Garden fuchsia is a beautiful ornamental plant, valued for its wonderful flowers. It can be grown in the ground as well as in containers on terraces or balconies. How to properly grow fuchsia so that it blooms every year? What is the reproduction of fuchsia and how to properly winter fuchsia until next spring? Here are the secrets to growing fuchsia and the best fuchsia varieties to grow on your balcony and garden.
Fuchsia
Garden fuchsia(Fuchsia x hybrida) is a cross between several wild fuchsia plants native to Central and South America.Some people call fuchsia a lancet, it owes its popularity mainly to unusual flowers, reminiscent of dancing ballerinas. Fuchsia flowers are the most characteristic element of these plants.
Older fuchsia shoots in the lower part of the plant become woody, while the younger, annuals are thin and slender. Stems can be upright or drooping, which is why fuchsia is often used as hanging balcony flowers. Fuchsia plants vary in size. They can be about 25 cm tall, but there are also varieties over 1 meter tall! The fuchsia leaves are ovate and pointed at the apex. Fuchsia flowers bloom from the second half of summer until fall.
Fuchsia - cultivation and care
Fuchsia prefer sunny or semi-shaded locations, sheltered from the wind.Growing fuchsiais possible on almost any soil enriched with peat. A suitable soil pH for growing fuchsia is 6.0-6.5. During the growth period, until the end of flowering (March-October), fuchsia should be fed every two weeks using multi-component mineral fertilizers.Whencaring for fuchsia , pay attention to aphids as they are the most common pests of these plants.
Note!For fuchsia to be a really good specimen, every year the tops of its shoots should be removed. This will force the plant to branch out.
Wintering fuchsia
Fuchsiain our climate, unfortunately, it is not resistant to frost, so it should be properly secured if we want it to survive the winter.
If the fuchsia grew in the ground, before the first frosts, we need to transplant them (with a large root ball) into a large pot. Then move the pot to a cool and fairly dark place that is frost-free. This type of place forfuchsia winteringcan be a basement, garage or unheated corridor in a block of flats. This place should be kept at a temperature of 5-8oC. During the wintering of fuchsia, we minimize watering it so as not to allow the root ball to dry out.
From December to March, we slowly wake up fuchsia from hibernation and begin to prepare it for the new growing season. We transfer the fuchsia to a bright place with a temperature of about 15 ° C and start watering it abundantly. When the danger of frost is over (late May - early June), we can safely place the fuchsia in its permanent place again or put it on a terrace or balcony.
Breeding fuchsia
Fuchsia should be propagated from cuttings.Fuchsia seedlingsare collected in March or April, when the plant will develop new shoots. We create a seedling by breaking a new shoot and removing the lower leaves, keeping the upper ones. The next step inpropagating the fuchsiais placing the cuttings in water or substrate until roots are formed. At a temperature of 20-22 ° C, it usually takes about 3 weeks. When the seedling has developed roots, it can be transplanted into a small pot with rich soil (7-9 cm in diameter).As the young plant grows, transplant it into a larger pot with a diameter of 11 cm. When the danger of frost is over (late May - early June), youngfuchsiacan be planted into the ground permanently or in larger pots, placed on the balcony. This is how the process of reproducing fuchsia ends.
Fuchsia varieties
Garden fuchsiais valued for its beautiful flowers. Currently, there are about 2,000 varieties of fuchsia! Fuchsia flowers can be white, cream, pink, orange, salmon, red and purple in various shades. The habit of fuchsia flowers, as well as of the whole plant, depends on the typefuchsia varietyHere are some of the most beautiful fuchsia varieties:
'Tom Thumb' - a sought-after variety of fuchsia, height and width 50 cm. with small flowers in red and violet-red.
'Lady Thumb' - similar to 'Tom Thumb' but the flowers are white and red.
'Cascade' - a variety of fuchsia with drooping shoots, ideal for growing in hanging pots. The fuchsia flowers are pinkish white and dark pink.
'Mrs. Popple 'and' Ting-aling '- white flowering fuchsia varieties.
In garden centers you can also buyfuchsia varietiesin stem form, i.e. looking like a tree.
Katarzyna Matuszak
