Fuchsia

Fuchsia: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Small shrub of 30–60 cm, upright or trailing; can also be trained as a standard.

Leaves

Oval, slightly toothed and opposite; green, reddish or variegated in some varieties.

Flower

Hanging, with a long tube, four spreading sepals and below them a bell-shaped ‘skirt’ of petals; stamens and style stick out well beyond it.

Colour

Red, pink, purple, violet and white, often with sepals and skirt in different colours.

Fruit

Small dark berries after flowering.

Flowering: June–October · Plants: May–June · Pruning: March–April

Why grow it?

• Flowers from June to October, even in partial shade.
• A huge choice of varieties: upright or trailing, with single or double flowers.
• Lasts for years if you overwinter it frost-free.
• Lovely in pots, tubs and hanging baskets, and as a standard on a patio.
• Very easy from cuttings, so you can raise new plants yourself.

Fuchsia: where does it grow best?

• Partial or light shade, out of hot midday sun; morning or evening sun is fine.
• Humus-rich potting compost, or in the border humus-rich soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to neutral.
• Evenly moist but never sodden: use a pot with a drainage hole.
• Sheltered from strong wind, which damages branches and flowers.
• In the border, 40–50 cm apart.

Light

Partial shade and shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Acid or neutral

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.5 m tall, 0.5 m wide

Hardiness

Frost tender: plant out after the last frost (mid-May)

Goes well with

• Tuberous begonia: Large flowers in the same partial shade, in pots or borders.
• Busy Lizzie: Low, colourful underplanting in shade.
• Lobelia: A blue edge beneath the hanging bells.
• Ferns: Fresh green foliage that makes the flowers glow.
• Hosta: Large leaves beside pots in partial shade.

Fuchsia: when and how to plant it?

Plant in May–June.

1. Put it outside after mid-May, once there is no more risk of night frost.
2. Let an overwintered or bought plant get used to the outdoors for a week in a shady spot first.
3. Choose a pot with a drainage hole, slightly larger than the rootball, and fill it with humus-rich potting compost.
4. Plant at the same depth as before; in the border 40–50 cm apart.
5. Water in well and keep the soil moist for the first few weeks.
6. In the border, a layer of leaf mould keeps the roots cool.

Care

Watering

Keep the compost moist but not sodden. In warm summers check pots every day.

Feeding

From May to August a weekly liquid flowering-plant feed.

Deadheading

Remove spent flowers and young berries, and it will keep flowering.

Pinching

In April pinch out the tips of young shoots after two or three pairs of leaves, for a full, compact plant.

Repotting

In March, after pruning, into fresh compost; use a slightly larger pot if the roots fill the old one.

Tip: Take a few spare cuttings in late August: a young plant overwinters more easily on a cool windowsill than a large shrub.

Fuchsia: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March–April.

When: In March, when the plant starts growing again after winter. In April pinch the young shoots once more.

How:

• Cut all branches back by half, just above a pair of buds.
• Remove dead, thin and inward-growing twigs completely.
• In April pinch the new shoots after two or three pairs of leaves, for a bushy plant.
• Stop pinching at the end of April: it flowers at the tips of the new shoots.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Tip cuttings

In April–May or August–September: cuttings of 5–8 cm with two or three pairs of leaves, lower leaves removed, in moist cutting compost under a clear cover. In good light out of full sun they root within a few weeks.

Training a standard

Let a straight young cutting grow on without pinching to the height you want, remove the side shoots along the stem, then pinch out the tip to form the head.

Fuchsia: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to 0 °C: protect in harsh winters.

• Not hardy: large-flowered fuchsias are killed by frost.
• Bring it in before the first frost, usually in October, to a bright, frost-free place at 5–8 °C.
• Give just enough water to stop the rootball drying out; leaf drop is normal then.
• There are also hardy species, such as Fuchsia magellanica, that can stay outside in the border.

Diseases and pests

• Whitefly: Clouds of tiny white flies when you touch the plant, especially indoors or in a warm, sheltered spot. Yellow sticky traps and an airy position help.
• Red spider mite: Finely speckled, dull leaves and webbing in dry heat. Move the plant somewhere cooler and spray the leaves with water.
• Vine weevil: The grubs eat the roots of potted plants and the plant suddenly wilts. Check the rootball when repotting, remove the white, curled grubs or use nematodes.
• Grey mould: Grey fluff on leaves and stems while overwintering. Ventilate, water less and remove affected parts.

Through the year

• January: Overwinter at 5–8 °C. Give just enough water.
• February: Check for grey mould and whitefly.
• March: Cut all branches back by half. Repot in fresh compost.
• April: Pinch out young shoots. Move to a lighter, warmer spot. Take cuttings.
• May: After mid-May, move outside into partial shade. Start feeding.
• June: Flowering starts. Feed weekly and water.
• July: Remove spent flowers and berries.
• August: Full bloom. Take cuttings. Last feed.
• September: Flowering continues. Water less in cooler weather.
• October: Bring in frost-free before the first frost.
• November: Overwinter in a light, cool place. Little water.
• December: Rest. Check the rootball now and then.

Did you know?

• The name honours Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566), a German botanist who wrote a famous illustrated herbal.
• The French friar and botanist Charles Plumier found the first fuchsia around 1700 on the island of Hispaniola and gave it its name.
• In their homeland many fuchsias are pollinated by hummingbirds, which visit the hanging, tubular flowers.