FUCHSIA'S - 2015

Hi Charlie,
It really depends on the temperature in there and whether you want to keep them growing /flowering.

The thing to remember is never to let them dry out completely. That causes more Fuchsia deaths during the Winter than cold/freezing temperatures.

 

Hi All. As you are aware I have been taking Fuchsia & Geranium cuttings and trying different things.

I know cuttings are normally taken in spring or even September and Anthony Rogers advice was the best time was in December as light getting stronger. Anyway tried some cuttings in mid October to see how they came on and they are not that good. I got some in a small heated propagator in garage with a NE facing window. They are not dying but at same not growing.

Also had some on East window cill and they were doing slightly better. I decided to transfer them into the greenhouse. Fully bubble wrapped, no heating but I have them besides other plants in a large heated propagator. I have built a wood frame around heater and covered that in fleece. The top is open during the day but at night I also cover that in bubble wrap. The heat is above 50F and 5-6 degrees warmer than rest of greenhouse.

Again the small cuttings are basically stagnant and I am sure as Anthony told us the light is not strong enough for them to grow (roots?). The other fuchsia cuttings I took earlier in summer and now are around 4-5 “tall are doing really well, no doubt to strong root system. I am interested to see if the smaller cuttings or larger 4-5” plants survive when it gets frosty outside. I think I have got to try and maintain around 41-45 degrees for them to survive.

The larger plants on garage floor are no problem but I have always had trouble keeping the smaller ones over winter. In the garage I also have some small cuttings in 2” pots and have wrapped the pots up in bubble wrap just to see what happens. I cannot take any cuttings off larger plants as they are rapidly shedding their leaves in garage.

So at the moment and not knowing what will happen when it gets colder in greenhouse I need to start cuttings off a lot earlier so they are 4-5” to have any success of them surviving. I am waiting now depending if the really small cuttings survive what happens when the light gets stronger in December. It is all a learning curve and if you do not try different things you will always wonder "what if"

The Geranium cuttings are no problem and they are growing in all 3 locations. The only problem I did have was too much condensation which causes mould and they die but that is controllable.

 

Just googled your Garden News one - pretty wee things. I suppose I will just have to wait and see if anything wakes up yet.