Fuchsias

Yea, I have now realised that Hywell, I have dug one or two before, thought they were dead, I was just about to do the same to another, then noticed the tiny green leaves. I never bother them again now, till the summer, by then something should be happening. Thank you for that....

I was very patient too and now have new shoots on my fuchsia....it is amazing how something looks totally dead comes back to life....the goys and surprises of gardening i just love it....

Yeah,all my fuchsias starded to put on some new growth in the last week or two.
Used to be worried about them,now i pretty much ignore them and let them do their thing :-)

i findin that hapen wiht many plnts an bulb - sumtime no life, even later in yeer - then next yeer = "Oh wow - i thinkin htat weer dead!!"

Thanks for this information Hywel as I got some Fuchias given to me and have no idea how to look after them,they did put some growth and flowers last year but after the severe winter I was not sure if they had survived, so I will leave them be and see what happens.

thanks from me too ,I was just about giving up on mine as well,it looks the same as picture 2. without the fresh growth.

How strange Hywel only this morning I got my spade out to remove a fuchsia `Tom Thumb` because last week there was no sign of life, and yes you`ve guessed it this morning when I looked there were tiny little red shoots right as the bottom.

Thanks for the welcome advice, Hywel~great blog too! :~))

D'oh!! I thought mine were dead and dug them out last week <:-( Didn't see any sign of growth at all and did the scratch test.... I think I've lost all my Satelite fuchsias sadly....there is one left in the ground, so I'll leave it be in the hope a little green shoot comes up from under the soil like in your photo Hywel.

I have already thrown out quite a lot and on the back of that decision decided not to buy any new ones from Gower Fuchsias until I can successfully get them through the winters like we have just had~maybe a trifle premature it seems but I can't cope with trays of dead looking plants...got a tray that I might keep for a bit longer though
thanks for the info Hywel...

I felt like that Arlene - dead-looking plants taking up space...

Have to agree with everything you say Hywel..

Have to say, you've just saved the life of my little fuchsia. Checked on it after reading your blog and there it was, signs of life! Thanks Hywel :-)

~we will know better next year Sarah! but you can only hang on to things taking up room for so long as you say.....
Incidentally we travelled home via Leominster and Hereford on Sunday~ really quiet with lovely countryside views along the byroads but it was very very busy when we passed through Hereford at about 3 pm~was it football related?

Just like to warn everyone, a frost is forcast for most parts tonight!!! I have fuchsias just coming into leaf, i shall be protecting mine just to be on the safe side!

thanx usefull info hywel, wish i had seen this sooner as i threw 3 away last week ;o( kept one though cause i thought i saw a shoot,

Thanks for all your comments. I put my dead-looking fuchsias under some greenhouse staging where they get the drips from above. They don't take up much room because there are only a few of them.

Thanks for the warning Tiger.

a timely blog and full of good info thanks hywell.

Thanks Hywel I'm glad you didn't lose your fuschias. Mine looks dead but daffodils came up through it and I was just waiting till they finished before heaving it out.Will take a closer look before I do now :)

i kept mine even tho they look quite dead - put them on the top shelf in greenhouse forgotten all about them- must look if anything is happening thanks hywell

Arlene - I'll PM you!

I used to have a `Tom Thumb` Hywel and that would sometimes be very late. I think it depended how it felt at the time...lol! :o)

That's good info Hywel.....a hardy one Brutus, I had decided to dig up...but have found growth there at the base...so a stay of execution!!...:o))

I totally agree with you, Hywel. I've also noticed over the years that they can be very slow to start in the spring.

I mentioned on here a couple of weeks ago that the five Thalia Fuchsias I had in 5 hanging baskets had apparently all died. They I discover that two hadn't died after all. When I moved the baskets from the interior of the balcony to the exterior I saw that 2 had red sprouts at the base. The other 3 weren't showing anything a week ago, but as I have to get up on a chair to look inside the baskets, I haven't looked any more.

Whenever I've had to throw a Fuchsia away I've always checked the roots. Like you I've seen new shoots there.I'll let you know if any of the other 3 Thalias "wake up" or if they are really dead.

Thanks for this Hywel...thought our "Hawkshead" was a goner...but just like you have a few tiny shoots at base..so waiting and watching !

reading this blog, I'm so glad I left mine in the ground, Garden News is just starting to poke through the ground :))

I'm glad so many people have fuchsias that have survived. They are tougher than we may think.
Thank you all for your comments.

like you Hywel, i always hang on to my dead looking fuschias. It's such a joy to see the bits of green coming through when they eventually come to life.

Checked out my sad little Fuchsias yesterday, and sure enough, life is returning!

Good :o)

was gonna dig up my dead looking fushia, after your advice i'm going to leave it a few more weeks till I decide. Thank you.

I hope it is still alive Donna.

Thank you Hywel for this I shall now hold on to my standard and not throw it away.

I hope it's all right. Did you have it protected for the winter. You might see it sprouting from the base.

Yes I did I had it in my shed I was told by a scottish gardener who was an expert in fuchsias, years ago as long as you keep them damp at a certain tempreture I think it was 40 degree or some thing they did nt need light, I have done this before with other fuchsias and they have been ok and come through, just not sure about a standard, weather I need to trim back.

Thanks for the info, Hywel - I've potted all mine up - to my surprise, they've ALL come through the winter, and I was wondering when to cut them back.

My big stupid mistake? I forgot to label them. SIGH.....Now I have anonymous fuchsias - and I really wanted to keep 'Blackie' in particular. Oh well, I'll just have to wait until they flower, now. :-(((

Your standard should be ok if kept in those conditions Sixpence

It's a nuisance when you don't have them labelled. Sometimes they fall out of the pots with me and I have to wait for the flowers again.
Do you still have your Hawkeshead ?

Me? I don't know yet....fingers crossed. The one I potted up is now planted in the smallest blue pot, but the one in the ground I don't know about. I'm just hoping it's OK. Dorothy errrr...next to Hawkshead is up and doing well!. Mrs Popple is trying hard....

You shouldn't have any problems with Mrs Popple, Spritz, it's as hard as nails & just laughs off all the British weather can throw at it! Though having said that if it is sitting in a wet position that may well compromise it.

I have had two standard Fuchsias Beacon growing on my balcony for at least 7 or 8 years,(possibly longer), they have had no more protection than being in the most sheltered corner of my balcony inside a big ,(1 metre high & 1 metre wide, no top), plastic bag together with the other frost tender plants that I want to keep. I've been doing this for 7 years at least &, until this winter, had never lost a plant due to frost.

This winter was so exceptional that this didn't work well for many of my plants & I lost mist of the Geraniums there as well as my lovely pot of 3 different Pelargoniums. One plant in the pot survived but it is still looking rather sorry for itself!

A couple of weeks ago I put the two standards back on the balcony floor, up against the railings where they usually spend the summer. They have some buds on them that are about to open - once the weather becomes warmer again that is!

Sorry Spritzhenry I should have said your name.

Balcony we've had the worst winter for many years . I'm sorry to hear about your losses. I hope we don't get another winter like that - ever :o(( lol

I hope we don't as well! Fortunately the losses are easily replaced as they are easy to grow from seed or cuttings.

So so hepful, thankyou

Like my clematis, fuchsias do look so very dead. Then suddenly a bit of green life shows up. I have a tall hardy fuchsia that froze down to the ground. I thought it dead. It can take full sun but I needed a shade plant with some interest, height and tad of color. It started to leaf out but layed flat on the ground not attaining any real height. This year I loaded it with enriched top soil mixed with some manure and it is taking off! My new annual fuchsias are also doing well. The anticipation of each and every flower coming into bloom this time of year is so exciting.

Fuchsias like a rich soil so I should think the manure will help a lot. Yes it's very exciting waiting for the blooms to poen :o)) I hope your fuchsia has survived.

Its amazing what seems to come from something that looks like some dead twigs! :-)

Yes, they always surprise me lol

The hardy ones that spend all winter in the garden really look amazing - from an apparently dead bush in just a few short weeks the leaf up & start to put on their amazing show!

The Fuchsias in my baskets are starting to open their first flowers! The two standard Fuchsias, Beacon, have lots of buds & with a week or two of warm weather they will be bursting out all over! :-)

Your fuchsias seem to be much further on than mine. It's nice to know you have buds on them allready. I hope they give you a nice display :o)

Thanks, Hywel. The way it is looking at the moment your desire should become reality very soon! I discovered the very first flower open on one of the standards today! Now I have two Fuchsia flowers open with a great deal more to come very soon. As the weather looks up to it this week I hope many more flowers will be open by the weekend! :-)

Haven't you got buds on any of yours yet?

No buds at all yet. They're extremely slow but they always are with me. I don't know why. They usually start flowering in June but then go on until November.

no sign of life yet,but I will still wait and see.

Yes wait till end of May

Hi
I haven't read all these comments but just to say, this is a really useful piece of advice. I discovered this spring just what you mean and rescued some but sadly threw some away as I thought they had really had it. I bought new ones this year and won't make the same mistake again.
Please tell me someone, what is all this "Lol " and what does it stand for? Does anyone know a clever way to stop spelling Fuchsia, Fushcia? I keep doing it!

Thanks I'm glad I was of some help to you.

When I joined first in 2008 I didn't know what lol meant either.
Apparently it's a short way of saying 'laugh out loud' and people put it in their comments to denote that they are being jovial, or saying something in a humorous way.

Also you will see things like :o)
If you turn your head sideways you'll see that it looks like a smiley face
Or a sad face :o(

Cant help with speleng - mein is hoples

There really is no excuse for bad spelling any longer - whatever browser you use!

Most have built in spell checkers that check your spelling as you go. I'm writing this on Google's Chrome browser. It has already underlined in red several words I misspelt!!! LOL!

I use Firefox most of the time as my default browser but I like to "ring the changes" & so I also use Opera & IE. I used to use Safari as well but ran into problems & ended up uninstalling it.

All these browsers have built in spell checkers. As I very rarely use IE any longer I don't know if in the latest versions the programme flags up the errors with a red underline. When I last used it you had to go to the toolbar & check the spelling once you had finished writing.

Hywel, my standard Fuchsias & those in baskets are now flowering & have 100s of buds!

I promised to let you know if my 3 Fuchsias Thalia in three baskets had shown any sign of life, well I afraid they haven't - at least up to last week when I last checked the baskets. Only two of the five Thalias I put in last year have survived the winter whereas the other four Fuchsias in each basket have pulled through & are even beginning to flower! :-)

How are your plants now? Have they got buds on them? Did you have any casualties?

I find it all very complicated. I can only just about manage to do what I'm doing now. There are too many words like browser etc and it makes my mind boggle. You'll just have to put up with the occasional misspelt word I'm sori ;o)

Thalia and other similar types are difficult to keep. They need higher temps.

I have buds on a few now. I had 2 casualties - so very good really. I find they are usually slow though

Thanks Balcony for trying to be helpful but like Hywel its left me boggling! lol! I love the way my standard emails are checked though.

Today I got up on a chair & checked out the baskets of Fuchsias. The two Thalia I mentioned as being alive are still growing, one more than the other. The other three plants are definitely dead. :-(

I planted a few Fuchsia cuttings today as well. They had formed roots but I was waiting for somewhere where I could plant them to become free. Today I decided to use the trough that has been empty of growth this winter/spring. The cuttings are I think of Beacon, the same variety as my two standards.

The two standards have some flowers open now! There are many more buds as well. :-)

Browser is the programme that opens when you connect to the internet. As you don't seem to know what a browser is you are doubtless using Internet Explorer, the browser programme that comes with every Windows computer.

I'm now using Opera, like FireFox & Google Chrome, it underlines in red words that are spelt wrongly or that are not included in its built-in dictionary.

It has underlined several while writing these few lines!

If a machine started underlining words in red I think I'd end up chucking it out of the window. I find it fiddly enough as it is, but that would tip me over the edge =:O

I opened this page using Internet Explorer then wrote a few lines with deliberate mistakes - no red underlining! I then right clicked on the page to get the spellchecker to come up. When it did I got it to check the page & it detected the mistakes I'd deliberately made & suggested other words for them.

While I was there I decided to see if there was an upgrade to the programme, called iespell (exclusively for IE & other programmes based on the IE engine) as I'd installed the programme several years ago on this my wife's old computer. I found there had been several upgrades since I installed the programme so I downloaded & installed the very latest version.

I haven't tried it out as I installed it this morning but by then I had to shut the computer down as I was going to church.

I'm unlikely to be trying it out any time soon as after using the other browsers I can't get used to IE again!