not detergent).

Vine weevil. The adults make notches in the fuchsia leaves. Go out after dark with a torch (they are nocturnal), pick them off and stamp on them. The larvae do more damage especially to young plants. They survive on eating the young white roots of your plants. Prevention: treat with Provado, or diluted Armillatox or Nematodes.

If you have a greenhouse make sure it is absolutely clean in the Autumn before placing your plants in to over winter. Remove all plants before carrying out this procedure. Best is to buy a sulphur candle, light it and burn overnight. Next morning open door, do not go in yourself until the end of the day. Greenhouse will be rid of any pests.

Diseases: - Botrytis: a fungus caused mostly by insufficient air-circulation and over-watering, especially in the winter months. Always remove any dead leaves etc. that may be lying on the soil of your pots. General cleanliness and good ventilation helps to prevent Botrytis. Fuchsia Rust: Pale yellowish spots appear on the surface of the leaves, the undersurface will reveal orange pustules. Pick off all affected leaves, and leaves which have fallen on to the soil. Destroy. Spray plant with a fungicide.

Please feel free to send me an email if you need further advice, Happy Fuchsia Growing - Kath