Ha, ha, hummber_girl! Hummingbirds in the house?
Hopefully a thread about hanging basket fuchsias will get started ;-)
Indoor Fuchsias
The hummers are so cool. There are lots of them around here. They like the fuchsias and the climbing yellow dicentra. (Never even notice the regular bleeding hearts). My lilies bring them in with their color but I never see them eating from lilies. Strange. They ignore my clematis and hydrangea. Oh how they love my cape fuchsias and columbines, yet ignore the lobelia and crocosmia. They really like the glads. I put out feeders for them also but I rarely see them drink from them. I love watching them and plan on snapping lots of pics with the new cam this season.
We mostly have Annas Hummers here but I have seen a few other types that I haven’t identified yet.
Annas hummer. I didn't take this pic. Wish I was this good at photography.
Mstish
Your garden is beautiful! Love those hanging baskets and your trellis. I didn't have any fuchsias in baskets this year and missed them, so did the hummers.
Yes, we have Anna's year round here and then the Rufous arrive in April.
I'll try to get a thread started with Hanging baskets and or Containers for people to share photos on.
The long awaited Pink Pearl popped open this morning!!
It is doing just great indoors! Some of them are getting leggy though, so I might put a grow light over them for those days when it is overcast and just too cold to open the curtains and blinds.
And the flower buds on WW's magellanica are getting a bit of color on them. This is going to be the first one to get transplanted into a larger pot!
PS WillowW2, all the growth you see on your magellanica down to where you see it branching out from where I made the cuttings (which are growing outdoors) is all NEW indoor growth since you sent me the rooted branches seven weeks ago.
You are such a good mama. ^_^
And the experiment with fuchsias as indoor blooming houseplants continues! Thank you Willowwind2! Here is Orange Crush, putting out flower buds. I am still astounded that this is working so well.
Quite a few of them were in dire need of transplanting. Especially Orange Crush, Mood Indigo, and the F. magellanica. So five of them, including one of the Flash's, were move up into larger pots yesterday.
The fuchsias I have in the house are very happy, too! I'm so glad you all inspired me to move them inside. Two questions: 1) are you fertilizing them, this time of year? 2) when do you transplant to a bigger pot? When they're root-bound or before. I thought I remember reading that fuchsias don't appreciate a roomy pot.
I am still fertilizing mine with a half strentgh solution every two weeks. And I just transplanted them yesterday. I imagine that hanging basket varieties might bloom more in smaller pots, I don't know. But I know that upright fuchsias won't let a roomy pot stop them from blooming as long as they have enough light. Whether they are in the ground with plenty of room or in a container.
I am really glad you brought yours in too! The more people we have trying this the better. As different varieties will have different success rates and we will find out which ones do the best. Which ones did you bring in?
I had not seen this thread until now.
I had purchased a 4" pot "California Girl" (I think that's her name...) last may or so, planted it in a gigantic hanging basket with New Guinea Impatiens & Caladiums. It grew so well, I dug it up & divided it into three plants, & crossed my fingers. They all grew well, and showed this determination to live despite the hotter weather we had this summer. I dug all 3 up back in October, trimmed them back by about 1/2, and crossed my fingers again. Well, all 3 have been flowering like crazy & have been pinched back twice. They are near a light unit that has 4 T5 lights. These lights were a great investment - I plan to get more. The experiment now is to see how well lettuces & scallions grow under them.
Checked the name - it's "Miss California". At least I had the state correct.....
I could really enjoy growing Fuchsias during the Winter under these conditions - it has been a blessing to watch them in their growth cycle, although they are Aphid magnets. I'll try to get better pictures tomorrow - this one is very fuzzy, but shows lotsa buds:
This message was edited Jan 14, 2010 9:21 PM
Those are some happy fuchsias you've got there Katye! And they do look like California Girl to me. I haven't had any problems with insects indoors so far and I hope I don't. But just in case, I have a spray bottle near by with some 3 in 1 Bayer mixed up and ready to go. I bet lettuces will do great in the same conditions. Maybe even scallions too. I am an onion family fiend. Chives, garlic, green onions, leeks, etc, are all in my garden every year. Along with celery. Can't seem to cook without at least one of them included! So I will be very interested to see how your experiment goes!
This message was edited Dec 28, 2009 1:27 PM
I use celery a lot in cooking, and love it raw, too. But in all the years I have gardened, It is one crop i have not grown. I'm sure it tastes much better fresh than what is available in the grocery stores. Perhaps i will try it this year.
A friend has some fuchsia cuttings from mid-summer 2009: they are flowering, too. I'm still surprised at the flower count on those I have, but like anything else - if given what they need, they grow. As far as the Aphids are concerned - I soaked each branch from above & below with soapy water, rinsed them off in the shower, and blow-dried the excess water off quite gently. I felt like a personal esthetician for my plants...
Pass me more of the Fuchsias, please!
The days are starting to get longer again, yeah!
Meanwhile, my indoor fuchsiaa are busy producing flowers despite the short days and lack of as much sun as they would be getting outside.
Here is the F. magellanica getting more color on it's buds. This is the same fuchsia in the photo which begins this thread :-)
This message was edited Dec 30, 2009 4:08 PM
Here is Orange Crush getting ready to bloom. I can already tell the flowers aren't going to be a colorful as they are outdoors. Just a bit paler, but still beautiful.
And here is little Amber Rose getting ready to bloom. This is also one I will be training as a bonsai.
It must be Wednesday, because here I am with some update photos ;-)
This time, I added two rulers so you can see that some of the little guys you saw on 11/18/09 are now more than a foot tall!
First off, here is Orange Crush about to burst open.
Here is Willowwind2's magellanica in bloom.
Here is Flash! Pink Pearl is to the left and Iced Champagne is to the right.
This message was edited Jan 6, 2010 1:04 PM
And here is Mood Indigo with Orange Crush behind it. The ruler is brown.
Here is a picture of the mother plant of your magellanica. It is alive though.
We dodged another snow storm last night, but are still waiting for snow and ice from two weeks ago to melt. It is so frigid and windy it's scary, but I can see robins in the bare parts of the yard. Very comforting. This former Floridian is already tired of winter and it's only barely begun. So I dropped by to see your fuschias. I am mad for Billy Green and Pink Pearl this year. I purchased three plant hooks to hang from deck banisters in hopes of having glorious hanging pots for the HB's in May or June. By that time, you all will have posted many pictures of your own and I'll be able to see some excellent examples. Looking forward to it.
I feel for you! I spent a few winters in Colorado and I have lots of family in the midwest. I don't grow any hanging basket type fuchsias, only uprights. It would be nice if there was a field in the Plant Files here which enabled us to define a fuchsia as being either an upright or a hanging basket, but the problem is that so many of them blurr the line. And listing the height a fuchsia grows to can be misleading. For instance, Quasar can go either way. And as an upright bush, it can get up to two feet high or higher is pruned to do so. But Black Prince will never ever hang or trail and it will never get taller than Quasar. It is just a small, decidedly upright bush. So you will see descriptions such as "bush," "trailing," "upright," or "mounding" in an attempt to describe the form one can expect. When you see "bush" or "mounding" you know it is one that can go either way.
Willowwind
What a fine looking specimen of magellanica you have there! Even in the winter it looks fine and what a perfect spot for it. I look forward to some pics when it's in bloom.
PC
Thanks for all your updates. Your plants all look so happy and are growing leaps and bounds during the winter season indoors. It's so nice to see some hope around the corner for Spring and anticipate the time to get back outdoors! I'm glad I took some cuttings to enjoy during the long Winter.
Hang in there Pamgarden! Welcome to the Fuchsia forum and look forward to your future posts.
To those of you who are experimenting with indoor fuschias.
Don't they need to take a rest? I heard somewhere that they need to go dormant to gear up for the big display. Can they bloom indoors in winter and then again outdoors in summer?
Hi mstish, no they don't need to rest. Mine bloom year round most of the time. A few were scorched by freezing temps, but not all of them. I have over 100 varieties outdoors. Even those that were damaged are already producing new growth.
The experiment in growing them indoors was an inspiration from reading about it here in other forums. I had not thought it was possible. But they are blooming and growing very well in a southern facing window.
My plan was to
1. Keep them alive
2. get more cuttings
3. enjoy the blossoms during the grey-days of Winter
So far - success.
I will cut back 2 of the 3, in order to give the plants a better shape. 1 has responded well to this treatment.
Hi Katye, sounds like it is working for you. How are you doing it and do you have any photos?
And where is hummer_girl? I wonder how hers are doing.
I usually post updates on Wednesdays. But we started working the phones again to raise funds for our local community college foundation. Wednesdays are the only days we call during the daytime...
I have new pics of the kids in bloom and will post tomorrow. Tonight a fellow member here in the Californica forum solved a plant id problem for me I have been meaning to resolve for many years and just never had the opportunity. One of my most favorite little annuals turns out to be 'Scarlet Pimpernel.' And the other one is 'Speedwell.' Both of which I will be showing in the Companion Plant thread GGK started here in the Fuchsia forum, this spring when they start to bloom.
I'm here...I'm here... Just been really busy plus having 135 potted plants I'm growing under various lights that need TLC.
I OD'd on plants inside this winter, and what do I do when I can actually get online? Browse the fuchsia websites. I really do need therapy.
Here's the update on my Fuchsia Jungle. It Is Wild! Before Christmas I freshened all my potted fuchsias downstairs, adding worm castings to the mix, and all the plants have gone crazy with growth and everyone is either blooming or setting buds. Note the trailers on the front of the table dangling into no man's land. I so do not want to trim anyone back, but I know I have to. Agony!
Wow hummer_girl! That IS a jungle you've got going there. And 135 plants indoors would be too much for even me to handle. I can't wait to see more open flowers. I hope you are growing varieties that we need example photos of here in DG!
I know what you mean about the agony of having to cut back. Especially since mine are all uprights and I didn't want to interfere with their height. But I am going to have to at least pinch of couple of them because they are just getting too big. There is only so much room at that sunny southern window. At least most of them can go back outside here in about a month or sooner. I do though, want to continue the experiment with at least a couple, as indoor blooming houseplants year round.
Here is Orange Crush from yesterday.
Hit wrong button ;-)
Pink Pearl is going to bloom again.
And here is Flash this morning. Isn't it amazing the difference one week can make?
Wow, those are some happy fucshias you all are growing!!!
PC: what is the triphylla type 'hit wrong button' you are growing? Beautiful!
lizzipa: I'll be happy when everything goes outside! But that won't happen for about 4 more months.
HG
What a pleasure for my eyes to see your Fuchsia jungle! You certainly are taking good care of your little ones. It must be nice having them indoors for your long winter enjoyment. I caught myself just today wishing it was time to get out and work in the garden.
PC
LOOkin GooD!!
Flash sure is growing strong, how do you like it so far? I will be anxious to see how well you like it during the Summer. It was such a strong bloomer for me and recovered quickly from our terrible Heat wave we had last Summer.
Thanks again for sharing your indoor garden with us all.
HG - have you had any problems with aphids? Spider mite?
I have been giving mine showers once each week.
The insecticidal soap didn't really do a great job - applied 3 X., so I decided they'd be fine with a warm shower.
I have been trimming one Fuchsia fairly regularly, trying to achieve a nice shape. I'll start on the other two over the next few days. Plus it's lots easier to keep the bugs in check. I have no qualms about pinching or pruning. I enjoy the floral display as long as I can, but with this cultivar (Miss California), there are non-stop buds.
This is Miss California, pruned back by 2/3. There is already another bud ready to open...
These two will be getting haircuts soon. Well, I'll enjoy the blossoms for a few days more, then trim.
The one on the left side is a very strong grower, but I want to direct more growth all around so it's not so one-sided.
