By Izzy123gym
West Midlands,
United Kingdom 
'Dead' fuchsias?
Last winter, I lost approx 30 hardy fuchsias, some of which were very young ones. I have a few left which are just coming into leaf now. Should I expect any remaining 'dead-looking' ones to be coming into leaf NOW too....or do I throw them? I was forever hopeful....but some days I think I am wasting the space! A lot of them were lifted and put in pots in the greenhouse too!
18 May, 2011
Answers
You live and learn, Bamboo!
Knowing that they were sensitive, I lifted EVEN the hardy ones and put them in the greenhouse....thinking that would be a'foolproof' way of saving them! Many were very young though.
This year...they are staying in the ground...even Delta's Sarah! I think the others have gone to 'Fuchsia heaven'...as my grandaughter called it the other day!
18 May, 2011
Fuchsia heaven, sounds lovely, hope that's where I end up when I go...
18 May, 2011
Only one of mine survived that winter and I lost 6 hardy ones...ive replaced them this year and Fuchsia heaven, does sound lovely bamboo lol!
18 May, 2011
LOL...Fuchsia Heaven would suit me fine too, Bamboo...love them! Lucie is 2 and a half but has the vocabulary of a 4/5 year old! "Spends too much time with Nana apparently!"...don't know how to take THAT comment!
Ordinarily, would most hardy fuchsias survive our winters...in the ground? THIS year, I will buy more but wondered whether I should pot them up and put them in a bedroom in October?I lifted all the pelargoniums last winter, put them in one of the spare bedrooms and all 7 survived and are now in full leaf. Another lesson learnt!
18 May, 2011
Most hardy fuchsias will indeed survive in the ground over winter - if you're worried, make sure there's dead leaves trapped in the branches at the end of the season to provide a bit more protection and do not remove the topgrowth. This last winter, a very old, 6 foot high fuchsia in the gardens downstairs was killed - but only back to the ground, all the new growth has come back off the roots and is now 2 feet high. Some experts say you should cut them to the ground in spring as they start to shoot anyway to get stronger growth.
18 May, 2011
Yes agree with Bamboo, all the hardy fushias i have recently come in contact with have completely been killed off but new growth has been sent up from the base, the same can be said for Hypericum Hidcotte, julien.
18 May, 2011
Thanks both...
I have a 6' one too which looked quite 'dead' after the winter. I left it till April...and then gave it the 'chop'...nothing to lose! It's now sprouted new growth around the base..approx 18" tall so far... but has obviously left a gaping great hole where it once was! I put a 6' obelisk in that space...in panic, I hasten to add, with Jasmine climbing up it...just! NOW...I don't know whether I should have waited...but surely the fuchsia won't reach anywhere near 6' this year?
Over to you...both!
18 May, 2011
Only if we get normal rainfall or you're watering I'd have thought, depends on the variety really.
18 May, 2011
My former next door neighbour used to cut back all his Fuchsia 'shrubs'...as he called them...they were SO big! He cut them to the ground every year in Spring...and I have to admit, they grew and flowered amazingly every summer!
18 May, 2011
If the fuchsias concerned are non hardy ones and showing no growth by now, I'd bin them. hardy ones might have made it through, but hardy fuchsias are actually better left in the ground, they're more likely to survive because they're sensitive through the roots to cold and frost in a pot.
18 May, 2011