Fuchsia Compendium

Fuchsia Compendium - H

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

HALF STANDARD - see Standard

HANGING BASKET - read your show schedule carefully to see what size and type of basket is permitted. If you are not going to enter your basket in a show the choice is yours. Choose a suitable fuchsia that is lax enough to eventually hide the basket. One, two or three year old plant will fill a 16" basket but generally five current year’s plants are used, but more can be used if you so wish.

HARDENING OFF - a process where plants are slowly acclimatised to outdoor conditions. This is generally just a spring time task when plants are placed outside on suitable days, and taken back in for the night until you feel that they are ready to be left out permanently. A cold frame and Fleece are useful tools to have on standby.

HARDIES - can be planted out after the last frosts and before mid-July so that they are well established before winter. Best from 5" pots. Prepare the bed well. Plant three or four inches deeper than normal by making a 10" - 12" wide depression 3" or 4" deep plant at this level but do not back fill the depression. Allow the soil to gradually work back in through the year, the reason being that the stems may not be mature enough to withstand an attack of soil borne fungi. The extra depth gives a greater protection to the crown of the plant. Although a plant may be classed as hardy it does not mean that it will survive. I find that fuchsias grown on the north side of a house or fence have a greater survival rate than if they were on the south side. Their hardiness also depends on soil type, and drainage. What suits one, does not suit another, hence all the conflicting lists of what is hardy, and what is not.

HARDIES CLASS - this is a hardy fuchsia list nominated by the B.F.S. for exhibiting at shows governed by their rules.

HARDWOOD CUTTING - a cutting of ripened wood from the current year’s growth taken during the dormant season. Choose a stem and trim just above and below a pair of buds leaving it two or three inches long. Dress wounds with fresh rooting hormone powder and insert by a third of their length into a suitable cuttings compost. This is a good way of regenerating a plant that has been severely damaged by vine weevil grubs.

HARDY FUCHSIA LIST - see the Fuchsia Lists section.

HEAT - not essential but fuchsias need to be kept frost free and slightly moist.

HEATED GREENHOUSE - 1- 2 C will keep a greenhouse frost free, it is useless to heat any higher unless a maximum temperature of 7-9C can be maintained. Increase to a maximum of 10C in March. End of month increase to a maximum of 12 C. also see temperature.

HEATERS - the choice is between gas, oil and electric. Both bottled, mains gas and oil have the disadvantage of giving off moisture during combustion, so much so that paraffin produces one gallon of water to one gallon of paraffin. Electric fans I believe are by far the best. Thermostatically controlled to a fine degree and they circulate the air lessening the effect of mini climates within the greenhouse.

HERBICIDE - chemicals used for killing weeds.

HOLES IN LEAVES - if your plant looks like it has been hit by shotgun pellets the culprit is the Blue Backed Flea Beetle. It is small, half the size of a Ladybird and it drops to the ground when the plant is approached. Remedy is to spray as you would for any Flea Beetle.

HOLES IN TUBES - if a hole appears in the tube of the flower the damaged is generally caused by wasps or caterpillars. The wasps try to take a short cut to the nectar and the caterpillar culprit is quite small and hard to find. Bang the pot down onto a hard surface and the generally fall off.

HONEY FUNGUS - an indication that you have this problem is that birds love the mature honey coloured fungi which have the traditional toadstool shape. These sprout from near the base of the affected plant. On investigation black boot lace threads spread from the base of the affected plant.

HONEY DEW - a sticky sugary excretion of aphids found on leaves below where the aphids are feeding. If left the honey dew is invaded by spores of sooty mould. Remedy by removing plant from under the affected plant or if the plant it’s self is infected with aphids use a suitable spray.

HOPE - what we all have when we take cuttings, before a show and for next year!

HORMONE ROOTING POWDER - a powder that promotes growth and has anti-fungal properties.  Not necessary when propagating from soft growth of fuchsias but is helpful on hardwood cuttings. Make sure that the powder is fresh, discard any that you have dipped the cuttings in and do not use excessively.

HUMIDITY -During the main growing season the humidity should be between 50% & 60%.

HYBRID - the offspring of genetically dissimilar parents or stock.; especially, the offspring produced by breeding plants of different varieties or species. Think of the word hybrid as meaning mongrel. See also Cultivar and Variety. see F1 Hybrid and F2 Hybrid.

HYBRIDISING - the transferring of pollen from one plant to the female part of another hoping that you will be successful in raising a new hybrid. The dominant factors in hybridising are ; red sepals over white sepals, purple petals over white petals, and tall plants over short plants. Choose a mature bloom put a piece of Tuba Gauze over and pull it up until the bud is exposed, pop the bud and cut off the filaments. Pull the Tuba Gauze back down to protect the bloom for a couple of days for it to become mature. The gauze protects the blooms from accidental cross pollination. The stigma should now be sticky and receptive to take the pollen. Recover bloom with gauze or use a small piece of silver paper that has been pre- formed over a match head. This can be placed over the stigma and lightly squeezed to hold in place. This will protect stigma from other stray pollen. If the pollen is not compatible the ovary shrivels and drops off. Tag the bloom with the relevant information of parents, writing the seed parent first, and the pollen parent second. Do not forget to do a  reciprocal cross. Not every ripe berry will contain viable seed or even any. See also Germination of Seed and Propagation.

HYBRIDIZER - a person who has an aim and plan to introduce new varieties by cross breeding. Which is different to a person who only knows the seed parent. I classify them as Seed Gatherers and Sowers. This is not to decry any of their introductions as I have done it myself.

HYDROGEN - a constituent of water.

HYGROMETER - an instrument for measuring humidity. Modern hygrometers are easy to read as the humidity is registered on a dial scale.