I'm wondering about the methods, materials, that others are using to winter mulch their hardy fuchsia? Jim
how are you mulching your hardy fuchsia?
Me too, light and fluffy is the best. Leaves from all of the fruit trees, the mulching bin, and grass clippings, etc.
Kin, PD, I have a great amount of Maple leaves, I guess I could use them, also I'm thinking that mounding and then the leaves would cover the base of the fuchsia enough that it would root the individual stems, this is just a guess, Jim
Yes, pile it up all around the bases of the plants as high as you can. At least 6-8 inches. The majority of my fuchsias are in 5-15 gallon containers, so I pack all of the space between them with leaves.
I actually saw an ad for burlap bag covers the other day!
Having a lot of bamboo gives me a lot of bamboo leaves which I have piled around my fuchsias, cannas, Abutilon, and one less than hardy banana, hope it works!
hostajim1: this is a copy and paste from a comment I made in another fuchsia forum thread about how I will mulch my cold hardy fuchsias (when I have some!) next year:
Quoting:
When I winterize my hardy fuchsias next year I plan on using something like chicken wire. My fencing is 14" high. What I plan on doing is encircling the plant with the fencing, 18" diameter, 24" diameter, depending on how much room I have to work with around the plant, filling the space with leaves, compost, mulch... Then I was going to either bend the top of the fencing over to keep the leaves in, or attach a smaller piece of wire fencing to the top to keep my mulch from blowing away. I wouldn't put bubble wrap over the top because you do want rain to penetrate through the mulch to the ground, because the plants still need moisture through the cold months. You could erect your wire circle, add a layer of bubble wrap inside (vertically against the chicken wire, creating an outer barrier to the cold), then fill the inside with your leaves, mulch...
Hope this helps.
thanks for all the advice on mulching, I'll start on all my fuchsias on Thursday, it should only take a day to get it done, plus I have a few others Abutilon, Eucoumis, Musa bajoo, Musa sikamensis, Dicksonia, either mulch or store in garage. in the fall, and spring, I think, why am I buying all these marginals, but then in the summer I love every one of them. Jim
I feel for you guys! Although I do worry every winter that we'll get worse weather than normal and my fuchsias will be damaged, so far they have come through winters that killed my lantanas, hybiscus, and hydrangeas, without harm. Most of my collection are large bushes. I do move them close together and pack mulching material in all the spaces, but I can't imagine having to cover them all. I wouldn't even want to have to completely cover one of them.
I do hope we'll being seeing photos here of the different processes people use to ensure the survival of their fuchsias during this winter.
Actually this is the first year I have mulched anything other that my musa basjoos (when it was young) But last year in my front boarder I lost a lot of cannas in which I planted these new baby fuchsias a little later in the season making me kinda nervous.
Azorina, everytime I leave the Musa bajoo out they die to the ground, they come up okay, but the trunks. don't get big. the NPA neighborhood group meeting is next thursday, if you go, please introduce yourself to me, Jim
Okay guys, what in the world is a "Musa bajoo!"
I am busy raking up all the falling leaves from the fruit trees to use as mulch.
Jim, I bet hostas make great companion plants for upright fuchsias! Do you have any photos you could post in GardenGuyKins thread about companion plants? My sister in lawy back east is big on hostas. I have never grown any, but now I am considering them!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/140950/
It's a hardy Banana, Pedricks.
HUMMER...thanks for sharing your method with the fencing. Excellent care for your babies!
:)
So far we have only had a few frosts here and nothing major. Sure would be nice if we go through this Winter with only minor freezing!!! But just in case I'm getting prepared.
1) I have several bags of Oak leaves. (i have access to loads of them)...LOL
2) I have made several round cages of this material to place over the plants if we get hard freezing. (photo below is the material and one of my compost bins)
3) If you have a real Christmas tree at Xmas cut off the limbs to lay over the plants with leaves. This works also in our area.
PC, I have around 200 named cultivars, species, plus several hundred of my hybrids in the field that I'm evaluating. I started collecting companion plants in my woodland garden. several years ago. but the last few years my collecting has increased along with clearing underbrush and replacing it with the hostas, fuchsia, etc. I'm trying to incorporate a nice landscape with diversity, not just a field of hosta. frankley it's getting to be a much more than I can keep up. but as long as I can afford my garden helpers I keep going. I'm germinating hybrid seed now. I did more than 900 crosses this last summer. I can't wait to see what new winner pops up this year. I'd like to post more pictures but me and kodak are not all that compatable, I'm okay with sending to an email address but I always have trouble when it comes to forums, maybe someone will teach this old dog new tricks and I'll eventually figure it out but so far I can't, Jim
Jim- Last year was especially brutal on my musa basjoos and if I had taken care of them properly last fall they wouldn't have had to rise out of the mush at the surface. But there have been years where it has grown all winter just dying a little at the top and regrowing till frost hits it again. Sorry I think I'm off subject!!
Linda, I think the last few winters were the coldest in this region on ecord. before that we had some really mild winters. and that's when I discovered Heronswood. Hinkley liked to sell species that are on the edge of our hardiness zone, and I fell victum to some of those lovelies that I hadn't seen before. my Dicksonia were 4 years old before they got hit 2 years ago and I almost lost them all. I think Heronswood had some 6 ft tall ones in the garden. my albutilon are still surviving but die to the ground every year. forget asarum they died the 1st winter. I'm looking outside and my Musa bajoo, Sikamensis are looking like they are in the tropics, so I'll probably leave them along for a few more week and then scramble to dig them up when we get a warning of that 1st hard freeze. the width of the puesdo bulbs on some are almost a foot in width. and are 7ft tall. I'd hate to start over with them. oh! and the Cannas that Jason Scott of Heronswood told me to leave them in the ground. I'm hunting for him. that winter I did, I lost them all. I'm starting over with my collection. I have the Tropicana only now. live and learn, Jim
Good luck on your new cultivars Jim! One never knows! My sister-in-law had a most unusual one come up in her garden that was so striking, a large commercial nursery bought it from her to clone and paid her enough that she and my brother were able to take a vacation in Hawaii!!!
I did look up the hardy bananas, cool! Wish I had room for them. I have seen bananas around here. And I have seen what happens to them if they freeze.......
Great find GGK!! I love that flexible fencing stuff! So very usefull.
hostajim1- Heronswood is where I first saw Musa basjoo, and i was hooked. I have an albutilon that is, even now, doing very well but is is close to the house with a palm tree that acts as a canopy above. I'm hoping for a milder winter and thus far so good
I've been cleaning vegetable seed and using all of the dried waste material along with the falling leaves from the fruit trees to pack all of the spaces between my containers. But I have so many containers this year, I am also going to buy two more frost blankets and try to cover all of the new ones. Since it also breathes, I'll be able to leave it in place.
This is how I am mulching my Lycoides and Cardinal Fuchsia's that survived the hot summer. I keep packing more leaves in those pots. I think they are 10 gallon pots. I am using what ever I got handy to mulch them. So there may be walnut and some poplar, but mostly it's wisteria leaves.
If it gets' below freezing I usually cover them plants with an old sheet too. It usually only freezes once or thrice a year where I live. Although we do get snow from time to time. Usually it melts before it hits the ground, though.
I liked the "Mulch Cylinder" for overwintering outside. Cool idea. I mispoke, warm idea! Cheesecloth might be a good solution to capping them off. Allows water through, and depending on how much you stretch it a certain amount of light. Don't know if it would work for some of you 'cause of your zones.
Just a thought.
WIB!
SW
PedericksCorner suggested I post these photos on this forum.
I have two fuchsia's that survived the abuse they received over the summer and if they survive the winter in the pots outside they will be planted in the ground.
Where I live, I have learned not to plant anything in the ground until it's survived in a pot outside for a year. Even then I mulch using whatever comes to hand.
For these two fuchsia's, I just gathered up whatever leaves were drifting around the patio. Mostly Wisteria, some walnut maybe. I had left a good 8" above the dirt when transplanting the plant, just so I could stuff it full of leaves. I have also used straw, and woodchip mulch on other types of plants with some success. The leaves just happened to be handy.
I've also learned that if I want to transplant something into the ground I need to start in Feb. - March.
Otherwise it's too dry, and the plant seldom survives.
Be keeping you posted on these guys. So far, they've survived several days of lower than normal temps in our area. Been down in the low 30's at night.
This is Lycoides with her leaf blanket.
One more to follow.
I cried the day I dropped and broke this Cardinal Fuchsia. I planted the root ball any way, dipped the broken stem in rooting enzyme and prayed. Like on the previous post, I planted the "mess" I made about 8 inches lower than the edge of the pot. Then I packed in leaves, I am amazed that this Cardinal Fuchsia is still alive. It appears that the stem has rooted. You can just see the pale green leaves poking up at the top of the pot. Not the curled up yellow leaves.
This plant is much hardier than I thought. It seems pretty happy in it's leaf blanket too. I'll probably continue to add leaves as they get packed in tighter.
So far they have survived several colder than normal nights, with temps in the low 30's, and some pounding rain, too.
WIB,
SW
SW, as they say necessity is the mother of invention, I've had a few mishaps, well, more than a few, that I recouvered from and learned something new. let me know if they all come out of it in the spring, thanks, Jim
Here is a photo of the cloth I use to cover the young ones. It is made by Easy Gardener in Waco, Texas. I also use it to cover seed beds and young cuttings. Very versitile stuff. You can't see them well, but it is a light plastic cloth with thousands of perforations. So it not only breathes, it lets allot of light in. When necessary, I will fold it so the covering is double or triple. It works wonders protecting from freezes.
This message was edited Dec 11, 2009 11:20 AM
I mulched all my new & tender plants with leaves this year - hope I have as much success as you SW!
PC
I will look for some of that cloth next time I'm out looking for things other than Xmas gifts! I wanted to post this several days ago but just didn't get around to it. That time of year and enjoying the warmer weather!
Last week we had 6 days of temps below freezing and down to 9* and low teens!! I hated it...just to darn cold for here. I think the leaves and coverings help protect the fuchsias the best it could with the cold temps. I took the sheets off on Saturday and found some green leaves and healthy looking stems.
f. Flash
Looks flash frozen, it was planted by the instructions in the 'sticky' http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=7092385
I had Oak leaves around the plant and a sheet over it during the cold spell.
Yes, GGK, your Flash does look a bit frozen. Maybe I could send you some of that cloth. I took it off of everyone yesterday because it was raining and I know that temps aren't going to go to low for a while. The only parts of the plants that had been covered, which got burned, were the parts in contact with the cloth. I maybe could have put stakes underneath to keep space between it and and the plants, but there was no time. I have to expect at least some damage.
And you are so right, being close to the house, especially right up against the house, can make all the difference in the world. I have a six foot Justicia carnea 'Huntington' that has never been damaged by freezes that killed many other plants, because it is snug up against this old wooden house! I am sure your Flash is alive at the core and underground. It doesn't look as badly burned as my boliviana's!
This message was edited Dec 16, 2009 12:21 PM
GGK: you don't think the crown and rootball of F. Flash is still alive underground?
Thanks PC.
I don't think the cloth would have helped much with the extreme cold here that we had. I was looking more for just ground protection. I knew I would lose the upper non woody branches/limbs on Flash. And yes HummerGirl...I sure do believe it is alive and will be better than ever next year. Of course won't know that for certain till Spring.
Flash is listed as - very hardy & does not need extra winter protection on the
Northwest Fuchsia Society Hardy List.
Darn, I just posted photos on the cold hardy fuchsia forum. But my Lycoides, and Cardinal #1 are very happy. I added more mulch to Cardinal #1, because he's growing. Will post the photo again.
Ooops! That's my cat Blackbear Jr. He knows what to do with a bed of mulch. LOL!
This is the right photo.
My climate is milder than most of yours, but I use old cotton sheets to cover my plants when we are due to have a frost (if I remember). Your stuff is way better though PC.
I have to take the sheets off in the morn, and put them back on in the eve.
Oh well.
lizzipa, I hope that your babies are as happy as mine too. If it helps, they are on the South Western facing corner of the patio. Keep me posted, okay?
WIB,
SW
SW, glad to hear that your babies are happy. Your Blackbear looks pretty happy too!
Actually, I checked on my nettala, this morning. I'm happy to report that it's thriving - seems to love the cold? I use cotton sheets also, when I remember - mostly for my potted lemon & lime tree. Amazingly, I haven't found much damage, from the cold of a couple of weeks ago. Even my Tibouchina looks okay - that's usually one of the first to show damage.
Liz
Blackbeard Jr. is a sweetie. I hadn't thought of using sheets on the citrus, lizzipa. I'll have to remember that, but usually it's not a problem for them. Would like to get more mulch down in the orchard. Looks like we'll finally get to remove those cherry trees that aren't producing fruit. Sigh. DH loves them so. Everything else is looking good.
Lycoides #1 is getting bushy. Seems really happy.
Be in touch soon.
WIB,
SW
My Lycioides are all doing great! I didn't cover any of them and they didn't get burned at all. If you look in the Winter Hardy thread, you'll see photos of the damage the freeze did to some of my collection.
While at the nursery today, I was talking to the old gardener, and being waited on by a kid who went to school with my kids! Oh, I asked about fuchsia's. This is what the elder said. He told me that fuchsia's like a little bit of cold weather. Then he smiled. The kid came back, but it is reassuring to me to know that someone with so much experience growing plants in my area thinks that fuchsia's are cold hardy. : - )
Now I just have to prove him right! LOL.
Since the weather has warmed up for us, my fuchsia's are putting on new growth.
Got to love them.
WIB,
SW
