Moving a fuschia

Hi guys - I would like to move a med size fuschia bush - can I do it soon? It is quite established but other shrubs are hiding it. :(

 

Hi Marge,
I take it that it is the hardy variety? if so then yes is the answer, but if I were you just wait a little while til we have a couple of warmer days, although the hardy var. is a tough plant, it may be wise to wait til this very cold weather spell has past, then do it.
dig your planting hole, putting some well rotted compost in the bottom, sprinkle a table spoon (approx) of Blood,fish,& bone, or rose food, fork bottom of hole lightly, re-plant your fuschia...happy flowering!!!!

 

I take it this is an outdoor hardy fushia.

It would really be better to move this in October or after it has dropped its leaves and is dormant. It would be a bit of a shock to try and lift it now when it will be starting to awaken. They do get very tough woody roots and the system can be quite extensive so I would be inclined to take softwood cuttings during the summer and get these growing well in pots before you attempt to reposition the old plant. That way you will have a back up if anything goes wrong. Cuttings grow fast and will soon be the same size as the original should you decide to leave it where it is

 

I think I'm with rossco on this one frogesque.
If its moved when growth is just about to get going then any damaged roots will heal and new ones can grow.
If its moved in the autumn when just becoming dormant, any broken roots could allow rot to get in over the winter months.
Probably, truth is that either would be OK if a large enough root ball is taken.

 

OK, :D I've re-read marge's original post and I agree, for a smallish plant it should be safe to go for it now. I'm working in a garden at the momement and 'medium' and 'established' mean about 6ft high x 6ft wide and they've been there over 20 yrs. A fuschia has to come out next week and it's going to be a pick axe job!

 

Chances are you'll find after a year that you still have a fuchsia where you took it from! They regenerate incredibly easily from d***-all! That happened in our garden.

 

Thought you might like to see a pic of the stem of my tree fushcia (fushcia excortica) its a New Zealand native.
Its about 12 ft high now but would probably be about 20 ft, without pruning. Its now starting to lift paving slabs, the flowers aren't much to look at, but I cant dig it out, because of its own sucsess, it wouldn't be right, Would it?


It does have interesting flaking bark.

 

I never knew fuchsias could grow like that! That's amazing! Must look pretty untidy in the winter tho?

 

Well the branches go bare like any deciduous tree but it flowers very early, last year it was in March and it got caught by frost, which ruined the flowering. This year there is no sign of flowers yet due to the colder weather, so hopefully it might be better and later.
Apparently the fruits are impressive, but I've not seen many due to the early flowering. :(