How we spring prune Standard Fuchsias and bush Fuchsias
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- Опубликовано: 8 май 2021
- Rogers sneaks in to his wife's area of the garden to prune their Standard (lollipop) Fuchsia that has been left outside all through the winter.
Despite the cold frosty weather, there are green shoots of fresh spring growth - so Roger shows us how he prunes Fuchsias at this stage of spring.
Later in the video he also prunes and shapes a hardy bush Fuchsia, to create a nice neat dome of foliage and flowers.
We like to leave our pruning of Fuchsias until we can see plenty of new shoots; which means that, this year, we are not finally pruning until early May, because we have experienced some frost night in April, which might have damaged the new growth.
With a standard Fuchsia, there can be slightly more risk from cold weather over winter - if you have access to a greenhouse that would be the safest way to over-winter them in frost weather. We have to leave ours outside so have founds a warm south west facing corner up against the house where it gets a little warmer and it seems to manage there. Our variety of Fuchsia is 'Lena' and is rumored to be fairly hardy.
At the start of the video Roger also proudly shows off his patio pots with the gorgeous Orange Ballerina Tulips in full flower, gracefully dancing in the evening breeze, they are under-planted with cute 'baby faced' violas providing a rainbow of cheerful colours. 
Хобби
Funny guy, will keep watching and have fun in my garden hopefully
Hare Krishna. Wow so beautiful planting. Good share 🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉
Thanks for your comment, enjoy your garden, God bless you 👍😀
Oh and im off pruning my fuchsias now many thanks for advise
Hi Roger thank you so much for your quick reply and for the advice its so nice to be able to get help when you are struggling.
I think we are all struggling together .. been doing that all my life!
Keep us posted with your progress - thanks!
Love the Camellia plant.
Thanks yes - its a beauty, but has been getting a bit knocked about by the weather so far this year ... hopefully some calmer weather to come?!
Wow the tulips 🌷 😍
Yes - they're beauties, thanks! wont be long now until they are back in flower ....
I just found out that the fuchsia flowers are eatable.. just walked out and ate on my balcony.. not much of a flavour
@@karamymassageclinic Where is the world are you living ... southern hemisphere I am guessing?
Sydney Australia.. was trying to figure out when i need to prune.. turns out before august in Australia
@@karamymassageclinic yes that makes sense 👍
Thank you very much for your very informative video
You are very welcome - more videos to come soon!
Enjoy your garden
The tulips were eye catching Roger. Nice tidy up of both fuchsias, it seems like your good lady will forgive you interloping on her part of the garden 😁
You would hope so eh? .. if my next video comes to you 'live from the shed' - you know whats happened!
@@rogthegardener1 lol at least it means she's let you have access to electricity 😁
@@lyonheart84 :-) !
Thank you!
you're welcome!
Thank you.
Thanks for commenting - enjoy your garden!
Winter update - January 2022 - this amazing Fuchsia is still in flower now in mid January, and has been flowering since last June .. so that's 7 months of flowers and still counting - partly because of the spring prune shown in the video, also to do with the slow release high potash fertilizer we used ... but also I think the warm winter weather we have enjoyed so far will have helped keep it flowering - you can see a picture of the winter flowers on the community section of our RUclips channel
Thank you so much for this video. Can you tell, us exactly what fertiliser you used on your Fuschia, please
@@husnathassim705 Hi, many thanks for your comment. The fertilizer we used was Westland slow release granules which is available in most UK garden centres (we like that one because it has a higher Potash content which encourages more flowers and can also encourage tougher most resistant growth) - are you in the UK?
Thank you!. Do you always have to leave those centimeters of space of the branch you cut? Or can you cut from the base of the branch, will that damage it? I appreciate your video. I wished I had someone that knows about plants that can meddle with my garden. It's so difficult. 😁
Hi Antoinette, many thanks for your comment, apologies for the delay in replying I have been away on holidays!
I am not sure if I have understood your question correctly, if you are asking if you can cut back further down the stem, then yes you can, part of the problem may be that the new shoots that grow can be quite soft and can 'flop over' so I like to leave some old woody stem if possible (it depends if I can see new shoots starting to grow from the old woody stem, if there are no signs of new shoots then I would probably cut back further down the stem ... if that makes sense?)
It is worth stressing that I usually do this pruning in spring (as in the video above) ... I do understand your frustration with wanting some gardening support, it would be great to be able to do 'online visits' to gardens such as yours to be able to see your plants and guide you more ...maybe that could be done via RUclips in the future?
In the end plants can be very forgiving, so it is fine to experiment and make mistakes - it is a great way to learn!
Are there any gardening clubs in your area that you could join?
Hope this helps?
@@rogthegardener1 oh yes! This is what I meant! Mostly I was asking because I wanted to eliminate one stem since it was too close to the ground and actually looked floppy (like weak and bending) I imagine a new branch will try to grow under it or over it If I cut from the base of the stem so I'll just have to continue pruning. It's the beginning of spring where I am from and I liked the fucsia so much that I bought a new one yesterday! For the rest of pruning I will do it as you do. Leaving about a finger of branch and right over new bud. It's OK, I get a lot of guidance from videos like yours. Much appreciated. Have a nice day.
its now late august and my standard fuchsia wasn't pruned in spring can i still do it now? thanks for the advice
Hi Vivien - thanks for your comment - and that is an excellent question!
So I have the same challenge myself, I am tempted to give ours a trim as it is looking tired ... BUT we do not have a greenhouse and the result of a trim is usually a flush of nice soft fresh new growth - which is fine in spring / early summer but not so much as we go into winter especially without the protection of a greenhouse ... if you have a greenhouse thought it should be safer ... sorry I cant be more definite ... hope this makes sense?
Well i spent hours digging up and sorting all of the bulbs in my garden, some were over a foot deep. I was so excited at the different shapes and sizes of what id found thinking i was going to have a good assortment of spring flowers…….no such luck! Every one is a bluebell! Don’t get me wrong, their very nice but when the only one different ids a white bluebell, i’m left feeling somewhat shortchanged for my efforts. Any tips on identifying any bulb that wont turnout to be a bluebell?
Many thanks and im sure your wife realises what a lucky girl she is 😂😂😂
Thanks, has anyone ever mentioned you have great insight? I shall pass on your assessment of her good fortune … 😆👍
Re the bulb identification challenge, I am part of a Facebook group called plant idents where seem to find someone in the world who can usually identify anything plant based within a few minutes
In CA zone 10A the fuschia is still looking dry and no greens. Any chance it will come back??
Hi thanks for your comment, to be honest I am not sure what your particular zone experiences weather wise- but have just goggled it and it seems you may get only light frosts overwinter? in which case I would expect to see some small shoots starting soon - what sort of weather / temperatures are you getting now?
Is the plant outside where it can benefit from rain and sun?
Hello I wonder if you can help me. I’ve got some fushsia trailing plugs that I’m growing on indoors ready to plant out into hanging baskets. Do I have to pick the tops off so they bush out before I plant them out and when is the best month to plant out. I live in Birmingham and I have a south facing garden. Thanks.
Hi thanks for your comment, sounds like you have the basics of a good plan already.
To be safe you probably don’t want to leave them outside until late May in your area, as you can still get frosts …. Some folks take a risk and plant out earlier, and then watch the weather forecasts and protect the plants if a frost is forecast… it depends how feasible that is for you?
If you have plugs already (see my recent video about planting plugs) then they will probably need at least a 10cm diameter pot to support all the growth you can expect over the next / months, and yes if they are getting too leggy and not producing side shoots then a simple pinching out of the tip, maybe in about a months time should encourage those side shoots… hope this helps / makes sense?
Please keep us posted with your progress
@@rogthegardener1 thanks for the response, very much appreciated. I’ll keep them inside until later May then as you suggest. I’ll send an update with how I get on.
Hi, I just recently bought a standard fuchsia ‘Britney’ from a garden centre.
If you don’t mind, can you please share some tips on how I can overwinter it?
I don’t have a greenhouse, I am in Surrey. Thanks in advance.
Hi - thanks for your comment / question.
Some sort of protection is ideal, we got lucky for a few years as we had some mild winters and we kept our standard in a sunny warm spot .. however I am not sure if it has made it though last winter .. I am waiting for signs of new shoots .. maybe a patio greenhouse with plastic cover would be enough .. you can get them for about £25 (they normally come with about 4 shelves ... you may need to remove the shelves and then there should be enough space for your fuchsia?)
How does that sound?
Hi Roger - novice gardener here. My fuchsia has been in a summer house since the back end of last year. When is best to start pruning ready for this year? Similarly to you, I have left a bit of last year’s growth on it to offer it some extra protection as I’m in quite a cold area of the country.
Thanks!
Hi Callum - thaks for your comment, can I ask where are you living?
@@rogthegardener1 Hi Roger!
I live in south Staffordshire. Not very north but I’m quite high up so we get a bit more snow and a lot more frost than surrounding areas
Great, thanks for the info, if it is still in the summer house, and has been frost free, is it still in leaf?
If so and / or there is signs of new growth then yes you could think about pruning soon ...maybe wait until March, but unlike ours you will need to keep your plant in the summerhouse until much later in spring ...usually the 2nd half of May and then gradually 'harden it off' so that the soft new growth doesn't get damaged by the spring frosts - does that make sense?
(It is worth noting that the pruning in the video above happened in May, but that plant had been left outside all winter ... it was a much warmer winter than this one )
Hi @@rogthegardener1, yep still in the summer house and is still in leaf. The plant still seems to be healthy so will keep my eye out for new growth. I’ll have a look in March and will let you know how I get on!
@@callumwatkins6355 sounds like a good plan, it will probably respond to some fertiliser from March onwards 👍
I know its only March but mine still looks like your without the green, I hope its not dead😢 Its only 1 year old, so i wait till the green shows? And that can be as long as May? Thanks 😊 .
Yes, that’s what I’ll be doing, because of the colder winter and now a late spring in the uk I am not expecting any sign of life until Mid May this year … good luck!
Please let us know what happens with yours 😀
@@rogthegardener1 Thanks for the quick reply, I'm in Yorkshire, its still cold but i was worried it had not survived, i will let you know as its the same as yours exactly my pride and joy...🌸.. thanks for your wonderful instructions 🤩
Good advice other than belittling your wife.
My fushia from last year only flowered around the bottom what should I do?? I am in England
Hey sorry Kerry, I thought I had replied to you.
Just trying to picture you plant in my mind, to better understand your problem … was your Fuchsia last year and ‘standard’ fuchsia (ie trained into a lollipop shape)?
@@rogthegardener1 hi, Yea it was bought last year at Lidl and it looked fine and flowered lovely then the winter came and it all went to a stick and was told to leave it and then in spring a few leaves shown on the bottom of the plant and was told the leaves would move up the truck which it did start doing and then after getting really wide around the bottom of the plant and half way up the truck it just stopped growing but I gave it a good watering everyday
@@kerryfatima548 ah, I see, that’s disappointing for you.
My advice would be to overwinter a standard fuchsia in a greenhouse over winter, as they are usually not very ‘hardy’. Typically what can happen is that the ‘softer’ top half of the plant dies back but the bottom of the plant where the stems are woodier can sometimes survive … which means that you get lots of new shoots from the bottom of the plant as happened to yours.
If the plant was overwintered frost free in a greenhouse then I would say to trim the top of the standard / lollipop as in the video but to stop any new growth from growing from the bottom of the plant so that all the energy goes to the top of the plant not the bottom. I would also say that Fuchsias naturally ‘die off’ a bit overwinter (ie they can look a bit dead and drop most / all of their leaves) that’s their way of having a rest … in which case I would cut right back on the watering until later winter.
Ours (in the video) is I think a hardier variety of fuchsia, plus it is in a warm sheltered corner of our garden near the wall of the house, plus we have had some exceptionally warm winters here in South Wales so have been lucky to get the shoots appearing on the top of the plant…
I hope this all makes sense?
Mine get really sunburnt in the spring .Is that normal,kind of recks them for the rest of the summer look
That could happen in a hot climate/sunny weather- can I ask where are living ?
Thanks for your comment
I love in Norway ,It seems they take alot ofclimatizing to the sun .perhaps I should take them out side sooner then I do ??usually 2 months in the window and the out side.
My mother in law prunes ours and it died. Not sure if she just went too far or it's related to it not being pruned for many years before or just something in the soil. I have a new little one I'm going to plant there
Hi thanks for getting in touch, a few other factors which will affect its chances of survival are
- is it a hardy variety (which will cope with winter weather much better than than more tender varieties)
- where do you live / how cold does it get overwinter
- is it in a pot or in the ground
- is the soil free draining it does it get very damp over winter?
@@rogthegardener1 this is in South Eastern Australia so there could be quite a few other factors I suppose. I don't know the variety other than it's bush-like with stems that curve down under their weight and smallish flowers. It was in the ground, soil is clay type. Rare for us to get frost. Soil seemed to drain well in that area
@@Autotrope ah ok, lovely part of the world but a very different climate to chilly wet Wales! I would suggest talking to a local plant nursery or garden centre (or gardening club if you have them around there?) people who are familiar with local growing conditions and also fuchsia varieties usually available in your area…all of which could be different to ours over here - good luck, please keep us posted with how you get on with your new plant, thanks!
@@rogthegardener1 hi roger, which variety of this fuchsia? I love the colours, Looks F. Garden News
@@berkcansevgi2714 Hi Thanks for your comment, we have not really known that variety as my 'beloved' bought them unlabelled from a supermarket a few years back - having google Fuchsia 'Garden News' I think you could well be right - many thanks!
Isn’t a standard fuchsia supposed to look like a tree, with a main trunk and bushy growth only at the top??
You left a lot of growth half way down the main stem.
Why didn’t you trim the shoots to leave growth only at the top?
It now looks like a small shrub in the shot of how it’s grown (without an obvious bare trunk area) rather than a standard lollipop plant🤔
Hi Elle, thanks for your comment.
You are right, the way we allowed that one to grow is more like a ‘column’ than a standard, we just liked the way it looked with some extra flowers lower down… that video was a couple of years back, and it did well for us but I am not sure if it has come through this last winter as it was too cold for it … hopefully we can revive it in spring… but right now it’s snowing again!
My cape doesn't look happy after reporting. Bought in oregon and I'm in bakersfield ca. Now. She in a shaded area. Had to give a spray of neem oil for white fly. She acts likes She wants to die.? What's wrong guys?
Hi Bonnie, thanks for your comment, just checking when you say 'cape' do you mean it is a Phygelius ... and not a Fuchsia (here in the UK, we call Phygelius Care fuchsia)
To much waffle and not interested in your garden
Thanks for your honest appraisal of the our humble efforts 😀👍. Enjoy your garden