Training Big Fuchsia Plants for Tubs

Every year I grow some Fuchsias for the back of my tubs, and they are never really THAT big. This is from last year:



but what I really want is a Fuchsia that is 4' tall ... I can't seem to find a photo of the tubs at East Ruston that caught my eye, but here is one of their "smaller" Fuchsias in a pot:



I've been thinking about this, and it occurred to me that I did think what an "ordinary" variety it was, at the time. It now dawns on me that maybe this might be one of the more vigorous hardy varieties? or even if not maybe I should be growing "one of the more vigorous hardy varieties" rather than some namby-pamby variety that won't make much decent growth outside in the draught that whistles around my house

Any suggestions?

 

I had a Google, found these hardy varieties which are 36"-48" (and in some cases 48"-60")

ARIEL


BARBARA

Makes a good standard.


BLUE BUSH


BLUE LACE


CONNIE


FLASH


GARDEN NEWS


GENII


Hawkshead


HEMSLEYANA


LADY BOOTHBY (60"),


MAGELLANICA (60"+),


MAGELLANICA var ALBA


MAGELLANICA var GRACILIS (60")


MAGELLANICA var RICCARTONII


MAGELLANICA TRICOLOUR


MAGELLANICA var VERSICOLOR


MARGARET


MARGARET BROWN


MRS P WOOD

 

I could be wrong, but certainly in my experience F.magellanica gets rather leggy. It would probably need constant pruning/shaping to get that desired bushiness (I stand to be corrected though).

Little Brook Fuchsias would be a good place to start.

 

I think if you want to get a large fuchsia specimen as in the second photo (which looks like a variety called 'Phyllis') .you would need to overwinter larger plants to give you the large framework needed to attain the required size . As you say they are more 'ordinary' varieties but will reward you with many flowers ..Grow your first year plants as normal then when it comes to the winter pruning be vey light and overwinter frost free ,this will give you that larger framework and this can be bettered as years go bye ..

Dave

 

OLYMPICS SUNSET


PEGGY KING


PHYLIS


PROSPERITY

RICHARD JOHN


RUFUS


RUTH


SEALAND PRINCE (60")


SNOWCAP


WHITEKNIGHTS PEARL (60")

 

There are some wonderful old varieties in the above photos ,but althought they state an attained height, they would not give the desired effect in one season . They would needed a few years to make a specimen ..

Dave

 

I bought four fuchsias yesterday - never grown them before so would appreciate any tips as I'm clueless

They will be grown in containers.

Will they make it over winter okay (I can fleece them or overwinter them in the greenhouse if I need to)? Or should I grow them for one season only and then buy new ones next year?

The ones I bought are:

Miss California
Harry Grey
Pink Galore
Annabel.

Thanks

ETA : Found this which seems useful, but my greenhouse is not heated so would this matter as long as the plants are wrapped in fleece (and the pots in bubble wrap) inside the greenhouse? Or should I put them in boxes as the article suggests?

I guess if I need to then I could bring them inside the house but might it be too warm?

 

I grew a Lady Boothby in a pot last year trained against a basic home-made cane trellis, from the original 8-10" young plant I bought last June it attained a height of about 4ft but wasn't too bushy seemingly because it was in its first year but it did flower well

Although hardy because it's in a pot it's been overwintered in my greenhouse, I haven't pruned anything off it yet, I'll wait until the new growth is developing well before I prune it this spring..

 

Kristen and other fuchsia lovers this wonderful post may get lost .

As there is a fuchsia thread in the other plants section.

Be ashame to loose these fantastic photos.

Also here is a link that may help.

http://otherfellow.co.uk/?gclid=CPGxmJ7Rqa8CFcwTfAodKFhEWg

 

Despite my best efforts I've never found it overly vigorous, but certainly fully hardy. Love to see one grown by someone who knows what they're at though.............

 

Morning Merleworld,
Four nice fuchsias there ,not sure about Miss calafonia but the other three not hardy varieties. They would be better housed frost free But it is possible they may survive if bubble wrapped in a garage. The best way would be to take a few late summer cuttings of each variety, then keep those on a windowsill or similar.Then pot up in the spring .

Dave

 

Now look what you've done - I've just bought another three off that site

Thanks Dave, the advice is appreciated Are Fuchsias easy to propagate from cuttings?

 

Ooo lovely fuchsias

I thought all my fuchsias were dead, so ditched them, much to my shame and little knowledge about cutting them back in the spring .

I love standard fushias, which is the best fuchsia to train up to a standard?

 

Fuchsias root very easy this time of the year , use 2 or 3in soft tip shoots.Remove lower leaves and trip off under a pair of leaves .
Put 4/5 cuttings around a 3in pot of multi purpose compost . water and pop in a plastic bag or cut the top of a large plastic drinks bottle (these just fit over a 3in pot like a little greenhouse) remove the condensation daily . and put in a warm light situation ,but be careful they are not in the direct sun or they will be to hot . They should root in a couple of weeks ..
A good easy standard is Checkerboard ...

Dave

 

That would be OK I reckon. My thinking is that sticking my current Fuchsias in my unheated greenhouse and by the end of the Winter they are pretty much just-sticks, and take a while to get going again (and never really get back to the "lushness" that they were when I bought them, and in their first season.

So my thinking is that if I have Hardy varieties, and "stuff them in the unheated greenhouse" over winter, then I'm on a much better starting position for the subsequent seasons. Do you think that would be the case?

(In my case "unheated" is actually frost-free, its a conservatory and very sheltered, and does have emergency heating when outside is below -5C and threatens inside to fall below 0C)