Idiots guide to fuchsia cuttings: please.

When I moved here, I was given a fuchsia cutting. It is rather pretty and only now seems to be coming into its own (yes, 4 years on!). No idea which type it is, only that it has lovely limey green leaves with a purple/red vein through them.

Now, I've been thinking about the things I would like to take with me and some people have given that thread some very useful replies. As a result, I've now got some honeysuckle cutting romping away. Not to mention the hydrangeas I was given fab advice for last Autumn

But, it is too late to take some cuttings from the fuchsia?

If not, what is the best way to go about it?

 

I had advice from a member on here before and all I did was take the cutting about 4 inches long and leave it on the kitchen window sill in water and roots appeared after a few weeks. I then bunged it in some compost and that was it.

Rusty

 

Much like your Hydrangea cuttings I would say.

I would take a piece with at least 3 good leaf pairs (plus a bit of a bud, probably with some partly-formed leaves)

Take that to the prep. area and trim it with a sharp knife immediately below the bottom leaf pair.

Remove bottom leaf pair, and next pair up.

If the next leaves above that look "large" slice them in half - i.e. leaving only half-a-leaf attached to the stem (this is to reduce the leaf area, as the plant has no roots to such up water).

Prepare a pot with well drained compost (I use 50:50 MPC and Perlite - vermiculite or sharp grit would do instead of Perlite). Sharp sand would do, instead of perlite, as a fall back)

Get it damp - at the mixing stage, so that you can feel that there is some water in it. If you squeeze it into a ball, tightly in your fist, then if any water comes out its too wet.

Fill a pot to the top, and lightly compress it (should compress to about the "lip" on the rim of the pot)

Dib a hole near the perimeter and insert the cutting up to the first leaf that has been left on. Firm in well, important that there is no air trapped below/around the cutting. Use hormone rooting compound if you have any. I would put a bag over the pot, and secure with an elastic band (to keep the humidity in). Using a bag means it won't need any water until the plants have rooted.

You will probably find that if you stand the cuttings in water that they will root - however, potting them on (from water) may result in more loses than taking the cuttings direct into Compost.

 

I've not had any problems starting mine off in water, in fact that's the only way I've taken Fuschia cuttings, they take about six weeks to root.

 

I used to do that, but found that the transition to "soil" slowed them down for a bit, and if I wasn't paying attention I lost some at that stage, so I now start in potting compost which avoids that transition for the plant's roots. But rooting in water was easy, for sure

 

Bah! I already said that in my earlier post, sorry about that !

 

I always poke any bits round the outside of a pot, I get a fair enough strike rate about 66% at least.

 

how come not in the middle?

 

Supposedly they root better around the perimeter - warmer I think. Having said that I use 2L pots and fill them up and I have not noticed that the ones in the middle root any less well than the perimeter ones. If I don't have enough cuttings to fill the pot I do revert to putting them around the perimeter.

 

I have been taking Fuchsia and other cuttings for years. My advice is similar to Kristens with the exception that I haven't found any difference between cutting to water then potting compost, cutting to seed compost (both with and without rooting powder) and even cutting to potting compost, I usually get a 99% success rate.
One thing that I would stress is choose a healthy plant to take your cuttings from, an unhealthy plant will give you a very low success rate.

 

I think that's the key. Basically for anyone starting out on Cuttings then Fuchsia is a good place to start! Hydrangeas are similarly easy too.

 

I may have exaggerated, but 98% isn't far off. I would agree though that Fuchsias are so easy if care is taken at the "slicing" stage, always use a sharp knife.

 

Think your cutting maybe a Fuchsia Genii , they have lime green leaves with deep red veins through them .

 

I use a scalpel - box of 10 is cheap enough, and lasts me several years ... razor blade would do, if you can still get them? I figure that a scalpel is going to always be better than any attempt I might make to properly sharpen a knife and then keep it sharp

 

I never thought of a scalpel, I use a Stanley knife.