Fuchsia cuttings

I have taken my first cuttings from a hardy Fuchsia which i bought last year.

The cutting had roots coming out of the bottom of the pots within 2 weeks, i potted them on and they have now flowered with 8 weeks of cutting, on a window sil. 

Is this odd?  when can i plant them out?  they are getting quite big now.

Not now-and if they have been kept indoors they will not like the chilly conditions out doors

You will be better to keep them ticking over until next spring then plant them out -deeper than they are in the pot

Thank you very much for your reply.  Will keep them in until the spring then

And...you could use it as a stock plant to take more cuttings from!...

One usually take cuttings from fuchsias in the Spring as this gives them time in the soil to build up a good root system. As these are late ones I agree with the advice to leave them in the greenhouse over Winter and plant them out next year.

I've inherited a rather grotty hanging fuchsia - a lot more woody stalk than leaves - with absolutely stunning flowers. I've never yet had a fuchsia survive the winter (it's in a pot and I don't have a greenhouse) so I'd love to take cuttings and try to have a new plant next year. However, there are very few bits of leaf growth that I could use as a cutting, and they're very short (a centimetre or so) and not even very straight.

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks

Yes Karen, as I said before, the Spring is the best time for cuttings. Even if you don't have a greenhouse, find it some shelter somewhere, a shed, garage, porch or in the spare (unheated) bedroom. Water very very sparingly during the Winter. Next Spring when it warms up, bring it out into the daylight and begin to water not too much to start with.  When the shoots start to appear, take a few cuttings. These need be no longer and an inch and will root quickly. My mother used to put her cuttings into 2" cubes of Oasis and kept wet. The roots would eventually appear through the sides of the cube so then she would pot them up.

Any window sill space, conservatory or porch? Unheated/cool sapre room?

Too late to try cuttings now- November next week! It'll probably drop most of its' leaves as the light levels fall. I'd keep it on the dry side too & then restart next spring & take cuttings then as PaulN says.

If being stored in a shed/outhouse is the only option, then I'd wrap the pot to protect the roots & strip off the leaves, to prevent botrytis setting in, & cover with some fleece & keep almost dry over the winter months. J.

Well, I say the same! Fuschias do seem to be healthier than they were 2 - 3 years ago. They were always mottled with disease and did not thrive. I stopped buying them at garden centres and/or online.  THIS year however I have had wonderful fuschias, especially the giant flowered variety which are currently still flowering outside. I will bring them into my porch or the potting shed, where I use low heat overnight. Winter 2011/12 was the first year I used a parrafin heater. It paid for itself keeping cuttings growing on and geraniums from `damping-off`. I take cutting all year round and have fuschia cuttings in water to encourage root growth prior to planting in potting compost. I have cuttings of Verbena B and Lollipop, also with root growth. All my fuschia, pelagoniums etc stay in pots all years being potted into ever bigger pots. I feel the plant food stays in the plant rather than draining thro the surrounding soil. I say "whatever you fancy doing, make it work". Enjoy!

Thanks for your responses and the advice on getting the plant through the winter. I know it is almost November (aargh) but the fuschia is still flowering so I figured it must be happy enough. The immediate issue is that I'd like to take some cuttings in case it *doesn't* survive the winter - but maybe I've just left it too late. I guess I'll give it a try anyway, just in case. I have my cuttings on a windowsill but it's right over a radiator and also gets pretty warm if the sun does decide to shine. I gather from another thread that the temperature mustn't be too high.

For the plant itself, I have an uninsulated garage but there's next to no light in there - would that be better than indoors? Even my spare room is not particularly cool. As for 'water sparingly' - stupid question, but what does that mean? And if it's going to lose all its leaves anyway, how do I know it's still alive? Or do I just keep watering it as an act of faith and wait until springtime to discover if it's alive?

Can you tell I'm a novice?

As regards the watering-what is meant by sparingly is virtually nothing at all- you let it dry out- but not dust dry- and then just give it a dribble -what you don't want is a plant- that is not actively growing- sitting in a load of damp cold compost-you are just trying to keep the plant ticking over in the winter.

Thanks Geoff, thats very helpful. I'll give it a whirl.

Karen - I always trim my fuchsia plants back a bit at the end of the summer and take all the foliage off,too. I am lucky that I have a greenhouse but if I didn't I would put my plant on a light windowsill for the winter and check every few days for the watering- keeping the plant just ticking over.By Spring there should be lots of new growth that would make lovely cuttings

Pam LL x

And as for no light in your garage, so what? It won't need light. The leaves and flowers will have been picked off if you've followed advice or dropped off if you haven't. The plant will go into it's dormant period, it is resting. And as for 'water sparingly', thats been answered above. It's a HARDY fuchsia which means in the ground it will stand the winter outside. In a pot, in your garage, you won't need to concern yourself with taking cuttings..

Thanks again for all inputs. Actually I've hijacked someone else's topic, and I don't know if this is a hard fuchsia or not. I decided to take the cuttings nonetheless because if the plant dies I definitely won't be able to take them in the spring! I doubt the plant or the cuttings will surviive, but I'll know more for next time.

I'm slightly confused about the differences of opinion regarding light, but if temperature is important then the garage will be a better option than anywhere in the house.

Will try to explain Karen-I don't see any differences of opinion

If you gave cuttings- therefore green growth- they need light

Paul's reference was to a plant with no foliage -so it does not necessarily need light-until you kick it back into growth.

Oh, duh! Thanks!