 |
The Gardener's Almanac |  |
||||
| Index | FAQ's | Links | Photos | Guest book | ||
| Fuchsia |
|
|
|
/Carla%20Johnson%20(single).JPG)
/Eva%20Boerg%20(sd).JPG)
/Harry%20Gray%20(dble).jpg)
/Gartenmeister%20(tryph).JPG)
Single flowers have four petals
Semi-Double flowers have five to eight petal.
Double flowers have layers of eight or more petals.
Tryphyllas are formed as a cluster of long thin tubular flowers with a small sepals, and corolla.
Fuchsia also come in a wide range of sizes and colours within the above groups as can be seen here;
Cultural Notes;
Environment;
A temperature of 2°- 3°C (35°- 40°F) should be sufficient to keep plants alive over winter.
An ideal temperature in summer would be around 16°- 21°C (60°- 70°F)
At temperatures above 24°C (75°F) plants stop growing
To alleviate this situation the plants should be shaded & well ventilated.
Alternatively, place the plants in a spot outside that is protected from the wind.
Start Up;
Week 4; Pot back plants if not done prior to placing them in winter storage.
This is done by removing some soil and part of the root ball i.e. sufficient as to allow re-potting into a pot 25mm (1”) less, for example 125mm diam down to 100mm diam (5”- 4”).
Take care not to damage the new roots these are easily recognisable, they will be light coloured as opposed to the brown of the previous years growth.
Thoroughly moisten the compost, and allow to drain.
Keep the plants in a minimum temperature of 13°C(55°F)
Week 5; Start the new season’s growth, by spraying the plants with tepid water.
Keep the plants in a minimum temperature of 13°C (55°F).
Soon the new buds will begin to appear, thus showing where the new growth will come from.
Week 7-8; Prune fuchsia when the new buds appear.(see Pruning section)
Propagation;
Week 12; Take tip cuttings
Select healthy tips of stems, and trim to just below a leaf joint to leave a cutting of about 70-100mm (3”-4”) long.
Insert round the rim of a pot filled with a well-drained compost.
Place in a propagator or a clear plastic bag indoors.
Cuttings ;
A normal cutting has three or four pairs of leaves and will be approx. 75 mm (3") long, and a tip cutting consists of the tip plus one pair of leaves.
n.b. Cuttings may be taken from the Mother plants at most any time in the growing season, but best results are achieved with softwood /tip cuttings, i.e early season growth, taken in May - June.
Semi-hardwood cuttings taken in autumn (Week 35>) take much longer to root.
Method ;
Remove all but the top pair of leaves and the tip.
Trim stem to just below a leaf joint/node.
Dip cutting in a fungicide mixture to prevent damping off (Botrytis,)
Insert cutting into a pot, tray or cell tray containing a mixture of three parts seed compost, one part silver sand, one part pearlite, and one part vermiculite.
(Dipping the cutting in a rooting powder is optional)
Water the cuttings well and place in a shaded propagator holding a temperature of around 13°C (55°F).
Cuttings should never be allowed to dry out, but be careful with the watering as more plants are lost by over watering than are lost by under watering.
Spray them regularly with clear water, possibly once or twice a day (depending upon the growing conditions ) to prevent dehydration.
n.b. a spraying method adopted by some people to prevent the cuttings being attacked by botrytis and aphids, is to mix a fungicide and an insecticide with the clear water ( in the proportions recommended by the manufactures) and spray with this.
Cuttings should root in about 12-14 days.
One can usually tell when they have rooted, the tip will have turned a darker green and the plant will look perkier.
The cuttings are then potted up. (see Potting.)
Cuttings can also be rooted in water but the roots tend to be brittle.
This method is not particularly suited to tip cuttings (they are too small).
Take normal cuttings cut and trimmed as described before and place upright in a suitable container of fresh water until rooted.
To reduce the chances of damaging the roots when potting up, dibble a hole in the compost large enough to take the root system, then water in compost around roots.
Seed Propagation;
Fuchsias normally come true to type from seed.
Own Seed;
Remove seed pods from the plant when ripe(purple).
To remove the seed from the pod squeeze the pod between the forefinger and thumb onto a piece absorbent paper e.g. paper kitchen towel to absorb excess liquid.
Sow immediately on to damp seed compost and cover with silver sand then place in shaded propagator set @ 21°-24°C (70°-75°F)
Leave in seed tray until spring then prick out.
Commercial seed;
Week 10; Sow seed in pots/trays of seed compost and germinate at 21°-24°C (70°-75°F)
Germination should take up to two weeks.
Prick out when large enough to handle into individual 75mm(3") pots of potting compost and grow on at a temperature of 20°C (68°F).
Temperature can be reduced once plants are established in their pots.
Potting up Rooted cuttings;
Week 14-15; Start newly rooted cuttings off in a 50mm (2"pot), then pot on regularly into larger pots, i.e. before they become pot bound.
n.b. It is not good practice to pot up from a small pot to a much larger pot, to do so could adversely affect the plant, even kill it, use a pot approx. 25mm ( 1") larger than previous pot.
Re-potting Established plants;
This is generally done soon after plants have been started up in Jan/Mar.
Tease out the old compost, lightly prune old roots (brown ones) taking care not to damage new roots, (white ones) then pot on into clean pot usually one/two sizes smaller than it was in previously.
Some people dip the rootball into an insecticide mixture at this stage to rid the plant of any unwelcome guests e.g. Vine weevil larvae.
Re-pot into any proprietary potting compost then water plants in using a fine rose on watering can to minimize soil disturbance.
It is unlikely that the plants will require any more water for approx. 10 days
Do not go any larger than a 5”/6"diam.pot in its 1st.year.
Keep plants in cold frame during summer months to harden off.
Ease off on watering around Sept/Oct. to encourage a semi - dormant state.
Watering;
Treat plants as individuals as some take up water faster than others.
Water plants early in the day rather than in the evening, particularly when they are in bud/flower this will reduce the risk of bud drop.
Always water from the top with a fine rose, to water from the spout only can lead to washing compost away from the base of the plant thus depriving the plant roots of nutrients and protection.
Watering is not an exact science it all comes back to experience i.e. it depends on the size of plant, size of pot, weather, to name but a few.
Possibly the best way of judging the plants needs; is by weight.
After watering a plant and the surplus has drained off, lift the pot and feel its weight, later when you lift the pot and it feels much lighter then water it.
In winter be very careful, keep the soil just slightly damp remember the plants are semi- dormant and don't require a great deal of water.
Always remember over watering kills more plants than under watering.
Feeding;
This is sometimes a controversial subject among growers.
This is most likely brought about for many reasons, for example;
Where the grower resides,
The site where he grows them,
The type of potting compost used,
The variety grown,
Whether they are being grown for exhibition or pleasure, to name but few.
The following list should give reasonable results in most situations.
First feed: Approximately 10-14 days from first potting on
Early Season; High nitrogen to promote leaf growth. e.g. 3:0:1 or 3:1:1.
Mid Season: Increase Phosphates to promote good root growth e.g. 3:2:1
Approx. 2 / 3 weeks prior to buds forming give a balanced feed e.g. 1:1:1
Budded: Change to high Potash feed e.g. 1:1:3. or 1:2:3.
n.b. Some growers will say; give a balanced feed at this stage 1:1:1: the choice is yours.
Stopping;
Stopping is required to produce a well shaped plant and numerous flowers.
It can also assist in controlling when the plant will flower if they are to be used for exhibition.
Wait till the shoots (breaks) are large enough to allow the removal of approximately 6mm (1/4") from the tip of the shoot by means of the thumb and finger nail, (small scissors if you wish).
Generally the accepted timing for this operation is when the shoots (breaks) have produced four sets of leaves, although some people stop after two pair, and on in extreme cases after one set.(The choice is yours)
When buds begin to appear, stop all the strong growing tips at least eight weeks prior to the flowering date required.
Ensure you make all the stops at the same time in order to achieve balanced flowering.
Generally stopping times are as follows:
Singles; 60 days. Semi doubles; 70 days. Doubles; 90 days.
Pruning;
Pruning is done to control the size/shape of the plant and to ensure there's lots of new wood.(Fuchsias only bloom on new wood)
After flowering (Sept/Nov) they can be lightly pruned prior to storing.
Leave hard pruning till Jan/Mar depending upon the amount of heat available.
Generally cut back approx. 2/3rds.of previous years growth, leaving 2-3 joints (nodes) on each lateral.
Prune standards back harder than bush plants to encourage tighter growth.
Trailing/basket varieties require hard pruning to encourage growth from the base of the plant.
Training & Shaping Standards;
Recommended stem lengths as per; British Fuchsia Society
Measurements are taken from top of soil to the underside of the first break (branch)
Miniature standard; Min; 150mm (6") - Max; 250mm (10")
Quarter standard; Min; 250mm (10") - Max; 450mm (18")
Half standard; Min; 450mm (18") - Max; 750mm (30")
Full standard; Min; 750mm (30") - Max; 1050mm (42")
Note; The head of a finished Standard should be approximately one third of the total height, and the width approximately two thirds of the height.
Select the stock plant you intend growing into a Standard and if possible but not essential, select a plant that throws sets of three leaves from the growing tip rather than the normal two.(This type of cutting will throw an extra branch at each node thus making a more dense and bushier head).
Grow the plant on without stopping supporting as necessary to a cane inserted as closely as possible to the stem, pot on as described in a previous paragraph.
As the plant is gaining height do not remove any leaves from the stem. these are required to let the plant photosynthesize during its growing period.
Remove the side shoots that form in axils of these leaves until the desired height has been achieved leave the top two or three (axils) eventually these will form the head.
Ensure that the plant never becomes pot bound as this will encourage it to bud and flower it will also retard the plants upward growth.
When the plant reaches the desired height stop it (see stopping ) then treat as a bush variety.
The leaves can be removed from the stem when the required shape is achieved, that is if they have not already fallen off naturally.
Winter Care;
It is essential that the plants (sometimes referred to as ‘sticks’ because of their appearance) be kept frost free and never be allowed to dry out.
Prior to storing defoliate plants by hand if they have not done this naturally.
Keep autumn rooted plants ticking over from November - January.
Store established plants by laying them on their sides in a frost free location e.g. greenhouse, shed, garage.
Largest plants at the bottom and the smaller plants on top, the closer the plants are laid together the better then cover over with fleece, sacking, or peat.
Some people are known to excavate a hole in the garden or greenhouse border and bury the plants, pots and all.
About this Site © The Gardener's Almanac 2005 Top of page