Fuchsia 'Beacon' flowering on balcony 9th October 2023 (Macro)

Lovely Fuschia Balcony. Some of my Fuschias seem to have come into flower late this year and are doing quite well at the moment. My Christmas cactus is coming into flower and
that's early, but it's full of bloom.

Thank you, Lindak! This is a variety of Fuchsia I have had for many years now. I renew it most years by taking some cuttings but it's quite a hardy plant even in pots! Some years ago I made 3ft high standards from cutting which I had growing for several years on the balcony until the terrible winter of 2009/10 when they all died!

'Garden News' is a a hardy variety as well but as this is only the 2nd year I've grown it I don't really know how it will hold up to a very cold winter. I made a standard from this by growing a cutting all winter & then started to train the head during the summer. Unfortunately 2 of the branches got broken off & now I'm left with a "horizontal" head in stead of a round one!

You've done very well there Balcony, keeping your fuchsias going from year to year. Same about the fuchsia you are trying to grow into a shape. Can you cut the top down a bit, then perhaps it will sprout in the Spring and you can start pruning it into a round shape again?

Thanks Lindak👍I was thinking of cutting the branches back a bit to encourage them to sprout from further down. I'll wait until March or April before I prune it.

It'a worth a try Balcony. My Grandad always had a saying, "Anything flowering June- July cut back August-September. Anything after July cut back end November-December."

Your grandad was right, Lindak! I have cut back one branch a little but as the others still have flowers on them & we don't seem to about to have any frosts I'll leave them until frost is forecast.

Yesterday I put up the big table on the balcony & today I finished putting up the mini-greenhouse & filled it with the plants I want to keep over the winter.

At least those plants will be safe from the high winds of Storm Ciaran!

Sounds like you've been busy Balcony. Yes, a lot of people will be taking a bit of a battering with this storm. I always say, "I'm battening down the hatches".... We didn't have much in the night, but it's raining now.

Yes, I've had a couple of busy day with at least one more to go before I finish the annul "make over" of the balcony!

I finally took the "plunge" & cut back the standard Fuchsia 'Garden News' before putting it on the balcony table. It was a shame to cut off the flowers but I really needed to get it to a relatively safe place while the weather was still warm & sunny. I put the smaller plants of Fuchsia 'Beacon' & 'Garden News' underneath the table. They will still get some light for the remaining leaves & I hope that by being dry & in fairly safe place they will survive the winter.

I''m sure with the love and care you give your plants, they will be o.k. Balcony.

I hope so! It would be a shame to lose them both. I have a few cuttings from each which I hope will root soon. Sort of insurance I suppose you could call it!