Overwintering a Fuchsia

[felly]

I bought a large fuchsia this summer and would like to try overwintering it. It is in a pot. The only places I have are a coalshed which is attached to the kitchen so inside the house but with no light and an outside shed with a small window. I have looked for information on the Internet but this is a bit confusing. Some advise to remove all the leaves and prune. As it is still flowering profusely I'm reluctant to tamper with it at the moment. I realise it is a little early but worry that we may soon have frosts. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Tilly2]

When it's finished flowering, cut it right down and leave it outside. It will shoot from the bottom again next Spring.
I have four fuchsias in pots which I have had for at least five years.

[SlackAlice]

You may be lucky and bought a hardy fuchsia, what's the name of it?
Most vary in their hardiness and I must admit sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. Most of my successes come from overwintering mine in a frost free greenhouse and keeping them quite dry.

[felly]

Thank you Tilly2 and SlackAlice. Tilly2 I've done this in the past with fuchsias and find that they survive OK but next season flower very sparsely and not until very late in the season. SlackAlice I don't know what variety it is as for some reason it had no label which is unusual for the Garden Centre I go to but I'm sure it's not hardy. Unfortunately I have no greenhouse but did wonder whether I could just keep it in the shed?

[Essell]

Most garden fuschias are notoriously late into leaf and flower, the harder the winter/spring the later they start into growth. Nursery fuschias will have been brought on in geenhouses. If I bring mine into the conservatory and keep them in until late spring they will flower early. If I leave them in a cold place it will be later. Outside can be even later. The upside is that they give masses of blooms in the autumn. Warmth is te key factor.

Light isn't important until leaves start to grow...in fact you can cover an outside fuschia with straw and black polythene until it grows again. Warmth is probably the most important in the springtime when you want active growth, otherwise it will wait for warmer summer days.

After this horrendous summer in my exposed garden, the fuschias are very behind, and one has not even flowered yet !

[felly]

Thank you Essell. What if I covered it with protective fleece and a black bag and kept it in the shed? Forgive me if this sounds ridiculous but I am a very amateur gardener. When should I start to worry about it? It's flowering like mad at the moment so surely it won't lose its leaves for ages yet and by then the frosts will be here.

[woofgang]

I let mine catch the first frost then prune and protect. Has it got large flowers and leaves or small ones? In general, the small flowered ones are hardy and regrow from the root each year and the large flowered ones are tender and need frost protection. You can also take cuttings and keep those growing on on a sunny windowsill. I love my hardy fuchsias for the late summer autumn display I get each year for little or no effort.

[felly]

Thanks Woofgang. I've never had a fuchsia that looks like this one before. It's about 5ft high but the bottom 1 to 2 feet is just stem and then it bushes out into this enormous mass of leaves and flowers. It's so lovely I just don't want to lose it. It has the average size flowers and leaves of most fuchsias ie it's not one of the ones that have enormous flowers.

[woofgang]

standards are boogers to keep because the sap drops back down to the root and the head can die. They are usually tender species, so do your best but don't be surprised if the head dies off and it shoots from the root.

[felly]

OK thanks woofgang.

[Essell]

Hello Felly
Yes you could wrap the head in fleece when all the leaves have dropped. You could even wrap the pot up in brown paper /fleece to give more protection to the rootball if it is not a hardy one. As Woofgang says, the head can die off, and I have friends who always store standard specimens on their sides until the leaves show in the spring. If there is unwanted growth from the main stem or base you can rub these off with your thumb.

If the head is very large it can be too demanding, so pruning back is advisable. Pundits say you should cut back the side shoots from the main growths, but I just do it by sight and remove stems where it looks too packed so that the rest have space to grow and breathe.
I think you are beginning to develop a seious fuschia addiction :o). Good luck.

[felly]

Thanks Essell. And yes I think I'm getting a bit obsessive but will follow your advice and hope it survives to bloom next year :)