Delicate as jewelery gems, fuchsia flowers decorate each collection of plants grown in pots and containers.Viewed up close, the bell-shaped flowers hanging on long stalks delight with their unusual, unique form and colors.Their crown petals look like ballerinas dresses with long, stiff pillars and stamens hanging from them. Four elongated petals of the calyx float above the crown of the flower, most often neatly bent upwards.
Most varieties have two-color flowers, flaunting with all sorts of shades of white, pink, red, lilac, purple and even blue. From spring to autumn, hundreds of buds open on the fuchsia shoots, and this way the number of flowers more than compensates for their rather modest size.
The huge variety of varieties is a temptation to collect. Fuchsia, also called lancets, also have an attractively varied habit, ranging from showy trees, to magnificent plants in containers, to small shrubs in balcony boxes. The higher tiers are dominated by varieties with drooping shoots, planted, for example, in dangling ampluses.
The more shade, the less flowers. This rule applies to most ornamental plants grown in pots and containers.Fuchsia is in a small group of notable exceptions. It blooms wonderfully in shaded places.This property makes it an exceptionally valuable plant, popular for decades and very often decorating balconies. In the shade, only begonias and impatiens bloom, which are perfect partners for lancets in pot arrangements.
In caring for fuchsia, it is worth using the knowledge about their natural positions. The homeland of tropical shrubs is Central and South America. They grow there in cooler, higher altitudes under trees whose crowns allow sunlight filtered through the leaves, or on the edge of a rainforest.The earth in these places is humid, and the air is characterized by high humidity.We have the best development in those lions which are provided with conditions similar to "home".
Fuchsia like shade
A perfect place for shade lovers is the eastern side of the house. The mild morning sun serves the fuchsia perfectly. They also do well in bright shade under trees, as well as in places lit by the waning rays of the sun that is leaning towards the west.On the other hand, hot rays of the sun in the afternoon hours cause burns of leaves and flowers. Contact with them is harmful to most varieties.
Fuchsia is very sensitive to drought. Hot summer days are a difficult time in their lives. It will be helpful to place the plants in full shade, and to sprinkle the entire specimens in the morning and evening. The pots should also be protected from heating and, above all, dark containers should be covered.Be careful when fuchsia leaves hang in the heat.Often this is not a symptom of a water shortage, but a natural defense against excessive evaporation.
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Fuksje are perfect for breeding in pots or ampls (Photo: Fotolia.com) |
Watering in such a situation can greatly harm the plant roots. Careful watering is an important condition for the successful cultivation of these attractive plants. Fuchsia like soil that is constantly slightly moist. They cannot stand the drying of the root ball or the substrate which is excessively saturated with water for a long time.The heated root ball should never be watered with cold water. When fertilizing, it is worth following the rule: it is better to feed the plants weekly with weaker than to use a high dose from time to time.
Uhlanes bloom luxuriantly if we regularly remove wilting flowers. We also carefully control pests, such as aphids and whiteflies. In the fall, fuchsia shed their leaves. Trim bare shoots just before the first frost and move the plants to light or dark plots with a temperature of 2-8 ° C. From March, we move the plants to a warmer room, trim the shoots again and replant them.After hardening them outside, put them out at the end of April.
The best varieties of fuchsia
In the test of 40 different varieties, the winners were fuchsia, the most blooming, he althy and vital. In addition, they do not set seeds, which makes our care very much easier:
1. 'Beacon' is a very popular and appreciated variety.
2. 'Eden Rock' is decorated with contrasting blue and red colors.
3. 'Miniroos' delights with lots of miniature flowers and a delicate play of colors. It can also grow in sunny places.
4. Shadow Dancer 'Shirley' blooms tirelessly also in the hot summer weeks. Red and white flowers grow densely next to each other on fine-leaved stems.
5. Shadow Dancer 'Peggy' is a compact fuchsia, erect shoots and coral flowers with cream sepals.
6. 'Diva Beacon' is a new, profusely blooming purple-red form.
