Gardening Tips. One

‘Species’ fuchsias are the plants that are found growing in the wild naturally and from whom all of today’s modern cultivars are descended. There are over 100 natural species, split into 11 separate sections by enthusiasts  who concern themselves with such matters. One section, Procumbentes, has only one species in it; another,  called section Fuchsia, has 61. Many fuchsia nurseries, and even other big nurseries, have some species for sale and they are well worth trying out. They range from fairly small and compact plants to very large floriferous ones. They don’t all need special treatment and conditions, in fact many are easy to grow. Some are tolerant of sunlight, others flower when the days are getting really short so with a bit of care you could have fuchsias in flower all the year round.

Try f. magallenica, f.boliviana, f.denticulata, f.fulgens and f. procumbens for starters.

Gardening Tips. Two

Planting Hardy Fuchsias

Wait until all danger of frost has passed and then dig out a saucer shaped hole at least 5” deep and 15” across. Dig out a smaller hole at the bottom of the saucer to take the rootball. This hole should be slightly larger than the rootball with a mix of peat or potting compost with the surrounding soil to fill any gap.

As the season progresses the ’saucer’ will become backfilled by the action of watering , rainfall and the wind and the rootball will gradually become buried. Don’t do this yourself, let the elements do it for you and the plant will gradually grow through.i. By the onset of autum the plant will have flowered normally but the plant’s rootball will be well below the normal frost line, the object of the exercise.

Note.  Hardy Fuchsias are usually only hardy in their first year if planted in the ground like this. They are not normally hardy enough to survive in the ground over winter and will not survive the winter in pots in an unheated greenhouse.

Gardening Tips. Three

Overwintering fuchsias without heat

If you don’t have a heated greenhouse it is still possible to keep your fuchsias alive over the winter. Where space is short, plants can be put into a cardboard box and stood off the ground, ie on bricks, in a shed or garage. Surround the plants with some sort of insulation such as scrunched up newspaper and cover with horticultural fleece. Put an old blanket over the box when there’s a frost warning.

If you have an unheated greenhouse or conservatory then you can cover the plants with several layers of horticultural fleece – the manufacturers say this should keep out five degrees of frost.

Plants could also be put into a spare room, but turn the heating off in that room as fuchsias like it cool. If you put plants on a window cill, make sure the plants are pulled away form the glass of the window when you draw the curtains at night.

However the plants are stored, never let them dry out as they are still alive, but don’t get then too wet either as this will encourage mildew or botrysis.