What is interesting about growing and caring for fuchsia at home
Fuchsia is a favorite plant of many gardeners, but in order for these wonderful flowers to delight the eye throughout the summer, they require some attention. Growing and caring for fuchsia at home has its own characteristics that you need to know in order to achieve the desired results.
Introduction to fuchsia
The color of the flowers is of interest. They can be monochromatic (snow-white, beige, peach, pink, red, purple), or have different color combinations.
Homemade fuchsias, which have created tropical conditions in the winter garden, can delight with continuous flowering for up to eight months.
At the end of this process, an edible fruit is formed. Under natural conditions, fuchsia lives in Central and South America, New Zealand, India.
The history of the name of the flower
The graceful flower has so many popular names: "gypsy earrings", "Chinese lanterns", "weeping Vanka", "ballerina", "flower of elves". The name "fuchsia" was invented by the French scientist and writer Charles Plumier in honor of the German founder of botany Leonart von Fuchs. Plumier discovered the beautiful plant while traveling in the West Indies in 1696. The Latin version sounds like Fuchsia Triphylla Flore Coccinea.
The official name of the flower in honor of the "father of botany" was approved by Karl Linnaeus in the middle of the XXVIII century, when the botanical nomenclature of plants was created. Therefore, formally, the author of the name of the flower is a Swedish doctor.
Where is fuchsia used
Most of all this flower is valued for its excellent decorative qualities. Not everyone knows that fuchsia is not only beautiful, but also tasty and very useful plant.
The scope is quite wide:
- berries are used as an independent refreshing sweet dessert;
- exquisite wines with exotic taste are made from the fruits;
- the plant is added to fruit salads;
- from fuchsia fruit they cook fragrant jam;
- flower petals are dried and brewed like tea;
- flowers and berries decorate pastries and cakes;
- berries act as a natural dye;
- women of local tribes in the homeland of fuchsia use pollen of a flower instead of powder.
Usually, home care for fuchsia is carried out using chemicals. If you are eager to use fuchsia for cooking culinary masterpieces, keep in mind that eating plants after working with pesticides is extremely dangerous to health.
8 most popular types of fuchsia
There are about 120 species of evergreen fuchsia shrubs in nature. Many of them are cultivated. A huge number of new varieties were offered by breeders. Creeping, flexible forms, and erect, in the form of trees are grown.
Currently, both natural and artificially bred fuchsias are used for growing and care at home and in personal plots. Let's consider the most popular ones.
Magellan
This is a large tree up to 3 m high. It has branched, pubescent shoots with a reddish tint. Leaf blades with reddish veins and denticles along the edges are about 4 cm long. They are arranged alternately or in 3 pieces in whorls. Flowers, single or collected in a brush, are tubular or downward. There are no varietal variations, but he attracted breeders to create hybrid forms.
Reclining
The flowers of the lying fuchsia are small, sprinkle the bush abundantly. For ampelous fuchsia, care is much easier if you use it to hang the pots. This species is found in the wild and does not have varietal variants.
Breeders have successfully used recumbent fuchsia to cross with other species.
Bolivian
This abundantly flowering, incredibly lush shrub does not exceed 1.2 m in height. Shoots are covered with large, up to 15 cm long, dark green oval foliage. The petals are bright red. The flowers have very long tubes compared to the short petals gathered in a cluster.
Fuchsia corymbose
Medium-sized lush bushes are strewn with bright red lights against a background of light greenery. The flower has a small petal bowl with an elongated tube. Bright red, white or purple petals look impressive. Such a bush will decorate any garden.
Graceful
An ornamental shrub rarely grows above one meter. The spreading branches have a red tint. This species is distinguished by smooth leaves that do not have teeth. The red sepal is combined with purple petals.
Hybrid
The most common species is the result of breeding work. By artificial selection within this species, amazing decorative varieties have been obtained.
Among them are flowers of various shapes: simple, semi-double and double, whose beauty is based on the contrast of red and white, purple and pink.
Three-leafed
This fuchsia looks like a compact spherical bush. Many varieties of this species can be found in home gardens. The leaves are ovoid and very large, up to 7 cm. The upper part of the leaf is green with a red tint, the back is colored brown. The red flowers are like bells. Three-leaf fuchsia blooms from May to late September.
Thin
Large shrub, taller than human. Many non-double hybrid varieties have been created on the basis of fine fuchsia. It has thin and drooping reddish shoots and small opposite leaves. Flowering begins in mid-summer and lasts until early October. Each branch is decorated with many drooping flowers on long pedicels. The tubes are purple and the petals are purple.
8 varieties of fuchsia to grow at home
All varieties are distinguished by their magnificence, unpretentiousness, vitality. Among them there are more cold-hardy and thermophilic, which are preferably grown indoors.
- El Camino. Self-branching semi-ampelous plant. It is prized for its very long flowering period - from early spring to mid-autumn. The buds are rounded. As they open, they turn into large double flowers. Under the red-pink sepals is a white terry skirt with red arrows.
- Water Nymph. Very viable long-flowering bush variety. Flowers are simple in shape. An amazing combination of cream and orange or red. The stamens are pink, the leaf blade is medium in size.
- Radisson. Can be ampelous and bush. Ball-shaped buds take a very long time to prepare for flowering. When they open, huge double flowers appear. The variety combines dark pink and blue colors in one plant.
- Pianes Berg. The ampel culture boasts jagged dark green leaves that can curl. Blooms late. Ball-shaped buds eventually turn into flowers with pale pink sepals with greenish edging and a cream terry skirt.
- Santa Clara.The ampel variety attracts with its giant "shaggy" flowers. The sepals are white, the skirt is burgundy. May have red or white blotches.
- Swingtime. Giant semi-ampelous variety, which can be attributed to bush. Has characteristic spherical buds, flattened on both sides. The flowers are large, with pronounced doubleness. The sepals are bright red, and the skirt is snow-white.
- Patio Princesses. Indoor plant of ampelous type. The first semi-double flowers bloom in early May, have dark pink shades. They decorate balconies, clean the room for the winter.
- Butterfly. Grown as a bush form or ampelous. The flowers are large, the sepals in the form of rings have a bright crimson color. At the beginning of flowering, the skirts are red, then turn crimson.
Growing and caring for fuchsia at home
Fuchsia, if desired, can be grown by an inexperienced gardener. The main thing is to know the basic principles of growing and plant preferences. The flower is distinguished by its undemanding nature and forgives the gardener many of the shortcomings of care. It is best to grow in a pot or container that fits the room and garden.
Organization of lighting
For fuchsia, you need to find a place or equip it in such a way that the flower does not remain without light and at the same time does not get burned by the sun's rays. The golden mean is a window or balcony on the east or northwest side.
If all windows are southern, the flower can be placed in the back of the room and supplemented phytolamp 12 hours. Backlighting is also done in autumn and winter.
It is advisable not to replace the phytolamp with an incandescent lamp, in which the light spectrum is shifted towards the heat. A plant needs energy from light. In phyto-lamps, the emphasis is on ultraviolet light, which is needed for the process of photosynthesis. They also benefit in terms of energy efficiency.
Most varieties are cold-resistant. Fuchsia can be successfully grown both outdoors and indoors. It will not die if the temperature drops sharply in winter. The exceptions are regions where the temperature drops by more than 10 degrees below zero. But even in this case, it can be covered, and in the spring it will give new shoots.
Growing and caring for fuchsia at home - soil selection
Fuchsia belongs to perennials. This means that she needs a well-drained soil.
Loose and nutritious soil should be able to absorb water and not impede air exchange. The plant develops normally in slightly acidic and neutral soil.
The full composition of the soil mixture is as follows:
- black soil -50%
- humus — 30%;
- peat - 10%
- sand - 5%
- expanded clay (vermiculite) - 5%.
If it is not possible to prepare the substrate, it is purchased ready-made in the store.
If the soil is poor in nutrients, too dense and clayey, with an alkaline reaction, fuchsia will start to rot. Outwardly, this will immediately be expressed in the brightness of the foliage, flowering will stop or be very scarce.
What fertilizers are needed
The main task of the gardener is to make the plant bloom profusely and for a long time. To do this, you need to feed the flower from time to time. The first feeding with nitrogen fertilizers (calcium or potassium nitrate) is done 30 days after planting or spring transplantation.
To enhance flowering, fuchsia is fed weekly on a leaf with one of the following mineral preparations:
- "Bud". Helps to bloom, enhances the brightness of the petals. Spraying over the leaf.
- "Uniflor-Bud". Increases the number of buds. Excellent foliar feeding.
- "Spring Effect". Promotes profuse flowering. Watered at the root. Diluted according to the instructions.
- "Kemira lux"... Increases resistance to disease. 1 g of the drug per 2 liters of liquid.
Organic fertilizers such as Fertimix or bone meal are used no more than 1 time per month. Excess fertilizers, especially nitrogenous ones, are harmful to the plant. In autumn and winter, feeding is stopped.
Experienced gardeners successfully use banana peel as a top dressing for fuchsia. It is dried, crushed and covered with soil before watering. The flower will thank you with bright, dense flowering.
How to water properly
The moisture-loving shrub is abundantly and often watered in spring and summer. In the cold season, the amount of watering is reduced. It is important to seize the moment here so as not to provoke root decay. Therefore, you need to carefully look at the topsoil: as soon as it dries up, immediately water it. Excess water from the pan is immediately removed. In the hot season, watering can be combined with shower irrigation. It is important not to place the plant in direct sunlight so as not to burn it.
On average, in the summer, fuchsia should be watered every 3 days, if necessary, every other day. Gradually, by the fall, the frequency of watering is reduced to 1 time per week. Watering is best done in the morning or evening.
Correct fuchsia pruning
Pruning is done to stimulate growth. Pruning involves pinching the top of the shoot. Thanks to this technique, the shrub becomes lush due to lateral shoots. The plant is pinched 14 days after planting and continues to do this throughout the spring before flowering.
To obtain standard trees, the side branches and flower buds are broken out until the plant grows to the desired height. Then pinch the top of the head. To learn how to form trees correctly, it is advisable to watch a video or photo on this topic.
Growing and caring for fuchsia at home, plant propagation
Fuchsia can be propagated using cuttings or seeds. Planting material for propagation is obtained during spring pruning and after flowering, when fruits are formed.
Cuttings
Shoots that have at least 2 internodes are suitable for reproduction. The leaves are cut in half so that they do not take up a lot of moisture. Sections are treated with Heteroauxin and placed in a jar of water.
When the roots appear, they are planted in containers. The soil is diluted in half with coarse sand. Cuttings need a temperature of about 22 ° C and ambient light. The plantings are covered with glass or foil, once a day they are raised for airing. When the first true leaves appear, the seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place.
Seed reproduction
Seed breeding process is more laborious. The seeds are washed in a light solution of potassium permanganate and placed in a container with soil. Sprinkle with a thin layer of earth and cover with glass. The seeds will sprout in 1.5-2 months. When the seedlings release 2-3 pairs of leaves, they dive.
In the process of growing young seedlings, it is necessary to monitor the moisture content of the soil. The most convenient way to moisturize it with a spray bottle.
Protection against diseases and pests
If you take care of the plant poorly, you can get diseases that are important to recognize at an early stage. Fuchsia can begin to throw off the foliage, do not tie buds, shrink, dry out.
Diseases and treatment
The reasons for the lack of flowering and drying of the plant:
- Excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizers to the soil. Phosphorus-potassium elements should be added to balance the composition.
- A tight pot can cause no buds. The plant must be transplanted into a spacious container.
- Rare pinching can stop shoot growth and plant development. Clever cropping will fix this problem.
- When over-watered, roots often begin to rot. The plant must be dug up, cut off the rotten part and placed in a jar of water, into which you drip potassium permanganate. When the roots grow back, you can plant it.
Gray rot is a common infectious disease. It manifests itself as moldy spots on leaves and shoots. Any fungicide is used for treatment. The situation with the defeat of the flower of viral rust is more complicated. If rusty spots appear on the leaves, they must be cut off and burned, the plant should be treated with Falcon.
If the measures were ineffective, destroy the plant, disinfect the equipment.
Protection against harmful insects
Fuchsia can also suffer from harmful insects. The plant becomes especially vulnerable during periods of high humidity, crowding, and improper lighting.
Signs of damage to the plant by insects and measures:
- Rusty spots on the plant, twisting of the leaf plates indicate an attack by a whitefly. It is necessary to reduce the humidity and treat the flower with insecticides.
- When attacked by spider mites, fuchsia throws off foliage and disappears. The gardener will be helped by chemicals that are used strictly according to the instructions.
All work related to the treatment of a plant with chemicals is performed in protective equipment, with open windows, in the absence of people and animals.
Fuchsia is a flower of magical beauty, from which it is impossible to take your eyes off. Different types of plants produce flowers at different times of the year. Florists use this to create year-round compositions in a tropical garden, taking into account the flowering time. Most fuchsias are ampelous, but semi-ampelous and bush ones are no less beautiful.
Indoor and garden fuchsia is able to radically transform the living room, terrace, front garden. Especially often this flowering shrub can be seen in winter greenhouses, on loggias and balconies. The flowers hanging on thin stalks are extraordinarily beautiful. They cheer up and create psychological comfort and aesthetic pleasure. The cultivation process, care for fuchsia and its reproduction are not complicated. This plant is well worth growing in your garden.