Rules for growing and caring for fuchsia, features of reproduction and wintering

Abundantly flowering indoor plants are especially loved by florists and hobbyists. Fuchsia strewn with buds and flowers can become a real decoration for your home, and in the summer, for your country flower bed. The exquisite shape and bright complex color of the petals make the plant popular among flower growers. Let's consider the features of growing and caring for fuchsia.

What is a plant?

Small fuchsia trees or shrubs were discovered in the Dominican Republic in the 17th century. Fúchsia was named in honor of the German botanist researcher L. Fuchs. Natural species are found in South and Central America and New Zealand.

The perennial plant belongs to the fireweed family. About a hundred natural species of fuchsia are known. The decorative nature of the bush and its long, abundant flowering served as an impetus for cultivating the plant at home. Breeders have created many varieties with a wide variety of flower shapes and colors.

A house plant is a bush with a straight or ampel-shaped stem with flexible branches. Foliage color is green or slightly red. The leaves are pointed in shape and arranged oppositely. Fuchsia blooms for a long time, with a large number of buds. The flowers are drooping and consist of a brightly colored calyx and a corolla. The petals are bent. Produces an edible fruit.

Reference: the purple color is called fuchsia. The bright, sophisticated shade invariably becomes a hit in many fashion collections.

Varietal varieties of fuchsia

From hundreds of natural species of fuchsia, breeders have obtained many varieties and hybrids, differing in the shape of the stem and flowers. Plant lovers grow species and varieties in their country houses and apartments.

Fuchsia varieties are divided into several groups according to the shape of flowers and stems:

• ampelous;
• with simple flowers;
• terry and semi-double;
• blooming in clusters.

Popular fuchsia varietiesgrowing as a bush:

• Thalia – orange petals, trifoliate variety;
• Bright red - scarlet flowers decorate the house from April to October;
• Anabel is a variety with exquisite white flowers;
• Ballerina - medium-sized flowers combining pink-white and scarlet shades;
• Allison Patricia - a small bush with medium-sized purple flowers, for a small windowsill;
• Alisson Bell - red-violet buds turn into semi-double flowers;
• Dancing Flame - semi-double pink-orange flowers.

Ampelous varieties with flexible, cascading stems and an abundance of flowers are grown in flower pots:

• Blue Angel - a lilac flower on snow-white sepals, double;
• Bella Rosella - large-flowered variety, lush pink petals on a lilac bed;
• Cecile – semi-ampelous variety, lilac-violet skirt on pink sepals;
• Blue Vale - bluish-blue petals with a pink base on a white calyx base.

Many varieties and hybrids have bush and hanging forms.

Basic rules for growing crops

To preserve varietal characteristics, fuchsia is grown from cuttings of an adult plant. This way rooting and development occurs faster. All properties of the mother culture are fully transmitted to the young plant.

Time and place

Cuttings are taken in spring from an adult plant. Ceramic pots are used for planting. It is important to remember that large containers are not suitable for small plants. The size of the container increases as the bush grows. To plant a young cutting, a pot with a diameter of 9-10 centimeters is sufficient.

The container with fuchsia is placed in places protected from bright light for most of the day. Sunlight is allowed only in the morning or evening.

Preparation of planting material

To plant young fuchsia, select a slightly hardened young stem of an adult crop with 2-3 buds, 10-20 centimeters long. Cuttings are carried out with a sharp, clean instrument. Cut off all the lower leaves, leaving 2-3 on top. To grow roots use:

• settled water;
• a mixture of sand and peat - the cutting is buried 1-1.5 centimeters.

The top of the container is covered with transparent film or glass.For rapid root growth, a temperature of 18-22° is sufficient.

The roots of the plant grow in 5-10 days and are visible in the water. You should not delay transplanting into the ground for a long time, otherwise the long roots will be damaged during planting.

Landing technology

Fuchsia loves well-drained soil, so add small shards or other material to the bottom of the pot. It is better to buy ready-made soil that has been disinfected. When preparing the soil yourself, mix leaf soil, peat, sand, and turf in equal parts. The crop has no special soil requirements; the soil acidity is neutral.

The seedling with roots is planted in prepared and watered soil. Rooting occurs within 2-3 weeks, the seedling begins to grow actively.

Features of caring for fuchsia

Growing fuchsia requires compliance with a number of mandatory conditions, otherwise the bush will drop its buds and stop the growing season. It is important to follow certain rules during flowering and during the dormant period.

Temperature

Maintaining temperature conditions is the main difficulty in cultivating fuchsias. In apartment conditions it is not easy to create comfortable conditions for a flower. During the active growth and flowering stage, the culture must maintain a temperature of 18-24 °. Excessive heat and direct sunlight are a common reason why fuchsia does not bloom, drops buds, leaves turn yellow and wither. Overwintering the flower requires even lower temperatures (8-10°). During the dormant stage, it is also important to maintain low humidity.

Watering

Flowers are watered with soft, lukewarm water. Recommended watering scheme:

• during the growing season – 1-2 times a week;
• in autumn and winter – once every 2 weeks.

If the temperature in winter is above 10 °, you need to water more often. The water needs to stand for at least a day; the earthen ball should not be dry or too wet.The water accumulated in the pan is drained.

Help: it is convenient to place the container with fuchsia on a raised surface in a tray so that excess water is not absorbed into the soil. Excess moisture, especially if the pot is too large and not all filled with roots, provokes rotting of the root system

Feeding

The culture grows quickly, blooms profusely and for a long time. The growing season should be supported by fertilizing. They are carried out from March to September; when the plant goes into an inactive state, fertilizers are stopped.

Basic Rules:

• when gaining green mass, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are required;
• during flowering - potassium and phosphorus.

In addition to the main elements, manganese, zinc, and magnesium are necessary for the development of fuchsia. It is better to use special complex fertilizers with a proven composition. The frequency of fertilizing is a subject of special discussion among gardeners. Weekly or more frequent feedings are recommended. When applying fertilizer with each watering, the weekly norm is divided into several parts. In the absence of flowering, it is recommended to spray the bushes with stimulants (Zircon). Fertilizers are applied in the form of a solution; many gardeners dissolve fertilizers in water for irrigation.

Transfer

Fuchsia does not like large pots or free soil in containers, but it grows quickly. The bush is replanted annually - in the spring, when the crop has not yet completely departed from winter dormancy. Choose a pot 4-5 centimeters larger than the previous one. Prepare the drainage layer and soil as for propagation. The bush is replanted using the transshipment method, only lightly shaking off the soil. The earthen ball is moved into a larger container without deepening the plant. The voids in the pot are filled with fresh soil. The oldest branches are cut out, the rest are shortened by a third.

Pour the lump well with water until excess appears in the pan. Drain the water and place the pot in a shaded place.The plants tolerate replanting well and enjoy abundant flowering.

Humidity and spraying

Plants absorb water not only through their roots, but also through their stems and leaves. Fuchsias love high humidity and need spraying. Plants are moistened with a spray bottle in the absence of sunlight, the best time is morning and evening. When irrigating, it is important not to move the pot to another place, but to spray it where the container is constantly standing. With the transition of the crop to an inactive stage of development (in autumn), spraying is reduced, and in winter it is stopped completely.

Trimming and pinching

Buds form on young shoots. Old branches are cut off to make room for new ones. Pruning is also used to form the desired shape of the bush, giving the plant the desired appearance.

Pinching slows down shoot growth but stimulates flowering. Without pinching, the number of flowers will be smaller, and the bush will stretch upward.

Autumn pruning of fuchsia for the winter, after flowering has completed, is used to form a bush. You can cut out woody branches in winter if the bush is in an apartment. In the spring, the bush is inspected, dead and excess shoots are removed. Trimming the top growth points allows you to create a lush crown and stop the plant from excessively growing upward.

Winter care

A perennial plant needs a period of rest, stopping the growing season. This happens in winter. Low-temperature conditions are created for the bushes, at which time all processes are suspended. Watering is kept to a minimum (once every 2 weeks). Garden crops in warm regions often overwinter directly in the open ground. They create shelters from spruce branches. Indoor plants need a significant decrease in temperature (5-10 °).Many gardeners send fuchsias to spend the winter in a cellar or basement if it is impossible to create the necessary conditions in a dacha or apartment. In most regions, fuchsias in the garden will freeze to death.

Diseases and pests

The main diseases of fuchsia are associated with the wrong choice of irrigation scheme and maintenance conditions. With excess moisture, fungal diseases of the roots and green parts develop. For treatment, fungicides (Topaz) are used, lighting, watering, and temperature are normalized.

In hot, dry weather, pests—spider mites and whiteflies—multiply. It is important to regularly inspect the bushes in order to stop the population growth in time. For treatment, folk remedies or insecticides are used.

Plant propagation

Fuchsia can reproduce in two ways - vegetatively and by seeds. Obtaining your own seeds is a painstaking and difficult task. When grown from seed material, maternal properties are rarely preserved. The seed is used by breeders for work.

The vegetative method is more reliable and shorter. To obtain young plants, cuttings and leaves are used. Subject to the basic rules of care, young fuchsias retain all the features of the parent specimen.

Possible problems

There are many difficulties when growing fuchsia. You need to care for the plant all year round. Several possible problems and their solutions:

1. Fuchsias do not tolerate wintering in apartments. A good option is a glazed and insulated loggia without heating. You can hide the bush in a box with foam.
2. Fuchsia does not bloom. The reason may be too high a temperature in winter - the growing season has not stopped, the plant does not have the strength to produce buds. Feeding is required. The use of growth stimulants, which are sprayed on the bushes, helps to increase the number of buds.
3. The leaves wither and turn yellow. You need to find a place with a lower temperature and organize proper watering.
4. Drops buds. The plant does not like changing place; even a simple turn on the other side towards the light is difficult to tolerate. Often the fall of buds is associated with overheating of the roots and high room temperatures.

In case of any problems, watering and care are normalized, and the bush is checked for pest infestation.

When growing fuchsia, it is important to follow all recommendations regarding temperature conditions, watering rates, and timely transplanting into large containers. If you strictly follow these rules, fuchsia will delight you with a sea of ​​flowers that will decorate your house or garden from spring to early autumn.