Hopefully @Michael Hewett or @Anthony Rogers will see this and be able to answer your question Joyce. Both of them are particularly knowledgeable about fuchsias.
Link to current Fuchsia thread, loads of info from our resident Fuchsia experts, http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/fuchsias-2016.108745/page-14#post-1035545
I pinch them out about twice. I think the less often you pinch them out the more lax the plant will be.
Also bear in mind that by pinching a single flowered one you delay flowering by around 6 to 8 weeks and a double flowered one by around 10 to 12 weeks.
A while back I bought this hardy fuchsia collection: http://www.jparkers.co.uk/18-hardy-fuchsia-collection-1013725c The plants arrived a few weeks ago and I planted them out in a suitable spot. The small plants look nice and healthy and a few have even produced very small red flower buds, BUT ........... the buds have all dropped off. Not sure why though - they're not too wet, not too dry, etc. Should I feed them perhaps? Thanks
Hi MadHedger, Don't worry about the buds dropping off. You have to remember that they've been shut away in the dark for three or four days. You don't say if they're potted plants or plugs..... If they 're potted plants just put them in a shady place for about a week or so and let them acclimatise to having fresh air/ daylight etc. If they're plugs then I would usually give the following advice....... pot them into 3" pots for about a month to get a good root system before planting out in their permanent positions. However, I wouldn't recommend planting any hardy Fuchsia out permanently after the first wk of August as they won't have enough time to send down a taproot, and without the taproot they won't survive the Winter.
