Over wintering fuchsias and pelargoniums in an unheated bedroom....a290
By Anchorman
23 Oct, 2010
7 likes
I take about 120 hardy fuchsia cuttings a year . I usually take these in early to mid August and they root in about 3-4 weeks. I keep them in an unheated coldframe outdoors until late October and then bring them indoors and keep them in an unheated spare bedroom over winter. ( Although theoretically hardy I do find very small hardy fuchsia cuttings are not very hardy in their first year until the stems develop a bark like covering.After that they are tough and stay out all year around. I do plant them about 2 inches deeper in the ground than they were in the pot and this gives extra frost protection)
Until last year I made do with just the windowsill but I wanted to do more cuttings this year and also I wanted to over winter some pelargoniums so I've laid a 4 feet by 2 feet board onto the window sill and this now holds about 40 1 litre pots each of which can hold up to 10 cuttings.
The trick is to keep the cuttings barely damp overwinter as they rot off if the soil gets water logged. The fuchsias in particular tend to look very sad by late March but then new growth starts and I pot them on into individual pots and they grow away strongly under protection in coldframes out doors. I gradually harden them off by opening the frames in good weather and closing them at night.
They are ready for planting out in Mid May in mid UK latitudes but I often leave them until early June to be sure that I've missed any late frosts.
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I took SOME cuttings this year but not as many as I should. Unfortunately I lost all the pelargonums except one that I`m taking great care of. I like the board idea, it would really give me more room in the spare bedroom, thanks for the idea.
23 Oct, 2010
Thanks for the tip about not overwatering the Fuchsias , I'm never quite sure about how much to water in the winter months , I will let mine start to ' dry out ' I have been saving all my plastic bottles and then cutting them in half to make mini greenhouses to go over each plant in the greenhouse , I hope it works ....
23 Oct, 2010
When I did things in a smaller way I used to use the plastic bottle technique. It works quite well outside with cuttings planted directly in the ground. I remember one of the first cuttings I took 25 years ago was a laurel. I put it outside under a plastic bottle ,forgot about it and it flourished.
Fuchsia cuttings are pretty tender. You might be better covering them with horticultural fleece in very cold weather.
23 Oct, 2010
Found this very interesting Anchorman. I don't usually take many cuttings, except on the occaisonal whim, so I admire your dedication to taking so many cuttings and also to sharing your knowledge with us. Well done!
24 Oct, 2010
:)
24 Oct, 2010
I always use the windowsills in my flat to overwinter plants. The last 4-5 years they have been taken up with my Amaryllis seedlings. Now they have all flowered & can no longer be considered seedlings. Even so I've filled up all the windowsills with pots of Amaryllis in two tiers. There is even a third tier with much smaller plants like African Violets & Christmas Cacti - which have well advanced buds now! They can't wait for Christmas! LOL!
26 Oct, 2010
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I really enjoy reading about your "how to take cutting of..."
I've done something very similar to you...I have a board of about the same dimentions on my window sill with my perennials and cutting in an unheated room . I will start my annual seeds there are well.
23 Oct, 2010