The life of a young Fuchsia

14 comments

An easy way to grow new Fuchsia plants from cuttings.
You only need the soft tip of a plant so you can take them any time you can get this type of growth they will root much faster in spring when the plants are growing quickly.
I use a compost mix of 50% horticultural sand and 50% seed and cutting compost.

Make a small hole in the compost and holding the bottom pair of leaves together insert the cutting into the compost gently firm around to make sure the compost is in good contact with the cutting not to firm.

Cover with a plastic bag or a plastic bottle cut in half.
Make a label if you know the variety I always forget what variety the cuttings are by the time they have rooted.
Rooting can vary from about three to six weeks.

After the cuttings have rooted I pot them into 2” pots and pinch the tip out when large enough not if you want to grow a standard.
As soon as the roots start to grow round the outside of the pot I then pot them on into a 3” pot and so on pinching again until they reach a 4”-5” pots when they are ready to move to their permanent position.
Pinching will make a plant that will produce more flowers but will delay flowering.

11 Nov, 2014
6 likes

Comments

Terratoonie

Hi Peter ... Well-described with good photos.
Is this method suitable for all types of fuchsia ?

11 Nov, 2014

Peterathome

Thank you Terratoonie first attempt at this.

All of the plants I have tried with probably a 90% or more success rate.
The cuttings I take are usually a bit closer to the leaf joint than the one in the first picture any can be very small tips.
Use the cuttings from stopping the plants and you will have plants to swap or give away.

11 Nov, 2014

Terratoonie

Have you tried this with hardy fuchsias too ?

11 Nov, 2014

Steragram

Lovely stong plants Peter - you must be very pleased with them. I used to do it that way but recently have just been putting them in water until they have rooted, and potted them up afterwards. Its a lazy way but takes up les room and less time! (Picked up that tip from Goy) Your way makes better young plants at the outset though.

11 Nov, 2014

Peterathome

Yes hardy Fuchsias are fine no difference The reason the cutting in the first picture is a little longer than I usually use is I am trying it in water never done it before.

11 Nov, 2014

Terratoonie

Thanks Peter for the extra info. :o)

11 Nov, 2014

Bathgate

Very informative, thank you

11 Nov, 2014

Seaburngirl

you will only get new roots from a dormant bud usually in the leaf joint so as long as the cutting has these they will grow in water.

12 Nov, 2014

Hywel

Thanks for the blog. I've never had much success with fuchsia cuttings but I shall try them like this next year :o)

12 Nov, 2014

Lincslass

That looks so easy but its something I've never been successful with and yet I am with other shrubs and flowers.....

13 Nov, 2014

Peterathome

Keep the compost just moist not to wet and keep out of full sunlight.
If you look at the cuttings under the plastic bottle you can see I have cut some of one of the large leaves to reduce the leaf size and to stop them overlapping.

14 Nov, 2014

Hywel

Thank you :)

15 Nov, 2014