Friday, November 18, 2011

What care does my fuchsia plant need?

Fuchsias are surprisingly easy to keep in the flower beds, and in many soils will produce a good display of flowers if simply kept weed free and watered in dry weather.





However, the best fuchsias are ones which are regularly watered and fed weekly with general purpose fertiliser - ones high in potassium are believed to produce superior flowers, but a general purpose fertiliser appears to do the job just as well. A mulch of well rotted-compost around the plant will go a long way to preserve moisture and provide nutrients.





In common with many flowering plants, fuchsias produce better and more flowers if they are regularly dead-headed.


When the flowers begin to shrivel, they will drop off by themselves, but leave a seed pod which will take energy from the plant. The seed pod is shown by the arrow in the picture on the left. This should be removed (pinching off with your fingers), as soon as the flower fades or falls off.























Pinching Out Fuchsias


Fuchsias flower on young wood, so the more young branches there are, the more flowers you will get. To encourage a fuchsia to produce young branches, pinch out the growing points where they have more than two sets of leaves. Remember though, that fuchsias reach their flowering peak, around 12 weeks after you last pinched out the shoots. With this in mind, stop pinching out the growing shoots around mid-April time at the latest.





Fuchsias in a Container


For a good hanging basket display, plant four or five trailing fuchsias around the edge and fill around them with compost. It's best to choose plants of the same variety, because that way they will grow evenly and provide more impact. Lobelia or trailing geraniums can be planted with them. The type of hanging basket used will affect how often you have to water them - solid plastic baskets with a reservoir for water at the bottom are best - the fuchsias will grow and cover the basket in six weeks or so.





Caring for all container grown fuchsias is simple but can be time-consuming. they require a weekly liquid feed and daily watering - watch them carefully in dry weather to ensure the basket does not dry out.





Growing in tubs is relatively simple, with one trick - fuchsias put on a lot of top growth in a season and are very prone to tipping over in relatively moderate wind. So ensure that reasonably large tubs are used, nothing less than 30cm (12in), bigger if possible. Place lots of gravel and/or crocks at the bottom of the tub to weigh it down and keep it stable in the wind. A mixture of peat and John Innes compost (heavier) will also give the tub a useful amount of weight.

What care does my fuchsia plant need?
http://www.heyne.com.au/gardencentre/fac...
Reply:Depends on where you live, and what kind they are.





If you live somewhere dry, you may need to spray them with Cloud Cover. They need to be kept in the shade, but how much also depends on where you are. If you have them in sandy soil, which is what they love, it's almost impossible to overwater them. If you live in California, you needn't worry about winter unless you are in the Sierras. If you live elsewhere there are some varieties of fuchsias can overwinter outside. Others you will need to mulch or bring in.


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