3 easy steps to growing Fuchsias

If you have a soft spot for the beautiful flowering plants, Fuchsias, the following 3 steps will help you decide which types you’d like to breed and how to care for them successfully.

Perhaps because of their delicate appearance, Fuchsias have an unfair reputation of being fussily exotic. In fact, whether you like the compact types in hanging baskets or upright plants in pots or beds, Fuchsias are very easy to grow.

Fuchsia flowers come in double or single forms. The flower colour range includes fuchsia, of course, along with white, pink, purple and salmon, with two colours commonly represented in one flower. Others boast leaves variegated with white, green and blush pink, and purple-and-red blossoms.

If you live in the Vancouver Island area, where there are mild-winter climates, you can grow Fuchsias outdoors year-round. But you’re in luck elsewhere too. In good weather you can grow them as container-grown annuals and take them indoors during winter.

If you want a ready-grown plant, you can purchase beautiful Fuchsias in full flower, or mail order small, starter plants.

You can also start your own plants by taking stem cuttings from mature plants when new growth begins in early spring. Follow these steps:

Take 10-centimetre stem cuttings, remove the bottom set of leaves and "plant" the cuttings up to the first set of leaves in a pot of damp sand.

Set the pot in a warm, sunny window and keep the sand moist until the cuttings root in two to three weeks.

After this, set them into a container of potting soil.

If you provide the right environment, Fuchsias nearly take care of themselves. Keep in mind the following:

• Filtered light or shade is essential, especially in hot-summer climates.
• The plants wilt easily in hot and humid weather, so keep the soil moist, particularly if the plants are growing in hanging baskets.
• Plants don't like to have their roots cramped, so make sure the container is large enough to allow for growth.
• Fuchsias grow best in sandy soil made fluffy by the addition of compost or peat moss, with a little garden lime mixed in to neutralize acidity.
• For maximum flowering, fertilize plants every two to three weeks during the peak of flowering in summer with a soluble, balanced formula mixed to half strength.
• During a long bout of damp weather, fungal leaf diseases like powdery mildew or botrytis occasionally trouble fuchsias.
• At the first sign of powdery spots that cannot be rubbed off, or dark leaf spots, move plants to a place with good air circulation and pick off and dispose of affected leaves.
• If you don’t water plants enough, they can fall prey to the sap-sucking aphids and whiteflies.
• These pests are easily controlled by spraying the plant with a strong stream of water from the hose or applying insecticidal soap according to package directions.
• Should plants become spindly, cut the branches to within 15 centimetres of the base of the plant. They will sprout immediately and resume flowering.
• If you plan to keep your fuchsia from year to year, prune the plant back by two-thirds in the fall and bring it indoors to winter in a warm east or west-facing window.

These stunning flowering plants come in a range of varieties and thrive if you care for them properly. Follow these 3 steps for beautiful Fuchsias that will last for many seasons.