FUCHSIA'S - 2015

That's most kind of you, thanks Joolz

 

Hi Sheal

Hi Pamsdish

These are just a few measurements for you, I think you'll both have to get out there with your rules/tape measures Lol
F. Encliandra 6/8 mm

F. Encliandra Tetradactyla 7/10 mm

F. Microphylla 5/6 mm

F. Microphylla Hemslyana 7/8 mm

F. Microphylla Minutiflora 3/4 m

If you think these are small, F. Thymifolia Minimiflora is less than 2 mm long.

Anything above 10 mm ( 1 cm ) is likely to be a cultivar/hybrid.

Also, leaf colour differs the Encliandras are medium green whereas the Microphyllas are deep green on top and lighter underneath.

Good luck ladies

 

Thanks for the info Anthony it's appreciated but I have a bit of a problem taking the measurements. A round trip to Essex...... 720 miles, 48 hours, £1200 (without digs) and nearly eight hours on a boat. It takes longer if I have to come back because I've forgotten the tape measure.

Sorry, I couldn't resist that, I did say I'd lost both plants last winter and the parent plant is in my mums garden.

 

Sorry Sheal, I'd forgotten that

 

No need to apologise, I was only jesting! I'll get back to you on the measurements, probably next spring if that's okay.

 

I've just had a thought...... You send me your mums address and, lets say £500 and I'll go
How far from London is she ? I can get there for £10 on train.

Hehehe

 

She's about 35 miles from London Anthony and it's good of you to volunteer but.......my brother lives five minutes away from her and my other brother (not a gardener) lives over the road to her.

 

Cuttings taken @Freddy ..fingers crossed they take!bet we have a heatwave now and they wither!,ive done 6 batches just in case x

 

Taken another picture ON a 5p less than a cm.

 

Hi pamsdish,

I'm 99% sure that you have F. Microphylla Hemsleyana.

Official description is.......

Size is... 7 to 8 mm

Colour is... rose pink to deeper rose red
Corolla may have s purplish tinge

Foliage is... deep green on top but paler underneath, small and with serrated edges

Young stems are reddish colour

Growth is... upright and bushy

Hardiness... Classed as half-hardy, that is between 0 and 5 deg. So unless you can provide extra protection during winter it's best kept inside.

It's now been classified as a separate species..... Fuchsia Hemsleyana

 

Lady Boothby



Bianca



Quasar

 

Hiya @Anthony Rogers
In one of my two baskets, I have some pesky caterpillars, any advice on how to tackle them? They seem to like the growing tips which has stunted growth on a few of the plants.

 

Hi Freddy,
There are no caterpillars that only like Fuchsias over here so I just do the simple thing and pick them off, and put them on something else. We're lucky in that we have some verges and wild grown land near us so they find new homes there.

Can you just tidy the growing tips up, down to a nice pair of leaves. No need to go down as far as side shoots as they'll soon break of their own accord.

Also, if the branch that is affected is already flowering you won't retard flowering as it will just send the flowering hormones straight into those new shoots.

 

Thanks for that. When I look at the affected plants, the plants generally don't look 'right'. I'm not able to take the caterpillars out as such, as they're hiding inside the distorted leaves. I was a bit nervous about taking out the growing tips, but will now do so

 

Are we talking hundreds, could you take the whole leaf off ?