Good advice! I've kept 26 re-potted and pruned (as you showed) basket fuchsias (Shelford) in my large (24 squ. m) "open" greenhouse (a roof and back wall in polycarbonate) with a fleece thrown over them. So far 20 are sprouting. Milder winters are making over-wintering easier!
I'm glad the advice worked for you, my fuchsias are all sprouting now as well. I agree the milder winters do help the survivability of plants, although the cold couple of weeks we had in December seemed to kill off all of my pelargoniums in my unheated greenhouse, so I think I'm going to have to rethink how I store them in future.
One year I hung my fushia's in my three season room and they survived. They, however, took up too much room as I use the three season room for other things. Your video shows me a much better way of over wintering so they don’t take up so much room and will be so much easier to pot them in the Spring. This was a very informative video. Thank you.
Thanks for that. It resolves a dilemma for me. Fuchsias I’d bought as plug plants I had given up on, but was pleased to see only yesterday that they’d pushed out their first leaves and flower. Then, last night was first frost. So, first bloom or no, I guess it’s beddy-byes for them.
Thank you for the comment. Mine have just started to send out new shoots, although this current cold weather might catch the new growth. Unlike pelargoniums, your stored fuchsias might need a little water to keep them ticking over. I only water my pots where the compost is really dry and then water sparingly in the morning, which gives any excess water time to drain away before the cold overnight temperatures.
Thanks Nick, Very interesting, I had some success last year with my giant training fuchsias, I have invested in a new potting shed so following your technique I am optimistic for this year. Cheers Chris
Many thanks for your support throughout the year Graham. It's the comments and encouragement from you and others like you that encourage myself and others to continue to make and publish content and put themselves 'out there'.
Thank you so much for this informative video. I have 2 'granny' fuscias which I have kept for over 20 years now but which have very thick stems, each in a large tub which I keep in the greenhouse over winter & top up with fresh compost & feed each spring. Should I take them out of the tubs & treat them as you have the smaller ones or will this be detrimental to them?
Good morning Pauline, if you've kept your fuchsias going for 20 years, are topping up with fresh compost and feeding each spring, I think you are doing everything that the plants need so I wouldn't take them out of the tubs. However, in the spring you could take some cuttings from these fuchsias with a plan of eventually replacing your thick stemmed plants if they start to produce fewer flowers. I hope this helps. Regards Nick
I have just moved into a new house and have brought my fusias with me. But the house has no greenhouse and a southwest facing front garden and a northeast facing back garden. It is in Kent UK and we don't really get that many hard frosts but as it is higher up than where I lived before maybe that will be a little different. I overwintered them in the garden last year and they done better than in the conservatory from previous years but then the other garden was more sheltered with trees.
.@LINDA MEMBREY Hi Linda, I understand what you mean about leaving them in the ground and a lot of years this would be fine, it's just that we can never be sure when we are going to get a really hard frost that might kill the fuchsias. Regards Nick
@@UKGardening the problem at the other place was more weevil grubs than frosts I will have to make sure I don't bring any along with me. What's the best treatment for them.
@@lindamembrey5644 hi don't mean to but in.... but I use nemasys nematodes vine weevile treatment. In spring and autumn works a treat. About £10 for 12msq treatment
Very nice & interesting video. After overwintering the plant, do you get rid of the soil of the original plant pot or can you replant next year in that pot & soil?
.@Fahmin Kabir. Hi Fahmin, you can certainly use the same pot, but the soil won't have a lot of nutrients left in it, but there's no reason you can't reuse it if you incorporate some slow release fertiliser granules into the soil or mix it 50:50 with some new compost. I hope this helps. Kind regards Nick
I live in San Diego California and it doesn’t frost in my area, right now in early October, still in the 26.7 high low 15.5, now the leaves are getting sparse and the fuchsia is not drinking water. A week ago, I ceased the irrigation and it is still very damp. Should I wait to trim it back until the soil is not so wet? It is hanging under 70% shade clothed area with a touch of evening sun. She is a hanging basket.
It's quite difficult for me having a different climate to you to suggest what's happening to your fuchsia. But, I'd suggest the shorter days/longer nights we now have in the northern hemisphere are making your fuchsia go into hibernation, so its going to stop producing flowers and start loosing its leaves. It's a good idea to leave the compost to dry out and water sparingly, as they don't like to be overwatered. If it's getting spindly and you want to tidy it up, you should be able to trim it back now, but you could also wait until the spring, when it should start growing strongly again.
There are two main types of fuchsia grown in the UK. The first is the hardy fuchsias which tend to be large, shrub-like plants. If they are in a sheltered position, they can be left outside over winter in the border or large container, but stop any feeding and they are unlikely to need watering. The second type is the tender, bedding fuchsia like I'm growing in my hanging baskets in the video. These need winter protection in a frost-free greenhouse, shed or cold frame. If they are being grown in a container, they can be left where they are for a couple more weeks where their flowers can be enjoyed, before being moved under cover. If the fuchsias are in a border, as yours are, you should lift them and put them into their own pots now and move them into the greenhouse or cold frame. This will enable them to recover from being transplanted and produce roots before it gets too cold. Don't feed them until they start growing again next spring and water sparingly, just to keep the compost from drying out and the plant ticking over. I hope this helps. Regards Nick
Hi Sylvia, I suspect if you leave your half-hardy fuchsias in the ground, even protected with bell cloches, they are still likely to be killed or damaged by frost, particularly if we have cold winter. So, I'd suggest you cut them back, lift and store them somewhere frost free. If they are too big or awkward to lift, perhaps leave them and cover them with the cloches as you say, and hope we have a mild winter. Regards Nick
Hello Nick, I am new to fuchsias but this spring I planted a selection of fuchsia plug plants in several large pots. Well, they all went crazy in the cool, wet summer with regular feeding. The trailing varieties have been flowering continuously for months whilst the bush (delta's susan) is now a 1 metre high 'monster' that has only started flowering in the last couple of weeks. With autumn just around the corner what should I do as they are now pot bound, but still lush and in flower?! , In fact the bush is so large it has some woody stems, is top heavy & unstable in wind. When I planted them I had no idea how vigorous/large they would get. I am in the UK (Leics.) but don't have a greenhouse, just a south-facing wall, west-facing fence, winter fleece and lots of containers/pots that I group together in winter. Should they be separated/repotted before winter? Thanks in advance.
Morning Fusion. From your description it seems like you've had a great display. To store fuchsias over winter they should be put into dormancy. Which involves minimising watering, which you can't really control outdoors, also they aren't frost hardy, so a hard frost, particularly if they are in waterlogged compost will probably kill them. Do you have anywhere undercover like a shed, garage or porch, where you could move your fuchsias? If you don't have anywhere undercover, whilst not ideal, I would suggest taking some cuttings now and growing these indoors on a bright windowsill, out of direct sunlight, ready to plant in the spring. With the parent plants, I don't think you have anything to lose by enjoying them for another couple of weeks. Then reducing the large ones height by half, remove any remaining flowers and leaves (to reduce the chance of harbouring disease) and put in a sheltered position in the garden perhaps wrap the container/pot in fleece and or bubble wrap to try to keep the soil and roots dry and above freezing. Check on the plants every 3-4 weeks and give them a little water to keep them ticking over. Good luck and I hope this helps. Regards Nick
Ideally, bring them in a few days before the first frost, which I realise is difficult to predict but it varies depending where in the UK and at what elevation you live, but you should notice the evenings starting to get colder. I usually to bring mine in after I've cleared out the greenhouse of tomatoes and peppers, towards the end of October or early November, but I'm in Hampshire, so quite southerly. I hope this helps. Regards Nick
Hi Nick, not sure if you will see this question but fingers crossed. I have some tender fuchsia cuttings which have rooted and grown during the last few weeks. Do I cut them right back and remove the leaves as if they were more mature plants or do I just prune them back a little and leave their leaves on? They will be kept in a greenhouse.
Hi Jill, thanks for the question. As your fuchsia's are still relatively young, probably without too many leaves on anyway, I'd be tempted to just leave them as they are, but reduce watering to send them into dormancy. In the spring, when they start growing, you can prune them to shape. Good luck and I hope this helps. Regards Nick
Wow, thank you for the reply, so quick too!!! Thanks for your advice, I will give this a go. I love all fuchsias and have also made a whip from a hardy cutting for the first time this year and am hoping for success in getting a decent standard. For me at this stage it's all trial and error and I really appreciate receiving your reply.
@@jillmartin8255 You are welcome. Good luck with growing a standard, it should look lovely. Your comment "it's all trial and error" made me smile, I think it's how most gardening works ;-)
Hi Maire, You can store them pretty much anywhere that is frost free, a conservatory, porch, shed, garage, loft or put a few on the windowsill as houseplants for a bit of colour over the winter and then take cuttings from them in the spring.
@@UKGardening Thank you. I have a mud room where we take off our coats and shoes. We don’t heat it and winters can get cold in the mountains of Virginia. I just have a good number of plants that winter there. If you’re in Kentucky, our weather is very similar.
I have several beautuful giant flower fushias that i would really like to overwinter but ive no greenhouse. I have a really good plastic greenhouse, (thicker plastic cover than normal ones). Sits at back of shed at a path and gets any sun thats out. Would this work for them? I have fleece i could wrap round pots if that would help. My shed is damp and gets ice inside the windows
Good morning Ann, your tender fuchsias sound lovely but they really need to be stored frost-free. I'm not too sure if your plastic greenhouse would be able to do this as they tend to be open at the bottom and might let in cold drafts. Wrapping the pots in fleece would defiantly help. I wonder whether they would survive better in the shed? They won't grow over winter anyway, so they don't need light. It's certainly worth trying to save them over winter, but I'd suggest you take some cuttings now as an insurance policy and grow them indoors on a windowsill over winter. I hope this helps. Regards Nick
@@UKGardening thanks. My shed gets damp on tbe inside and has more windows than normal that ice up on the inside. If i put the pots in a thick cardboard box , lid open with fleece round the pots would that work?
@@annjackson9858 good morning Ann, your plan sounds great. Hopefully this winter won't be too cold, but I think you'll have done enough to get your fuchsia's though the worst. Good luck. Regards Nick
Hi Carol. just give them the bare minimum of water if the compost has dried out. They should enter dormancy so shouldn't need any water to grow, just to stop them getting too dehydrated.
I'm not too sure to be totally honest, but at 40c I would think most temperate plants would go into self-preservation mode and try to reduce moisture loss.
I use wd-40 or white spirit and a piece of wire wool or dish scourer to clean them of all the sap build up, and usually a wipe of a cloth with methylated spirits on, between cuts to sterilise them if I'm doing cuttings. I hope this helps.
Hi. Thanks for your lovely explanation! I was curious what type of soil you’re adding? (Ex: potting soil, normal soil from the ground, etc?). Also i was surprised you cut some of the roots, how come? (I am very new to gardening and inherited a beautiful one and am trying to keep everything alive). :)
Hello Krissy, when I'm potting these plants up for the winter I use whatever I've got to hand left hanging around, spent compost out of my emptied pots, tubs and baskets, any compost (from my compost heap) that is left on my potting bench or a mix of both. If you don't have either of these you could use garden soil as long as it's not too heavy (soil with a high clay content) as it tends to go quite solid over winter. I prune some of the roots of the plant to make them fit in the pot, it doesn't do them any harm and isn't absolutely necessary but it is often done when training bonsai and is called root pruning. Regards Nick
UKGardening Nick, wow you responded right away! That’s wonderful because I am planning on winterizing them today and now I know how! Fingers crossed I will have beautiful blooming next year!! Thanks again! You’re a helpful personality! -Krissy
Hi Pat, certainly not a silly question. Your spare room would be fine to keep the fuchsias. Just give them a little water when they are dry and keep them ticking over until spring. Then you can repot them. Good luck and kind regards. Nick
@@UKGardening Threading on this discussion. How much light, or lack thereof, can a wintering/dormant fuschia handle? Live in an apartment and thinking of 3 options. 1) Frost cloth cover and keep near sliding door(coldest option). 2) store in outdoor closet on balcony(darkest option). 3) bring inside and store in laundry room (very low electric light exposure).
Good morning@@richterbelmont2544. The most important thing to do is to keep your tender fuchsia above freezing/frost free. Depending on your location, will dictate whether this would be on your balcony, or near the sliding door. If the plant is dormant it's not going to photosynthesis so won't need much, if any light at all. But in the probable warmth of your laundry room, I don't think your fuchsia will enter dormancy, so will then need light. As an alternative option are you able to pot them up into smaller pots and keep them on a windowsill over winter? I hope this helps. Kind regards Nick
Hi Nick, many thanks for this video. I’ve just got into propagating very recently and have around 20 fuchsia cuttings I took at the beginning of June that I want to protect before planting them out into their permanent homes along my front wall in the spring. They are quite similar to your cutting you included in the video at around 6:30 and I was wondering how you would treat it prior to winter. They have pretty well developed root systems poking out the bottom of their 3 litre pots. Once established I moved them outdoors by a North facing wall protected from wind and rain by a plastic cloche when necessary. I don’t have room for a greenhouse but I do have a shed that I could put them over the winter. I was wondering if it’s ok to leave them outside where they are now provided it doesn’t freeze; I’m in Cornwall so it’s pretty mild. I could always bring them into the shed in a cold snap. On the other hand, should I move them straight into the shed once we’re in low single figures? Also, should I remove all the leaves and prune soon or just leave them to their own devices? They are still within the boundaries of their pots so there’s no need to prune from a space point of view. Sorry for all the questions but, having lost so many already, mainly to over-watering, I’m keen to hang onto the stalwarts that have survived. Many thanks!
Morning @Mike Floutier thanks for your message and it sounds like you've done well with propagating your fuchsias and your plan is pretty much spot on, but whilst I understand that Cornwall is milder than a lot of the UK, it might only take one or two unexpected freezing nights to damage your fuchsias. Usually you'd prune them around the end of September, but as you've said your plants are still in the boundaries of their pots so I wouldn't bother, but I would cut off any leaves (to remove any bugs or viruses) and then move them to a sunny part of the garden rather than the north facing wall and continue to water as normal during any dry spells. They will put on a little more leaf growth, which is fine to leave, but remove any flower buds. As the night-time temperatures start to drop to near freezing (towards the end of Oct - mid-Nov), I'd then think about moving them into your shed. You want them to enter dormancy in storage and to keep them frost-free (at least a couple of degrees C above freezing). Stop any watering a couple of days before you plan to store them, to help the roots to start to dry out. Prepare a storage box, some screwed up newspaper or a layer of spent, moist compost in the bottom of a box (a thick walled cardboard box or polystyrene sheeting that you can make a shallow storage bin would be ideal) keep the plants in the pots and put them on their sides and cover with more moist compost. Then put the boxes in the shed or garage where you can still have access to them. Check them once a week to make sure the compost hasn't dried out, if it has water sparingly, you want the root ball to be barely moist, to just keep the plants ticking over. Good luck and I hope this makes sense. Regards Nick
UKGardening Many thanks Nick, that’s great. My only query is, “are you saying that I should remove ALL the leaves or just the ones with pests and any diseases/viruses?”
@@MikeFloutier sorry for the confusion, I'd normally take off all of the leaves of established plants but forgot that you only took the cuttings a few months ago. So I'd only cut off the damaged leaves or ones showing signs of viruses. Regards Nick
Good advice! I've kept 26 re-potted and pruned (as you showed) basket fuchsias (Shelford) in my large (24 squ. m) "open" greenhouse (a roof and back wall in polycarbonate) with a fleece thrown over them. So far 20 are sprouting. Milder winters are making over-wintering easier!
I'm glad the advice worked for you, my fuchsias are all sprouting now as well. I agree the milder winters do help the survivability of plants, although the cold couple of weeks we had in December seemed to kill off all of my pelargoniums in my unheated greenhouse, so I think I'm going to have to rethink how I store them in future.
One year I hung my fushia's in my three season room and they survived. They, however, took up too much room as I use the three season room for other things. Your video shows me a much better way of over wintering so they don’t take up so much room and will be so much easier to pot them in the Spring. This was a very informative video. Thank you.
Thanks for that. It resolves a dilemma for me. Fuchsias I’d bought as plug plants I had given up on, but was pleased to see only yesterday that they’d pushed out their first leaves and flower. Then, last night was first frost. So, first bloom or no, I guess it’s beddy-byes for them.
Wow so amazing planting. Good information. Nice share 🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤
Thank you, that was very clear and helpful.
Thank you for this, it confirmed I am over wintering mine the right way.
Thank you for the comment. Mine have just started to send out new shoots, although this current cold weather might catch the new growth. Unlike pelargoniums, your stored fuchsias might need a little water to keep them ticking over. I only water my pots where the compost is really dry and then water sparingly in the morning, which gives any excess water time to drain away before the cold overnight temperatures.
Very helpful. Thanks.
I'm glad you found it useful. Regards Nick
Thanks Nick,
Very interesting, I had some success last year with my giant training fuchsias, I have invested in a new potting shed so following your technique I am optimistic for this year.
Cheers
Chris
Hi I stay in Scotland where is best for me to store them over winter thanks
Now that’s a tutorial!
I guess it is pretty off topic but do anybody know a good place to watch newly released movies online?
another great interesting video and tips thanks for your time 🐝🐞🐤👍👍👍
Many thanks for your support throughout the year Graham. It's the comments and encouragement from you and others like you that encourage myself and others to continue to make and publish content and put themselves 'out there'.
Thank you so much for this informative video. I have 2 'granny' fuscias which I have kept for over 20 years now but which have very thick stems, each in a large tub which I keep in the greenhouse over winter & top up with fresh compost & feed each spring. Should I take them out of the tubs & treat them as you have the smaller ones or will this be detrimental to them?
Good morning Pauline, if you've kept your fuchsias going for 20 years, are topping up with fresh compost and feeding each spring, I think you are doing everything that the plants need so I wouldn't take them out of the tubs. However, in the spring you could take some cuttings from these fuchsias with a plan of eventually replacing your thick stemmed plants if they start to produce fewer flowers. I hope this helps. Regards Nick
I have just moved into a new house and have brought my fusias with me. But the house has no greenhouse and a southwest facing front garden and a northeast facing back garden. It is in Kent UK and we don't really get that many hard frosts but as it is higher up than where I lived before maybe that will be a little different.
I overwintered them in the garden last year and they done better than in the conservatory from previous years but then the other garden was more sheltered with trees.
.@LINDA MEMBREY Hi Linda, I understand what you mean about leaving them in the ground and a lot of years this would be fine, it's just that we can never be sure when we are going to get a really hard frost that might kill the fuchsias. Regards Nick
@@UKGardening the problem at the other place was more weevil grubs than frosts I will have to make sure I don't bring any along with me. What's the best treatment for them.
@@lindamembrey5644 hi don't mean to but in.... but I use nemasys nematodes vine weevile treatment. In spring and autumn works a treat. About £10 for 12msq treatment
Interesting. I will try to winter mine this year in the greenhouse. How much water do you put on them during the winter months?
Very nice & interesting video. After overwintering the plant, do you get rid of the soil of the original plant pot or can you replant next year in that pot & soil?
.@Fahmin Kabir. Hi Fahmin, you can certainly use the same pot, but the soil won't have a lot of nutrients left in it, but there's no reason you can't reuse it if you incorporate some slow release fertiliser granules into the soil or mix it 50:50 with some new compost. I hope this helps. Kind regards Nick
I live in San Diego California and it doesn’t frost in my area, right now in early October, still in the 26.7 high low 15.5, now the leaves are getting sparse and the fuchsia is not drinking water. A week ago, I ceased the irrigation and it is still very damp. Should I wait to trim it back until the soil is not so wet? It is hanging under 70% shade clothed area with a touch of evening sun. She is a hanging basket.
It's quite difficult for me having a different climate to you to suggest what's happening to your fuchsia. But, I'd suggest the shorter days/longer nights we now have in the northern hemisphere are making your fuchsia go into hibernation, so its going to stop producing flowers and start loosing its leaves. It's a good idea to leave the compost to dry out and water sparingly, as they don't like to be overwatered. If it's getting spindly and you want to tidy it up, you should be able to trim it back now, but you could also wait until the spring, when it should start growing strongly again.
My fushia is in a flower bed how do I protect it for frost or do I move it to pot? Wondering about the root system damage? Thank you
There are two main types of fuchsia grown in the UK. The first is the hardy fuchsias which tend to be large, shrub-like plants. If they are in a sheltered position, they can be left outside over winter in the border or large container, but stop any feeding and they are unlikely to need watering. The second type is the tender, bedding fuchsia like I'm growing in my hanging baskets in the video. These need winter protection in a frost-free greenhouse, shed or cold frame. If they are being grown in a container, they can be left where they are for a couple more weeks where their flowers can be enjoyed, before being moved under cover. If the fuchsias are in a border, as yours are, you should lift them and put them into their own pots now and move them into the greenhouse or cold frame. This will enable them to recover from being transplanted and produce roots before it gets too cold. Don't feed them until they start growing again next spring and water sparingly, just to keep the compost from drying out and the plant ticking over. I hope this helps. Regards Nick
What about half hardy fuchsias in the ground,can i leave them in and protect with bell cloches.
Hi Sylvia, I suspect if you leave your half-hardy fuchsias in the ground, even protected with bell cloches, they are still likely to be killed or damaged by frost, particularly if we have cold winter. So, I'd suggest you cut them back, lift and store them somewhere frost free. If they are too big or awkward to lift, perhaps leave them and cover them with the cloches as you say, and hope we have a mild winter. Regards Nick
@@UKGardening Thank you for your reply, yes they to big so I will have to take that chance
Hello Nick, I am new to fuchsias but this spring I planted a selection of fuchsia plug plants in several large pots. Well, they all went crazy in the cool, wet summer with regular feeding. The trailing varieties have been flowering continuously for months whilst the bush (delta's susan) is now a 1 metre high 'monster' that has only started flowering in the last couple of weeks. With autumn just around the corner what should I do as they are now pot bound, but still lush and in flower?! , In fact the bush is so large it has some woody stems, is top heavy & unstable in wind. When I planted them I had no idea how vigorous/large they would get. I am in the UK (Leics.) but don't have a greenhouse, just a south-facing wall, west-facing fence, winter fleece and lots of containers/pots that I group together in winter. Should they be separated/repotted before winter? Thanks in advance.
Morning Fusion. From your description it seems like you've had a great display. To store fuchsias over winter they should be put into dormancy. Which involves minimising watering, which you can't really control outdoors, also they aren't frost hardy, so a hard frost, particularly if they are in waterlogged compost will probably kill them. Do you have anywhere undercover like a shed, garage or porch, where you could move your fuchsias? If you don't have anywhere undercover, whilst not ideal, I would suggest taking some cuttings now and growing these indoors on a bright windowsill, out of direct sunlight, ready to plant in the spring. With the parent plants, I don't think you have anything to lose by enjoying them for another couple of weeks. Then reducing the large ones height by half, remove any remaining flowers and leaves (to reduce the chance of harbouring disease) and put in a sheltered position in the garden perhaps wrap the container/pot in fleece and or bubble wrap to try to keep the soil and roots dry and above freezing. Check on the plants every 3-4 weeks and give them a little water to keep them ticking over. Good luck and I hope this helps. Regards Nick
When to take them in? At what night temperature they are not safe outside any more?
Ideally, bring them in a few days before the first frost, which I realise is difficult to predict but it varies depending where in the UK and at what elevation you live, but you should notice the evenings starting to get colder. I usually to bring mine in after I've cleared out the greenhouse of tomatoes and peppers, towards the end of October or early November, but I'm in Hampshire, so quite southerly. I hope this helps. Regards Nick
Hi Nick, not sure if you will see this question but fingers crossed. I have some tender fuchsia cuttings which have rooted and grown during the last few weeks. Do I cut them right back and remove the leaves as if they were more mature plants or do I just prune them back a little and leave their leaves on? They will be kept in a greenhouse.
Hi Jill, thanks for the question. As your fuchsia's are still relatively young, probably without too many leaves on anyway, I'd be tempted to just leave them as they are, but reduce watering to send them into dormancy. In the spring, when they start growing, you can prune them to shape. Good luck and I hope this helps. Regards Nick
Wow, thank you for the reply, so quick too!!! Thanks for your advice, I will give this a go. I love all fuchsias and have also made a whip from a hardy cutting for the first time this year and am hoping for success in getting a decent standard. For me at this stage it's all trial and error and I really appreciate receiving your reply.
@@jillmartin8255 You are welcome. Good luck with growing a standard, it should look lovely. Your comment "it's all trial and error" made me smile, I think it's how most gardening works ;-)
where can you store if you do not have a green house please
Hi Maire, You can store them pretty much anywhere that is frost free, a conservatory, porch, shed, garage, loft or put a few on the windowsill as houseplants for a bit of colour over the winter and then take cuttings from them in the spring.
Will fuchsias survive in an unheated room with freezing temperatures outside?
Hi Delilah, if the unheated room is frost free they should survive over the winter. Regards Nick
@@UKGardening Thank you. I have a mud room where we take off our coats and shoes. We don’t heat it and winters can get cold in the mountains of Virginia. I just have a good number of plants that winter there. If you’re in Kentucky, our weather is very similar.
Was it not Meths you used to sterilise the secateurs NOT white spirit ?
Hand steriliser ( 70% alcohol) would be suitable also
Hi James, I generally use meths but sometimes white spirit if I can't find the meths ;-). Thanks for the tip about hand sanitiser, great idea.
I have several beautuful giant flower fushias that i would really like to overwinter but ive no greenhouse. I have a really good plastic greenhouse, (thicker plastic cover than normal ones). Sits at back of shed at a path and gets any sun thats out. Would this work for them? I have fleece i could wrap round pots if that would help. My shed is damp and gets ice inside the windows
Good morning Ann, your tender fuchsias sound lovely but they really need to be stored frost-free. I'm not too sure if your plastic greenhouse would be able to do this as they tend to be open at the bottom and might let in cold drafts. Wrapping the pots in fleece would defiantly help. I wonder whether they would survive better in the shed? They won't grow over winter anyway, so they don't need light. It's certainly worth trying to save them over winter, but I'd suggest you take some cuttings now as an insurance policy and grow them indoors on a windowsill over winter. I hope this helps. Regards Nick
@@UKGardening thanks. My shed gets damp on tbe inside and has more windows than normal that ice up on the inside. If i put the pots in a thick cardboard box , lid open with fleece round the pots would that work?
@@annjackson9858 good morning Ann, your plan sounds great. Hopefully this winter won't be too cold, but I think you'll have done enough to get your fuchsia's though the worst. Good luck. Regards Nick
@@UKGardening thank youvery much. I hope so too.
do I water these dormant fushia in winter?
Hi Carol. just give them the bare minimum of water if the compost has dried out. They should enter dormancy so shouldn't need any water to grow, just to stop them getting too dehydrated.
Do they also go dormant during very hot summers (40C)?
I'm not too sure to be totally honest, but at 40c I would think most temperate plants would go into self-preservation mode and try to reduce moisture loss.
@@UKGardening thank you for answering! Much appreciated.
What do you use to clean your secatuers plz
I use wd-40 or white spirit and a piece of wire wool or dish scourer to clean them of all the sap build up, and usually a wipe of a cloth with methylated spirits on, between cuts to sterilise them if I'm doing cuttings. I hope this helps.
Hi. Thanks for your lovely explanation! I was curious what type of soil you’re adding? (Ex: potting soil, normal soil from the ground, etc?).
Also i was surprised you cut some of the roots, how come?
(I am very new to gardening and inherited a beautiful one and am trying to keep everything alive). :)
Hello Krissy, when I'm potting these plants up for the winter I use whatever I've got to hand left hanging around, spent compost out of my emptied pots, tubs and baskets, any compost (from my compost heap) that is left on my potting bench or a mix of both. If you don't have either of these you could use garden soil as long as it's not too heavy (soil with a high clay content) as it tends to go quite solid over winter.
I prune some of the roots of the plant to make them fit in the pot, it doesn't do them any harm and isn't absolutely necessary but it is often done when training bonsai and is called root pruning.
Regards
Nick
UKGardening
Nick, wow you responded right away! That’s wonderful because I am planning on winterizing them today and now I know how!
Fingers crossed I will have beautiful blooming next year!!
Thanks again! You’re a helpful personality!
-Krissy
Might seem a silly question just got into gardening with covid. Can I keep the fuchsias in my spare room over the winter 😊
Can I keep them in the house 🏡
Hi Pat, certainly not a silly question. Your spare room would be fine to keep the fuchsias. Just give them a little water when they are dry and keep them ticking over until spring. Then you can repot them. Good luck and kind regards. Nick
@@UKGardening Threading on this discussion. How much light, or lack thereof, can a wintering/dormant fuschia handle? Live in an apartment and thinking of 3 options. 1) Frost cloth cover and keep near sliding door(coldest option). 2) store in outdoor closet on balcony(darkest option). 3) bring inside and store in laundry room (very low electric light exposure).
Good morning@@richterbelmont2544. The most important thing to do is to keep your tender fuchsia above freezing/frost free. Depending on your location, will dictate whether this would be on your balcony, or near the sliding door. If the plant is dormant it's not going to photosynthesis so won't need much, if any light at all. But in the probable warmth of your laundry room, I don't think your fuchsia will enter dormancy, so will then need light. As an alternative option are you able to pot them up into smaller pots and keep them on a windowsill over winter? I hope this helps. Kind regards Nick
Hi Nick, many thanks for this video. I’ve just got into propagating very recently and have around 20 fuchsia cuttings I took at the beginning of June that I want to protect before planting them out into their permanent homes along my front wall in the spring.
They are quite similar to your cutting you included in the video at around 6:30 and I was wondering how you would treat it prior to winter. They have pretty well developed root systems poking out the bottom of their 3 litre pots. Once established I moved them outdoors by a North facing wall protected from wind and rain by a plastic cloche when necessary.
I don’t have room for a greenhouse but I do have a shed that I could put them over the winter.
I was wondering if it’s ok to leave them outside where they are now provided it doesn’t freeze; I’m in Cornwall so it’s pretty mild. I could always bring them into the shed in a cold snap.
On the other hand, should I move them straight into the shed once we’re in low single figures?
Also, should I remove all the leaves and prune soon or just leave them to their own devices? They are still within the boundaries of their pots so there’s no need to prune from a space point of view.
Sorry for all the questions but, having lost so many already, mainly to over-watering, I’m keen to hang onto the stalwarts that have survived.
Many thanks!
Morning @Mike Floutier
thanks for your message and it sounds like you've done well with propagating your fuchsias and your plan is pretty much spot on, but whilst I understand that Cornwall is milder than a lot of the UK, it might only take one or two unexpected freezing nights to damage your fuchsias. Usually you'd prune them around the end of September, but as you've said your plants are still in the boundaries of their pots so I wouldn't bother, but I would cut off any leaves (to remove any bugs or viruses) and then move them to a sunny part of the garden rather than the north facing wall and continue to water as normal during any dry spells. They will put on a little more leaf growth, which is fine to leave, but remove any flower buds. As the night-time temperatures start to drop to near freezing (towards the end of Oct - mid-Nov), I'd then think about moving them into your shed.
You want them to enter dormancy in storage and to keep them frost-free (at least a couple of degrees C above freezing). Stop any watering a couple of days before you plan to store them, to help the roots to start to dry out. Prepare a storage box, some screwed up newspaper or a layer of spent, moist compost in the bottom of a box (a thick walled cardboard box or polystyrene sheeting that you can make a shallow storage bin would be ideal) keep the plants in the pots and put them on their sides and cover with more moist compost. Then put the boxes in the shed or garage where you can still have access to them. Check them once a week to make sure the compost hasn't dried out, if it has water sparingly, you want the root ball to be barely moist, to just keep the plants ticking over.
Good luck and I hope this makes sense. Regards Nick
UKGardening Many thanks Nick, that’s great. My only query is, “are you saying that I should remove ALL the leaves or just the ones with pests and any diseases/viruses?”
@@MikeFloutier sorry for the confusion, I'd normally take off all of the leaves of established plants but forgot that you only took the cuttings a few months ago. So I'd only cut off the damaged leaves or ones showing signs of viruses. Regards Nick
UKGardening thanks Nick, that’s great!
What is a "crossing stem"?
Hi Diana, where two stems cross one another they can rub together and cause damage to one or both of the stems. Regards Nick
@@UKGardening Thank you!
Lo deberia hacer en español muchas gracias
Please speak louder
Volume seems fine on my end. May need to increase your device's volume or try out the closed caption option.