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Growing and Caring For Fuchsias
Fuchsia Propagation
from Cuttings
A good fuchsia will cost at least a pound, so what if you want several plants,
but the wife and kids need feeding! Simple answer - grow them yourself.
Forget growing from seeds - it really is a waste of time, take our word for it.
The fuchsia nurseries don't grow plants for sale from seed, nor should
you. The only sensible way to grow fuchsias
is from cuttings - have a go, follow the guide below and you will succeed.
You
need to start the cuttings process in
early March.
You need a fuchsia to take the cuttings from, and that means you need to
buy this fuchsia about four weeks before hand. At this time of year,
fuchsias will not be available in most general purpose garden centres, so you
may need to visit a specialist nursery - have a look on the internet,
the Royal Horticultural Society (www.rhs.org.uk)
site is great for locating a nursery
near you. The earlier you can buy the plants the more cuttings you will
be able to take.
An average timetable would look something like this - it assumes you will
be growing the cuttings on a windowsill, although a heated greenhouse or
fluorescent light system would be the same, possibly 4 weeks earlier:
| early March
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Buy fuchsia, dilute feed once a week |
| mid-March
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Take first cuttings (two or three) |
| late March
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Take more cuttings (one or two) |
| 6
weeks after cuttings |
Pot up into 15cm (6in) pots |
| 4 weeks after potting up |
Begin to harden off
plants |
| 2
weeks later - no earlier than
lateMay
in your area |
Plant outside in borders, tubs or hanging baskets |
Let GardenAction walk you through the six step process
to take fuchsia cuttings, illustrated with pictures.
STEP 1 - CHOOSE A FUCHSIA FOR CUTTINGS
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Choose plants with:
Avoid plants with:
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uneven growth
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aphids, white fly or rust - beware most of all of rust
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correct pot size - roughly 40% pot, 60% visible plant
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signs
of lack of water
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A good example for cuttings
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STEP 2 - PREPARE THE COMPOST AND POTS
| It's best to pot each individual cutting into it's own 7cm (2.75in)
pot. Fill the pot nearly to the top with potting compost.
Place the pot in some water to ensure the compost is fully moist. You
could water from the top with a watering can, but watering from
the bottom ensures that all the compost is moist. |
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STEP 3 - SELECT A GOOD SHOOT FOR CUTTING
| The top left shoot is ideal for use as a cutting - it looks healthy.
The cut on the stem needs to be made above a set of leaves,
leaving three sets of leaves above the cut.
The arrow in the picture shows where the cut should be made. Use a sharp
knife to make the cutting - this will prevent damage to the stem
which could introduce disease into the cutting or the plant itself. |
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