i bought a new fuchsia and have read they like shade, humidity, and warm (but not hot) weather. considering our temps are in the 90's for most of the summer, have any of you successfully grown a fuchsia? from what i read, the 90's may be a little to hot. i am planning to pot mine and keep it in the shaded part of my balcony.
any successful fuchsia growers?
I have had good luck with the one from MSU(or is it USM?), the one developed to be heat tolerant, it's semi trailing, blooms all summer, flowers look like the standard fuchsia color of pink and purple but are smaller than Dark Eyes. I have no idea what it's name is though.
I also had pretty good luck with Gartenmeister.
I have one that I bought last year. I keep it in a hanging basket on the porch and it only get a little bit of late sun in the afternoon. It has really come back full this year and I have several buds on it already and I am anxiously awaiting to open. Good luck!
I have a standard in a pot on the porch - I will see how it goes before I say its a success, but it looks great at the moment.
i'm not sure if mine is the one developed to be heat tolerant, the tag only said "fuchsia hybrid". calalily, does yours look like this?
The center of mine is darker. I will try to remember to take a picture.
I've always heard they won't bloom out when temperatures get in the 80's.
EvieStevie, How much shade/sun is your beautiful fushia getting? Any fertilizer? I planted one in the shade of a Pecan tree a couple of years ago. It got two hours of late afternoon sun, mulch, and plenty of moisture, but didn't make it through the summer.
oh no diggerr :( it's in an area on my balcony that is completely shaded except for the last hour of the day (around 7ish). then it gets that weak late day sun. it is mulched. i haven't fertilized it yet. do you think bringing it indoors during the hotter months (july/aug) will save it?
Thanks for the reply Eviestevie. I think next year, I'm going to go with a couple hours of morning sun.
I just came home and found a wonderful surprise, my fuschia opened up. This is my first bloom of the year!!
Here is a close-up.
Diggerr, if you can provide filtered sunlight rather than direct sunlight especially during the summer months your fuschias would like it better. I just bought my first fuschia here in Texas, but I had a number of them when I lived in San Jose, CA. They thrived planted under a pecan tree. They really prefer cool temperatures.
Howdy!
I purchased my first fuchsia in March and it was fine until things warmed up around here in mid-April. I was watering once a day and it wilted so I took it inside (messy little plant!). I changed my mind (did I mention it's a messy little plant? I'm too lazy a housekeeper for that many falling blooms!) and I took it back outside.
Now that I'm watering mine twice a day (!) it's much happier. I'm thinking that as long as I can water it in the morning and evening it may be okay - at least for awhile. It only gets *very* early sunlight on my porch. I may end up bringing it inside but I want to try one of those watering thingamabobs before giving up on the great out-of-doors. There's some sort of contraption that drips water from a bulb-like thing that you can stick in your plants. This is an example: http://www.smarthome.com/3119.html
But I don't know if that will keep it moist enough. Anyone here have experience with something like that?
Tucson & Kauai--your LOVELY blooms look like "Dollar Princess." Very commonly found in our garden centers.....because she's a good bet around here!
I grow fuschias.....have one in the ground from last year, one in a pot that I left out all winter & greeted me for spring! Planted another lovely into the ground, and have two more in baskets. Will take photos and post names too.....
The thing with fuschias: the don't so much mind the sun or heat, it's the ROOTS that like & need to be cool. Watering twice a day will definitely help them w/the heat, and some shade in the heat of the day is great.
Hey, on fertilizing: I read in one of my fuschia books that they like an even feed....too much phosphorus makes them too woody. And, pinching out the tips willl give you more blooms.
I have two in the house (bonsai'ing) that do well in a window w/direct sun. One kicked it on me after a year.....grr.
=) MKJ
I have those watering gizmos. I have one that works like a syphon. There is a plastic thing that holds the water (it hangs on the side of the pot). Then there is a ceramic cone that you fill with water and you stick that in the dirt. It has a tube with a little plastic thing on the other end. You stick that in the water. Mine worked really well until our hard water clogged the pores in the cone.
I recently bought two others that are different. One holds about a liter and looks like the one on the link. It has a wick. The other one is smaller and doesn't have a wick. So far these two are working well. When I fill them I use reverse osmosis water and add 1 tsp of 5 % vinegar to a gallon of water to lower the ph. So far so good. I think the first one would still work if I soaked it in vinegar first to clean it.
Something else you can do for fuchsias is to plant them in the ground. They don't mind if their tops are hot, but they like to have cool roots and the ground is cooler than in a container(which gets warmed from all sides by the air).
Thanks for the input MKJ, silverfluter, and Calalily! :)
I looked up Dollar Princess and I'm going to stick that name on it. I *am* going to learn how to fertilize my plants. No more procrastinating about that. I'll check into it... when school lets out. :)
That syphon thing sounds perfect for me. Maybe fill it with distilled ice cubes, lol! Where'd you get those watering gizomos, silver?
I know the pot is hotter and dryer for the poor thing but I can't put mine in the ground - not enough shade and way too many hungry critters. :(
It's hitting the 90s now but it seems to be holding up okay.
Hey, Jen--if you have an area that gets alot of breeze, that'll help ALOT. There's a brilliant fuchsia expert around here, on another forum I think, that actually has a UK website on fuchsias. When mine began to cook last year, she recommended a site w/a breeze--it worked. The sad things perked up. Guess like we get some relief f/a breeze in the midst of August, they do too!
=) MKJ
Sorry I am late in answering. We went to MO to pick up our daughter at college. Just got back tonight. We took our time comming back. We stopped in Ft Worth at Weston Gardens. I had never been there before. If we hadn't had the truck so full of her stuff I would have spent all my money. But I did get a LA iris called Delta Star. Can't wait to plant it.
Those plant watering things come from Charlies' Greenhouse or maybe Park Seed Co. I'm not sure exactly which, but they both sell alot of the same stuff. They have websites too.
update on my fuchsia... after temps near the 100's earlier this week, i am happy to report my plant is not only happy, but thriving and blooming like crazy! i guess it likes the place it's in and decided it would stick around :) it's on the 2nd floor balcony next to the building on a humidity tray and only gets week late day sun. hip hip horray :)
Marvellous, eviestevie!! Fuchsia success is great, isn't it??
=) MKJ