Fuchsia: growing and caring at home, wintering in an apartment

Proper care of fuchsia in winter at home involves a number of activities. They are aimed at preparing the flower for the cold, properly preserving it and bringing it back to life with the onset of spring. Fuchsia is the subject of worship and adoration of most gardeners. This plant looks bright, striking everyone with its rich palette of colors and originality of shape. Fuchsia belongs to the category of perennial evergreen shrubs of the Fireweed family. This plant is native to South America. Thanks to its beauty and ease of care, it is incredibly popular among gardeners around the world. Today science knows several hundred species of this shrub growing in the wild. The plant easily tolerates transportation. It is equally well suited for life in a garden and a city apartment. Particularly appreciated by flower lovers is the fact that with good care, fuchsia can live for more than 50 years.

Tips for growing and caring

Fuchsia will become a real joy if you provide it with comfortable conditions for the entire process of flower growth - from planting to rest between seasons. It is important to know the rules for caring for fuchsia, especially during wintering at home, which depend on its place of growth (open ground or flowerpot).

Watering

Fuchsia is one of those plants that love moisture. The shrub tolerates both spraying and watering directly at the roots. Watering should be done in small doses every day. The lack of moisture will become noticeable when the soil dries to a depth of 1 centimeter. But don’t get carried away, as too much water will inevitably lead to the formation of mold and rotting of the roots. This situation can be prevented by creating a drainage layer using expanded clay or carefully cleaned pebbles.

Light

Fuchsia is a heat-loving flower, but it should not be placed in direct sunlight. The presence of reflected light and partial shade is sufficient. When choosing the location of the flower, it is worth considering the aspect of contrast. Flowers of dark shades require more light, while flowers of light shades will do well in a dark corner.

Soil mixture

The best soil mixture for fuchsia is considered to be chernozem soil with leaf humus. It is necessary to feed the flower regularly. When flowering, it is necessary to use fertilizers of natural origin with a small proportion of nitrogen. Fertilizers are used in combination with irrigation liquid, but you can also add it directly to the soil.

Important! With the onset of cold weather, there is no longer any need to fertilize fuchsia, due to the fact that in the biological cycle of the flower the dormant stage begins and it does not need nutrition.

Room temperature

Fuchsia originated in countries with warm climates, but high temperatures are not suitable conditions for its growth. At temperatures more than 25 degrees above zero, the plant withers. In summer, fuchsia should be hidden from the sun by placing the flowerpot in a cooler place, and creating shade for the flower garden.

Varieties of fuchsia by structure

Plant growers classify a flower by the type of shoots and buds. There are bush and hanging varieties of fuchsia. Both types are similar in spectacular beauty, but have a number of differences.

Ampelous

These varieties actively grow lateral shoots. Hanging pots are chosen for flowers and placed on balconies and facades. In winter they are brought indoors. Ampelous fuchsias are undemanding in care.

Varieties suitable for beginners:

Anabelle. Peduncles are abundant white.
Imperial Crown. Long shoots with red flowers.
Blue Angel. The branches are long and the flowers come in white and red.
Ballerina. Peduncles are large, two-colored.

They also choose Hollies Beauty, an extremely easy-to-care variety with large white-red buds. The only condition for abundant flowering is diffused light. In direct sunlight, the plant withers and the flower stalks die.

Bush-like

Bush fuchsia is grown in open ground. From one shoot, trees with a lush crown are obtained. The crown is formed from the main trunk, the side shoots are completely removed. Some plant growers leave several side branches to increase the fullness of the crown.

Varieties suitable for beginners:

Gotha. The flowers are burgundy, the stamens are large and dense.
Alisson Bel. The spectrum of colors is purple with red hues. The petals are silky and elastic.
Henriette Ernst. The flowers are very large and red; in extreme light they show a silvery tint.

Advice! For plants, choose illuminated areas on the eastern side of the flowerbed. This way the flower will receive enough sun, but without direct burning rays. During the summer heat, bush fuchsias are shaded.

Preparing fuchsia for wintering

In winter, a dormant stage begins in the “life” of a flower, which is explained by fuchsia getting used to climate conditions when the temperature drops and there is very little sunlight for normal life. Fuchsia needs to rest, restore energy reserves and prepare for future flowering. Preparation tips:

Reduce watering. It is necessary to reduce the volume of watering gradually. You should completely stop watering the flower after a month. It is necessary to start reducing watering in the first month of autumn, since then the fuchsia will be completely dehydrated before the first frost.
Stopping the plant from feeding. It is necessary to stop feeding fuchsia to stimulate the shedding of leaves and flowers. An action of this nature is a “sign” for fuchsia about the need to reduce activity.
Reducing the amount of incident light. It is necessary to place the plant at a sufficient distance from the window. The plant should only receive light reflected from the ceiling and walls. If it is not possible to create such conditions, a lamp is suitable, which must be turned on once a day for a couple of hours.
Decrease in temperature. The pot should be placed on a glazed balcony, left in the basement or other place where the temperature is no more than +15oC.

Methods for storing fuchsias

In order for fuchsia to successfully recover from winter dormancy, it is necessary to properly organize the wintering of the plant. This can be done in different ways depending on the specific capabilities of the grower.

Wintering in a basement or cellar

Not all flower lovers can afford to organize the wintering of fuchsia on a glassed-in loggia of an apartment or a bright greenhouse, but what to do in this case with fuchsia?

To store the plant in winter, you can use a basement or cellar. Before moving the fuchsia to one of these places, it is trimmed and the leaves are shortened.

In the dark, she breathes as well as in the fresh air, using up accumulated nutrients. The room must be equipped with ventilation. In its absence, air humidity will increase, and this will entail a series of fungal diseases.

The suitable air temperature in the basement or cellar should be at least +10 degrees.

Wintering in an apartment

Not all lovers of indoor flowers have premises where they can place plants for winter storage during the dormant period. For many, these are ordinary rooms in an apartment. If fuchsia overwinters at home, you must remember that increased attention should be paid to the flower during this period. Fuchsia during rest is more sensitive to care than during growth and flowering; it does not tolerate both excessively humid and dry air.

It’s good if the apartment has an insulated balcony or loggia. Here there is a good opportunity to create optimal temperature and humidity conditions for a flower without compromising the comfortable living of family members, which cannot be said about wintering on a windowsill.

On the loggia you can always use an electric heater to prevent freezing temperatures. There is usually plenty of natural light there.

If there is neither a loggia nor a balcony, then gardeners keep fuchsias on the window sills. If wintering conditions are properly organized in accordance with the recommendations of specialists, the flower will successfully overwinter at home.

Caring for fuchsia on the windowsill

During the wintering period of fuchsia on the windowsill, the gardener’s task comes down to organizing suitable conditions:

Place the flower pot almost close to the window glass, away from heating appliances.
Ensure constant ventilation of the room; to do this, you will have to always keep the double-glazed windows open at minimum ventilation and close them only on days of very cold weather.
When sprouting shoots appear, do not hesitate to remove them and try to further lower the temperature on the windowsill; for this you will have to periodically open the window a little more.
Insulate the pot with polystyrene foam to avoid rotting of the roots due to a constantly open window.
Additionally, protect the pots from the flow of warm air from the side of the room with some kind of heat-insulating material, for example, cardboard or plastic film.

In winter, fuchsia needs watering much less than during the period of growth and flowering, but it is necessary to water the flower correctly, avoiding excessive moisture in the soil or its drying out. The frequency of watering is determined by the condition of the soil. An important condition is that the lower the temperature and the lower the illumination, the less water is needed for irrigation. You can occasionally add potassium permanganate to the settled water to form a weak pink solution.

On the shortest winter days (December, January), when there is very little natural light, the plants should be illuminated with ordinary electric or fluorescent lamps, turning on the light for several hours every day so that the plant does not stretch. It should be remembered that switched on light bulbs heat up; this point must be taken into account when arranging the backlight.

In addition, it is advisable to periodically spray fuchsia with settled water without chlorine. And place wide containers of water near the window so that the air does not dry out during the heating season. Now there are modern devices for humidifying the air in apartments.

Preserving plants in the basement and cellar

To preserve fuchsia in the cold season, it would be advisable to place it in the basement. But we should not forget that before moving the plant, it is necessary to shorten the leaves. In the absence of light, the plant breathes in the same way as in open space, that is, useful elements are consumed. The room should be well ventilated, otherwise humidity will rise, which will cause fungus.

Important!

The best temperature for fuchsia in the basement is at least +10 degrees.

Tools and their disinfection

The gardener should use a knife or garden shears when processing the plant. Before the procedure, the instrument is disinfected to prevent the development of viruses. The scissors are treated with a product containing alcohol (spray, wipes). Kerosene, potassium permanganate or bleach are also used. Place the instruments in an antiseptic solution for several minutes and wipe them with a clean, dry cloth.

Preparing a houseplant for winter

From time to time it is important for every plant to rest. If the fuchsia is in a room with heating, it is fed and watered as in summer, then the plant will not have the strength to bloom

In addition, the bush grows quickly and occupies a large area. Before wintering, you should examine how much the branches have grown.

In the first year of fuchsia growth, you should not overwinter with shoots that are too long. Therefore, they are cut short, leaving a length of about 15 centimeters. After the bush is formed, all weakened and diseased branches are cut off. You should not thicken the bush too much, otherwise it will not grow well. The plant should only have strong shoots left, the rest should be cut off, leaving 1/3 of the shoots.

You need to pay attention to semi-ampeloid forms. Their weak shoots break under the weight. Only strong branches are left on the bushes. To switch to winter mode, plants need to drop the temperature to +10 degrees. Therefore, fuchsias are put away in the basement or placed on a glazed balcony. In such a room, the temperature should not be below zero so that the indoor plant does not die.

If there is no cooler place, then you can simply choose a cold corner in the house. When the fuchsia continues to grow, fresh shoots are cut with scissors or pinched.

Before leaving the winter hut, all diseased parts of the plant are cut off and overgrown branches are removed. To make the crown more lush, it is recommended to pinch the tops of the shoots after growth begins. Flowering occurs no earlier than two months after the procedure. In order for the plant to actively produce buds in the summer, it is necessary to pinch it no later than April.

How fuchsia endures winter in an apartment

Not everyone has the opportunity to place fuchsia in the basement for the winter. It is believed that it is quite possible to create comfortable conditions for wintering fuchsia at home, but it is worth considering that this requires regular ventilation of the room. With the arrival of autumn, plant cuttings are transplanted into soil with a small proportion of humus, which slows down the growth process of young shrubs.

If a gardener observes the germination of fuchsia in winter, he should not hesitate to cut off the excess and reduce the air temperature to a greater extent by opening the windows as wide as possible. There is no need to dispose of the shoots. Their rooting must be done by lowering them into water. Fuchsia should be placed on a well-lit windowsill. If fuchsias left to overwinter in the basement should be watered once or twice every 30 days, then species overwintering in an apartment should be watered more often.

The central heating system causes the soil to dry out quickly, and low humidity levels cause the death of fuchsia. In this regard, on the first day of her appearance in the apartment, it is necessary to open the windows using micro-ventilation mode. Windows should be kept open at all times, except during periods of extreme cold. At rest, fuchsia is more finicky than when growing, since it does not have the best reaction to excess and insufficient moisture. Without the necessary conditions, at high levels of humidity and temperature, insects will begin to appear. Products such as fungicides may not correct the problem.

Usually fuchsia is left to overwinter at the end of the second month of the autumn period. The plant overwinters until spring.

Types of home fuchsia with photos and names

Fuchsia graceful

Fuchsia graceful is a small shrub up to 1 meter in size. The flowers are drooping, bell-shaped, with a pronounced reddish tint. The calyx of the flower is formed by four concave petals, of a reddish hue. The corolla is much shorter in length than the calyx. The color is usually a bright purple hue.

Fuchsia Magellanica

The shrub reaches a height of five meters. However, as a rule, there are specimens up to 2-3 meters. The Magellan species is native to South America, particularly Argentina and Chile. The leaves are elongated, reaching a length of up to 5 cm. The veins are purple, the tips of the leaves are jagged. The flowers grow solitary, often collected in groups of 4-5, drooping. Oblong in shape, reminiscent of a funnel, with a slight reddish tint. Petals at the base with a slight blue tint.

Fuchsia brilliant

Evergreen shrub, up to 1-2 meters high. Habitat: Mexico. The leaves are large, oblong in shape. They reach a length of up to 20 cm, a width of 10-15 cm. The corolla is an elongated narrow tube up to 10 cm long. Inflorescences are racemose. Blooms profusely from June to August.

Fuchsia boliviana

Branched shrub, evergreen. Homeland - South America. Often found in Ecuador, Guatemala, Bolivia. Maximum height 1-1.2 meters. The ovoid leaves reach 15 cm in length. The flowers are tube-shaped, large, bright red.

How to care for fuchsia placed on a windowsill

The flower must be ventilated continuously, that is, it must be placed as close to the window glass as possible. It is necessary to insulate the bottom of the pot with foam, this will help prevent rotting of the root system due to cold air. It is necessary to protect the plant from dry air by covering it with a polyethylene film if the room is hot enough. Fuchsia should not be watered too often or too much, and we must not forget about treating it with specialized substances against parasites. In the first two months of winter, the flower must be illuminated with lamps due to insufficient daylight.

Description of the plant

The plant, due to its flexibility, can develop as an ampelous or pyramidal type.
Fuchsia is often grown as an elegant standard tree. The branches of the ballerina are plastic, forming a crown that cascades down. Fuchsia flowers belong to the axillary variety, they are single and hang downwards. Each flower consists of a corolla-shaped cup, which has four pointed petals. The pistil and bright stamens protrude outward.

Fuchsia was bred more than three hundred years ago: in 1695 by the French botanist C. Plumière. He named the plant in honor of the German botanist Fuchst, who subsequently developed more than 100 varieties of fuchsia.

Ballerina flowers are simple, double and semi-double. They are distinguished by a rich palette of shades: there are white, cream, pink, lilac, orange and even purple. There are multi-colored flowers that combine 2-3 tones.

Fuchsia blooms long and abundantly; during this process, the peduncles droop for a long time, leaning down and, ultimately, wither. Ballerina has a powerful and developed root system, thanks to which it easily tolerates transplantation and propagation. It bears fruit with medium-sized elongated berries that are edible.

Various tinctures, liqueurs, and jams are prepared from fuchsia fruits that grow naturally.

Do I need to trim and how to do it?

It is necessary to prune fuchsia before wintering. This operation is performed twice a year:

In the autumn, when transferring a flower to the basement or home.
In the spring, in order to create an attractive shape.

Fuchsia branches need to be trimmed to approximately 0.5 lengths. This happens due to the fact that the immature part is removed, and with it the foliage. You also need to trim the root ball to a volume that can fit in 2 hands. After the preparation has been completed, the bush is placed in a box. You can add wet moss to the box, which will insulate the plant and retain moisture.

Important!

You can avoid the growth of the trunk stretching by cutting it in the autumn immediately after flowering.

Varieties of indoor fuchsia

The following varieties are chosen for home breeding:

Thyroid. Under natural conditions, the bush reaches a height of 5 m. The width of the plate is 70 mm, length 170 mm. Flowering period July-August, red peduncles.
Magellan. Stems up to 0.5 m long are reddish in color with soft pubescence. Leaves can be collected in whorls of 3 pieces. or located one at a time. Flowers can also be single or grow in inflorescences of 4 buds. The flower petals are lilac, the crown of the tube is reddish in color. Flowering period from late May to late August.
Bolivian. Dark red inflorescences appear in mid-spring. The flowering period continues until the end of summer. The trunk height is up to 100 cm. The leaves are oval with a sharp end and jagged edges.
Brilliant. This plant is up to 2 m in height with bare branched stems. The single, heart-shaped leaves are attractive. From the beginning of summer, small racemose inflorescences form at the ends of the sprouts. The reddish flowers have a pleasant scent.

All indoor species are undemanding in care. The basic rule is that from the beginning of the period of bud formation and until the end of flowering, the pot is not turned or rearranged.

Flower propagation

You can propagate the bush yourself at home. Reproduction methods:

seeds;
cuttings.

In the first case, the “new” fuchsia may be very different from the parent plant, since it is self-pollinating or bees take part in pollination. When cutting from a shrub, it is necessary to cut off a shoot whose length does not exceed twenty centimeters. After the gardener removes the leaves from the bottom of the plant, the root must be placed in purified water. When young roots appear, the cuttings should be transplanted into the ground.

When the fuchsia grows enough, it needs to be transplanted into a larger flowerpot. Replanting should be done every year in autumn or spring, providing free space for growing roots.

Reproduction by cuttings

It is necessary to select a green apical shoot with two or three leaf axils. With a well-sharpened knife, cut the shoot at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. Then you need to leave the cutting for literally ten minutes. Large leaves (if there are a large number of them) must also be trimmed to facilitate rooting.
Next, you need to “spray” the cut with a root formation stimulator (for example, “Kornevina” is perfect).
The cuttings need to be rooted in a light soil mixture. Then you need to prepare a container and put the moistened mixture into it to a depth of three centimeters, deepen the cutting there and moisten it using a sprayer.
To increase the degree of humidity you need to use a transparent bag. You need to put a container inside it, inflate the bag, tie it, and then put the whole structure on a well-lit windowsill. In this case, there should be no direct exposure to the sun on the cuttings (the optimal temperature is 20-25 ℃).
Once a day (or even once every 2 days) you need to untie the bag for ventilation. If necessary, you can spray the cuttings and soil, thereby preventing drying out.
After about 2 weeks, small roots will appear. When the roots grow, the cutting can be transplanted into a small container. It is important to use light soil. The pot with the cutting inside must be wrapped again in a bag, which no longer has to be tied, you can only raise the “walls”.
After several days (up to seven), the bag can be removed, given that the plant is not lethargic. If this happens, it is necessary to create conditions that are even closer to greenhouse conditions. You need to spray the fuchsia, inflate the bag, tie it and wait for the plant to recover, not forgetting about proper care.

Propagation by seeds

You need to grow fuchsia with seeds in February, using light soil. You can buy soil at a garden store. However, it is not difficult to make your own soil mixture from turf soil, peat and sand (3:2:1). Before sowing, the soil must be compacted, moistened and sprayed with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
The tray must be covered with cellophane and placed on a warm and well-lit windowsill. The temperature should be between +18° and +22°. It is important to ensure that the sun's rays do not fall directly on the tray. If the ground is wet, you need to lift the film several times a day to remove condensation. If the soil is dry, you should carefully spray the soil around the sprout (the water should be at room temperature). After about a month, small shoots will begin to appear. At this point, you need to start removing the cellophane from the tray for a long time so that the seedlings gradually get used to room conditions, and then the shelter can be removed altogether.

Important!

The seeds need to be laid out in a tray and distributed over the substrate, without covering them with soil, but only slightly pressing them into it. If this is not done, then without light the seeds will not be able to germinate.

When the second pair of leaves appears, the sprouts need to be planted in separate small containers. It is important to water the plant to prevent the soil from drying out. Spraying should be carried out from time to time and the sprouts should be fed with mineral fertilizers twice a month.

Pruning after flowering

After the bush has flowered, it is recommended to partially cut off the branches. This will allow the bush to gain strength. The procedure is carried out twice a year: in September and April. First, all wilted and dry stems are removed from the plant. The next step is for the gardener to cut off all the young shoots. Then the fuchsia is formed to the desired shape. The plant can wrap around supports. Therefore, the stems can be braided or intertwined with each other. In the fall, the gardener should inspect the fuchsia for the absence of pests and diseases. If detected, the diseased branch should be cut off, including the healthy part.

In order for a plant to bloom long and profusely, it needs to gain strength. For this, timely cutting is used. The later the fuchsia branches are pruned, the longer the plant takes to bloom. It is better to prune the bush in the fall and immediately after wintering. In the autumn months this is done as a preventative measure. Remove damaged, thin shoots from the bush.

Repeat the procedure from February to March. Manipulations with pruning shoots are necessary to form a beautiful plant crown. This is done so that there are buds at the ends of the branches. First, remove all weak branches. They are unlikely to bloom, and if they do, the flowering will be weak. After this, you need to cut off dry branches and thin shoots. Then comes the pruning of branches that are directed to the center of the bush. So, the bush will stop thickening and will bloom profusely.

Care after pruning

In order for the plant to be healthy and strong, it is important not only to prune it correctly, but also to provide care after the procedure. After the procedure, you should place the pot with the bush so that scattered sunlight falls on it

Windows facing the north or east side of the house are best. If the plant does not have enough light, the shoots will weaken and the flowers will be sparse and small.

It is important to choose the right watering mode. Water fuchsia moderately after pruning.

It cannot be flooded, but the soil should not dry out. Watering is carried out with soft, settled water. In winter, the flower is watered twice a week, in spring once or twice a week.

After the fuchsia has overwintered, it is necessary to introduce fertilizing. Fertilize the bush from spring to autumn. To do this, you can purchase special formulations for flowering plants. Fuchsia should not be overfed. Otherwise, the bush quickly grows green mass, but blooms sparingly. Fuchsia devotes all its strength to the growth of leaves and shoots.

There is no need to feed the bush once every two weeks. The fertilizing composition should include magnesium and nitrogen. Compositions with potassium and phosphorus are also useful for fuchsia. Fertilizing is applied only to moist soil. Organic compounds are diluted so that the water concentration is twice as high as recommended in the instructions for use. Otherwise, the fuchsia will bloom worse and will quickly begin to grow upward.

In winter, gardeners recommend completely abandoning fertilizer. With the right approach, the plant quickly recovers after pruning and gains strength. After a couple of months, it begins to actively form buds and bloom with bright, unusual flowers. This plant will decorate a flower garden or home windowsill. Despite the fact that this is a heat-loving flower, it is grown in flower beds and in apartments.

Caring for fuchsia at home in winter

The plant does not really need feeding, the main thing is to water it on time and maintain the optimal temperature (10 degrees above zero). The pot should not be placed on a north-facing window, as the flower will receive a small amount of light, which can lead to its stretching. The beginning of March is the most optimal time for fuchsia to awaken. Winter-resistant fuchsia can be left in the garden, but covered with a peat layer or dry foliage. And plastic film helps eliminate excess moisture.

If there is no cellar

If there is no cellar or cold basement in the house, fuchsias can be stored in trenches in winter. In this case, a long hole, called a kagat, 60-80 cm deep is dug in the ground. Fuchsias in this case are also pruned. Then the plants are placed in a trench on their side directly in the pots and covered with straw, dry grass or leaf humus. Such an insulating layer should have a thickness of at least 5-10 cm. Earth is poured on top of the straw.

It is allowed to make such a trench directly in the garden. In this case, it is covered with snow on top. Also, some summer residents store fuchsias in winter in piles dug inside the greenhouse. In this case, after filling with earth, the hole is additionally covered with spunbond.

Possible diseases during wintering

In winter, the plant can be affected by rust, which occurs due to neglect of advice on creating comfortable conditions. The inside of the room should be warm, humid, and there should be little light. To prevent rust from occurring, it is necessary to treat the flower with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture, but this is often not done due to the appearance of dark spots on the leaves. Most often, both the affected plant and those standing next to it die. When rust appears, you must immediately save the plant using a mixture of five liters of water, 15 g of copper sulfate and 200 g of green soap.

Gray mold occurs when the air is over-humidified. When affected, parts of the flower become soft to the touch, and a white coating appears on the leaves. To eliminate the problem, it is necessary to cut off the affected leaves, treat them with specialized substances and change the microclimatic conditions.

Fuchsia on the balcony in winter. FUCHSIA. We save until spring. Secrets of proper maintenance in winter

Fuchsia has long been known to floriculture lovers. Our grandmothers also enjoyed decorating their window sills with it, and in the summer their gardens, terraces, and gazebos. Now many beautiful varieties have been bred and interest in this flower is constantly growing. Although this plant is suitable even for novice gardeners, for successful growth and long flowering, proper care and maintenance must be provided.

Fuchsia Natasha Sinton

1. When placing, keep in mind that the plant does not like bright sunlight. East or north windows would be ideal. High air temperatures are also poorly tolerated. Therefore, in the warm season, it is better to take your pet out into the garden or onto an open balcony. It can be placed in the shade, in hanging flowerpots or planted in open ground.

2. Any loose mixture for flowering plants is suitable as a substrate. You can add a little chopped sphagnum moss and leaf humus (a teaspoon per pot). Before use, I recommend calcining garden soil in the oven and pouring potassium permanganate on it.

3. I recommend planting the flower in a ceramic container with thick walls in order to avoid overheating of the root system.

4. For irrigation, use well-settled, warm water, rain if possible. In summer, try not to let the earthen ball dry out. Spraying the leaves is also necessary. The quality and duration of flowering depends on this. With a lack of moisture, fuchsia may drop its buds and not open. In winter, on the contrary, watering is reduced, brought to 2 - 3 times a month.

5. Regular feeding, mineral and organic, is required. It is very good to alternate root and foliar feeding. In the warm months, as soon as the buds appear, fertilize every week, and from October, reduce and stop completely in winter.

variegated fuchsia dymo

6. Fuchsia is susceptible to attacks by whiteflies and spider mites. If found, immediately wash the leaves and spill them with soapy water. Next, treat with a special preparation. Repeat this procedure after a week. In the future, for prevention, use a solution of nettle and garlic.

For successful growth and even for preserving the specimen in winter, proper maintenance is important. Try to ensure the air temperature is up to 15 degrees

A decrease to +5 degrees is not dangerous for the flower. I noticed that with colder wintering, the plant becomes stronger and blooms more abundantly and more readily.

During this period, the plant needs pruning. For my pets, I carry out this procedure boldly, leaving 10–15 cm of the stem. Periodically cut off the awakened thin shoots. Sometimes buds may appear; be sure to remove them, otherwise there will be no lush flowering in the spring.

fuchsia Pinto De Blue

It's better not to worry about watering. This is done as rarely and as little as possible. From autumn to spring, the “dancing ballerina” sleeps and it is not advisable to disturb her.

Many people advise cleaning fuchsia pots in a dark basement over the winter. It didn’t work out for me, the flower simply died, so they are on an ordinary windowsill, close to the window glass. I try to open the window or do micro ventilation whenever possible.

I hope that many will like this beauty!

Awakening fuchsia in spring

At the moment the flower awakens, the temperature should not rise sharply. It is necessary to gradually increase the temperature of the flower, moving it to places with different temperature marks. The room must be well lit, but the plant should not be directly exposed to sunlight.

It is necessary to immediately inspect the roots, due to the fact that damage may have formed on them. If there is damage, the roots should be trimmed, then soaked in water and stimulants, and the above-ground part should be sprayed with water. By adding powdered magnesium sulfate to the spray mixture (in accordance with the instructions), the gardener will help the flower awaken new buds. To speed up this process, the bush can be covered, providing a high level of humidity and prolonging the effect of magnesium sulfate.

Diseases and pests

The main problems are dropping buds and lack of flowers. Fuchsia sheds flower stalks due to improper watering, lack of fertilizing or insufficient light. If the leaves fall along with the buds, it means the plant is hot. But excessive watering is also harmful, the leaves turn yellow and dark spots form on them.

Reasons for the lack of flowers:

Delay in pinching, pruning. Pruning is carried out in early spring. After skipping a period, the flower is left in its original form. But in this case, the next trimming is more aggressive; it is needed for rejuvenation.
Too hot and dry rest period.
Incorrectly selected soil. Self-mixed soil can be heavy, so beginners are advised to buy a universal soil mixture.
Lack of or irregular application of fertilizers.
Pot too big.

Important! There will be no flowers when fertilized with nitrogen compounds. The component is needed to gain green mass; it does not help form buds.

Diseases are always associated with improper care:

Untested soil is the reason for the appearance of parasites. The bush dries, the root shoot changes color. The plant is treated with fungicides for indoor flowering varieties.
The brown tint of the roots during transplantation indicates the beginning of the rotting process. The affected shoots are removed and the roots are washed. Place the flower in warm water so that it produces new roots. Then transplanted into a pot with soil.
Yellow leaves - lack of manganese, brown - molybdenum. To prevent disease, choose balanced ready-made mineral fertilizers.

Regardless of the presence/absence of parasites, prevention is carried out with insecticides in the summer season. Regularity – once a month. If whiteflies or spider mites are detected, treatment is carried out more often. The compositions are sold ready-made and used according to the instructions.