Articles Written By Members and Associates

Getting Things Moving

February can be harsh, weather-wise, but with March just around the corner things can only improve, and so looking just a little ahead - these are exciting times for the keen fuchsia grower. Hopefully one or two fuchsia catalogues will have been dropped through the letter-box by now. Our notebooks, so diligently filled in last season will be bursting with information, new varieties seen and heard about, and information gleaned from articles and shows will now be put into the "boiling pot" and plans formulated for the busy season ahead.

Those growers who intend showing for the first time this year and who are dependent on one or more of the specialist nurseries for their potential show plants, should, without delay, now get their orders in. A quick telephone call will ensure if the particular varieties you seek are in stock - a lot of exhibitors place their orders in the previous autumn, to ensure they get their selections on time. Also, some varieties are notoriously slow to produce sizeable cutting material early in the year.

Those keen growers with heated glass should try to maintain an average temperature of 45 - 50 degrees now, though it is prudent to remember that each 5 degree rise in temperature will double the fuel cost - something worth bearing in mind if you start your plants off too early or over winter in green leaf. Second and third year plants that have been over wintered without leaf, but have been kept frost-free, should now be resurrected from their sleeping quarters. Ensure the rootball is not dry. If it is just gently moisten with tepid water, and for the next week or so give them maximum light and spray the hard wood daily with clean, tepid water. When new growth is evident prune to shape if show plants are required, or let the growths expand for cuttings use. Whatever use you have for these plants, once the new growth is seen it is advisable to knock the plants from their pots, shake as much of the old, tired compost off as possible, and lightly root prune, being careful not to damage any of the new young white roots, and then down pot a couple of pot sizes, replacing the old compost with a fresh supply. The plant will repay you handsomely for this treatment in the months ahead. If you fear that the plant may not have survived the winter, try scratching the bark just below the surface of the compost, and if it is bright green underneath then continue spraying as above and fresh growth should be imminent. Standards should not be pruned as hard as your shrub types, try and leave at least two fresh growths on each lateral.

It is also a good idea now, before rapid growth on our plants leaves us little time for anything else other than pinching, watering and potting on, to ensure we have adequate stocks of fertiliser, insecticides/fungicides, pots and compost. There is nothing more annoying on a weekend when you have escaped the washing up and are looking forward to a serious potting on session, than when searching for the next pot size, to find they have all been used up! On the subject of compost, always buy the best quality you can afford. It is a shame to spend a lot of time, money and effort on your plants and then pot them on into something little better than wood shavings in some cases. The old adage "you only get what you pay for" certainly applies to compost. Be especially wary of "Special Offers" from the large DIY stores. Ask yourself - are they selling their own brand compost cheaply to do me a favour? Is this a loss leader or perhaps it is last year's compost, which has probably been stored outside all winter open to the elements. Such treatment will probably have reduced the nutrient value - rendering the contents to little more than an inert bag of expensive peat.

Do not be frightened to ask the vendor when he took delivery. I can personally recommend Levington, Shamrock and Arthur Bowers potting composts. For many years we made our own compost using Irish Moss peat, washed grit, and Chempak base fertiliser. Unfortunately time and the quantity required deprives us of this exercise now.

For those growers who do not have the time for greenhouse culture, but prefer to grow their fuchsias as half-hardy or hardy outside in the border, again speak to your favourite nursery and earmark a selection of new varieties or replacements if necessary. When growing on varieties for future permanent growing in the garden (May onwards) it is advisable to use plants ex 4 inch pots or larger. This size of pot has the required rootball so important for establishment in the first year of the plant's life. When planting your new plants outside, ensure that the top of the rootball is planted 3 inches to 4 inches deeper, as opposed to if you were potting them on into the next size pot. This method will not only protect the rootball, but has the advantage of throwing additional shoots from below ground level in subsequent years. It also obviates the need to cover the plants with bracken or ashes in the Autumn as protection against frosts. When you are approaching the time when all fear of hard frosts is past, it will be beneficial to prune the established hardies in the borders hard, almost down to ground level, even though there may be evidence of new growth some way up the stems. This treatment will ensure a well-rounded shrub, amply covered in lush foliage and dripping with blooms later in the season. Further treatment of the beds would be to gently weed the area using a hand fork just to break the soil up. As fuchsias have many shallow roots, irreparable damage can be caused early in the season with over-zealous use of a digging fork! A handful of Growmore sprinkled around the drip line of each specimen will pay dividends in the months ahead. In the unlikely event of it being a dry Spring, water the Growmore in after a few days. If you have ready access to a supply of well-rotted horse manure, mushroom compost, or similar, this liberally applied as a thick mulch to the surface of the bed and the fuchsias will think it is all their birthdays rolled into one. Not only should the whole bed look neat, clean and tidy, but the mulch acts as a moisture-retaining blanket. Newly-planted hardies would benefit from manual watering during their first year, but in subsequent seasons this should not be necessary. There is also no necessity to pinch out your hardy fuchsias. The magic of growing them outdoors is that they form symmetrical shapes all by themselves without interference from us - just like Mother Nature has been doing for millions of years!

Good growing, and enjoy your fuchsias!

AF (member)
First published in the February 1997 news letter