Graceful ballerina - fuchsia: growing and care at home. Fuchsia best varieties Reproduction at home

Luxurious flowering, variety of varieties and shapes, unpretentiousness and plasticity - this is why flower growers all over the world love fuchsias so much. They can be grown at home or outdoors, and formed into beautiful bushes, standard trees or “waterfalls” running down from hanging baskets or balcony boxes. And although fuchsias do not overwinter in open ground in Russia, since they can only withstand light frosts, they are still true perennial plants that do not cause unnecessary trouble in growing and propagating. It’s worth getting at least one fuchsia, and you can admire its many every year bright flowers looking like ballerinas in fluffy skirts.

Cups and skirts

The most interesting thing about fuchsia is the flower. It consists of a cup and a corolla, similar to a skirt. In hybrid fuchsias, these parts of the flower often have the most fantastic shape and color. Very small flowers may consist only of a brightly colored calyx, but this rarely happens. Some fuchsias have 4–5 petals, which makes the flowers small, and such varieties are called non-double. But the most spectacular fuchsias are those with giant flowers, the corolla of which consists of numerous petals (such flowers are considered double). The petals themselves can be narrow and wide, long and short, small and large, which also affects the appearance of fuchsias.

The structure of a fuchsia flower. The light part is the calyx, the purple part is the corolla. Photo by the author

Surprisingly, the calyx is involved in the creation decorative effect no less than a whisk. When the sepals are lowered down, the whole flower resembles an elegant earring, and if they are raised like wings, then it resembles a ballerina with raised arms. And of course, the unusual combinations of colors of the calyx and petals give fuchsia a special attractiveness. The most common colors are various combinations of red, violet, blue, purple, pink and white flowers.

From the history

The “father” of fuchsia is considered to be the French monk and botanist Charles Plumier, who discovered it on the island of Haiti in 1696–1697. In Paris in 1703, his work on plants found in America was published. It was there that the name fuchsia was first heard, which he gave in honor of the famous German doctor and botanist Leonhart Fuchs. The species that Plumier discovered was fuchsia trifolia. Although the plant was already mentioned in an English botanical journal in 1725 under the name fuchsia, the British do not agree with the French authorship and believe that it was brought to them by their sailors. "Ringing" family. Why are bells interesting?

From the end of the 18th century, during the “feverish gathering of plants”, new species of fuchsias began to arrive in England at Kew Botanic Gardens. Soon, breeding work began in nurseries, for which fuchsias turned out to be a very grateful object. Already from 1835 to 1850, numerous hybrids and varieties were created in England, which were grown in houses and open ground, where some of them overwintered.

In other European countries in the 19th century, fuchsia also found its fans. In Germany, the emphasis was placed on crossing with fuchsia trifolia. And the famous French breeder Lemoine developed many varieties with large double flowers. After 1930, new fuchsias began to be created in the Botanical Garden of the University of California, USA. Now breeding is also carried out in the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

It is believed that over more than 200 years of selection, about 15,000 (!) varieties and hybrids of fuchsias have been obtained. Currently, however, about 5,000 are grown. In many countries there are societies of fuchsia lovers, uniting numerous fans of this wonderful plant.

Some fuchsias have flowers that point upward. Photo by the author

Reference

The genus Fuchsia (Fuchsia) belongs to the fireweed family, i.e. the same as our well-known fireweed (fireweed). More than 100 species of fuchsias are known - perennials, shrubs or small trees growing in the subtropical and tropical zones of Central and South America, as well as on islands from New Zealand to Tahiti. In culture the most common f. trifoliate (F. triphylla) and f. hybrid (F.x hybrida).

Fuchsia trifolia is a plant up to 60 cm high with straight semi-lignified stems growing from the rhizome and large leaves with a dark burgundy underside. It has graceful, tubular, bright coral flowers 5–6 cm long, collected in a short raceme. Varieties with its participation are separated into a separate group, but there are significantly fewer of them than those of hybrid fuchsia.

F. hybrida was obtained as a result of numerous crossings involving f. fiery red (F. coccinea), f. sparkling (F. fulgens), f. Magellan (F. magellanica) and other species. The bush can be upright, spreading and ampelous in shape (creeping or cascading down) and have a height of 30 to 70 cm. In most varieties, the flowers hang down, but bushes in which they are collected in small inflorescences and look upwards look no less elegant.

Fuchsia trifoliata. Photo by the author

Growing beauty

Buying seedlings

In garden centers and stores, fuchsia is sold in pots of one plant at a time or in hanging baskets of 3-4 pieces together, depending on the size of the container. To further cultivation there was less hassle with the plants, and the flowering was abundant; when choosing, you need to pay attention to some points. First of all, look at how the plants are formed. If pinching was done correctly and the plants grew in the most favorable conditions, they usually look like dense, beautiful bushes with large, dark green leaves. In addition, their roots are not visible from the bottom hole of the pot. Such seedlings quickly take root.

They will not create problems, but seedlings with green but small leaves will not take on a decorative appearance so quickly. This often happens due to insufficient fertilizing and watering. The worst thing is if planting material stood on a dark shelf for a long time or was not watered at all. In this case, the fuchsia leaves turn yellow, and the buds may fall off completely. Such plants, if they are not covered with non-woven material when planting, can suffer greatly from sunburn and completely lose their decorative value. They will have to be “cast” and “fattened”, but full flowering will still occur only in a month.

When purchasing, it is also very important to inspect the plants for the presence of pests. The underside of the leaves should not have spots or dots - traces of the harmful activity of sucking insects. In addition, you must shake the bush and see if whiteflies - small whitish insects that look like a miniature clothes moth - fly into the air. This is a pest that is very difficult to control.

Proper formation of seedlings is especially important for hanging fuchsia varieties. If pinched at the wrong time, they form long shoots that bloom only at the ends. They will have to be greatly shortened, and it will take at least 3-4 weeks for the flowers to appear again. In this sense, it is easier with straight-growing varieties - on shoots that are too elongated, it is enough to pinch the tops. This will cause side stems to grow, which will flower quite quickly.

Summer outside

Correctly formed ampelous fuchsia. Photo by the author

Fuchsia for good growth and the formation of buds needs warmth. Therefore, they are planted in open ground or exposed in pots to the air no earlier than the end of May - beginning of June. In the conditions of central Russia, fuchsias grow better in places protected from wind and direct sunlight. If the plants are going to be placed in a flower garden and not in a pot, then you need to choose how to plant them. Large, perennial bushes and standard fuchsias are usually buried in the same container in which they grew indoors. In the fall, it will be easier to remove them for wintering without damaging the roots. Pots are dug into the soil at different depths, and the deeper, the more comfortable it will be for the roots.

Containers placed on the ground are best placed under trees or in a shady area to reduce drying out of the soil. Hanging baskets and flowerpots are placed on the walls of the house, balconies and terraces.

It is better to plant plants grown from cuttings, purchased in small pots, as well as trifoliate fuchsia directly into the ground so that they grow faster. It makes sense to place severely drooping varieties in containers raised so that the shoots do not lie on the ground and the leaves and flowers do not rot.

When planting a fuchsia seedling in the ground, you need to dig a hole one and a half to two times larger than the container and pour drainage onto its bottom, and then a layer of nutritious loose soil mixed with slow-soluble fertilizers. Fill the hole full with water and let it soak. Then carefully remove the plant from the pot and place it in the middle of the hole so that after filling with soil and watering it remains at the same depth as it grew in the pot. After this, add and compact the soil around the plant and water it generously. If several fuchsias are planted, the distance between them depends on the variety, age and crown volume of the plants. Young rooted cuttings are placed at a distance of 30–40 cm from each other.

In all cases when the plant is oppressed by bad weather or lacks water and nutrition, spraying the leaves with growth stimulants helps a lot.

Fuchsia needs constant and attentive care, for which it will reward with elegant, magnificent flowering. The first important point is watering. It's pretty moisture-loving plant, so the soil should be constantly moist, but not wet. Regular watering is especially necessary for plants in any containers. And the more sunlight they get, the more often they should be watered, because their roots cannot get water themselves. Plants planted in the ground can be watered less. In dry, hot weather, fuchsias love a water shower, but only if the sun does not hit them, otherwise burns may appear on the leaves. If the leaves are wilted, then the plants must not only be watered, but also sprinkled with water and covered with non-woven material to restore the elasticity of the leaves. Plants that wilt several times in a row may practically stop blooming.

Fuchsia in a raised flower bed. Photo by the author

Since fuchsias continuously grow and bloom, they require increased nutrition. Plants in containers especially need it. For fertilizing, easily soluble complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in equal proportions are used. Potted fuchsias need to be fed once a week, ground fuchsias - once every 10-12 days. Fertilizers can be diluted in water and fed with each watering, but then their dosage is greatly reduced. To avoid the accumulation of salts in the substrate, the plants should be watered abundantly with clean water every 3-4 feedings. Fertilizers containing humates also have a good effect, but they are best used in the first half of summer. Under no circumstances should fertilizing be carried out on dry soil - this can cause burns to young roots.

You can’t get too carried away with pinching, since each of them delays flowering. If you are forming a bush, then it is optimal to do this 3-4 times, depending on the time of planting the cutting and its growth rate. If the cuttings take root late, they are pinched 1-2 times.

For fuchsias growing in pots, constant watering can cause the substrate to become covered with a crust, which prevents water from penetrating into the lower layers of the soil. If the container is small, you can check this by simply lifting it. A dry earthen lump will be light. The crust needs to be loosened and the plant watered several times as the water is absorbed.

In hot, dry weather or with insufficient watering, fuchsia seed pods begin to form en masse, and flowering weakens. In order for the growth and formation of buds to proceed successfully, you need to regularly remove fading flowers, preventing the appearance of boxes. In addition, in both bush and standard fuchsias, it is necessary to periodically cut out thickening shoots and pinch out the longest ones in order to maintain the shape of the plant.

The art of the hairdresser

Fuchsias are grown in the form of a bush or standard tree. The latter option is very convenient for spreading and hanging varieties, since in the form of a bush such fuchsias lie on the ground and their stems can rot.

The evaporation of moisture from a fuchsia pot will slow down if you plant summer plants with a shallow root system, for example, alyssum, ever-flowering begonia, and lobelia, in the container itself or next to it.

To obtain a bush form, the tops of rooted cuttings planted in pots and starting to grow are pinched above the 2nd–3rd pair of leaves. This speeds up branching. Overgrown side shoots are also pinched above the 2nd–3rd pair of leaves, and so on. Excess, weak branches that thicken the crown are removed completely. A spherical crown is gradually formed.

To grow a standard tree with lush crown it will take 2 seasons. First, rooted cuttings are grown into one stem, which is not pinched to a certain height. Emerging side shoots are removed. There remains one smooth, powerful, upward-growing stem. When its height reaches 10–15 cm, place a peg nearby and, as it grows, tie the fuchsia to it, securing it every 5 cm. The grown seedling is transferred to a larger pot (optimally 13 cm in diameter). All emerging side shoots are trimmed, leaving a pair of leaves at their base. This is necessary for the stem to develop in thickness. When the stem reaches a height of 30–50 cm, the side shoots (3–4 pieces) that have grown again in its upper part are left, and all leaves are removed from the stem. As soon as the tree grows to 50-70 cm, the top of the main shoot is pinched and the crown begins to form in the same way as a bush - by pinching the shoots above every 2-4 pairs of leaves. Shoots and leaves appearing below the crown level are constantly removed. The plant is transplanted into a pot with a diameter of at least 20 cm, preferably clay - it is more stable and better ventilated.

Standard fuchsia trees. Photo by the author

In order for the tree to be strong, beautiful and bloom profusely, it requires careful care: abundant watering, constant feeding, as well as periodic spraying of the crown with water in the heat to reduce evaporation.

From f. It is impossible to obtain a three-leaf standard tree, since its rhizome produces several stems at once. But you can graft its cuttings onto a standard grown from another type of fuchsia. The same can be done if you have a ready-grown bole and cuttings of an interesting fuchsia variety.

Winter - indoors

With the onset of cold weather, usually before the first frost, potted fuchsias are brought into a cool room: into a cold greenhouse or onto an unheated veranda. Those fuchsias that grew in the ground are dug up and planted in pots or bags made of thick black film. Water very sparingly. Most fuchsias gradually lose their leaves. From November to February, the room temperature is maintained at 5–10 °C. At the same time, plants need the maximum amount of light and good ventilation. Water rarely, but do not allow the clod of earth in the container to dry out completely. At the beginning of March, the temperature is raised to 18–20 °C, fuchsias begin to be watered more often and fed with fertilizers with a high nitrogen content, and even better - with humates. In March, last year's shoots are cut to approximately half their length and cuttings are prepared from them for propagation. Weak branches are cut out completely. Ampelous varieties are pruned less lightly, because long hanging branches are their main decoration. If necessary, plants are transferred to larger pots or the top layer of soil is replaced with a new, nutritious one. When replanting, you can slightly shorten the longest roots. After pruning, warm water is used for watering. Within a month, leaves appear on the bushes, and then buds.

A large container is a great place for fuchsia. Photo by the author

IN dacha conditions after the leaves have fallen, fuchsias can be brought into the basement and stored there at a temperature of 3–5 °C. Water occasionally, not allowing the soil to dry out completely. The basement must be ventilated to prevent mold from forming. At the end of March - beginning of April, the plants are taken out of the basement into a bright room.

Many gardeners successfully keep fuchsias in winter and in apartments - on the coolest and brightest windowsill. In March, when sunny days arrive, the plants undergo a “radical pruning” of the elongated shoots, and after a while they restore their beautiful shape and bloom again.

Reproduction

Basically, fuchsias are propagated vegetatively - by cuttings (and trifoliate - also by dividing the bush). This is usually done in early spring, in February - March, using last year's shoots from overwintered plants. Green cuttings 5–7 cm long are cut from the top of the shoots. Two bottom sheets removed, leaving the petioles, and large leaves above are cut in half. For propagation, you can also use sections of stems without tops with 2–3 pairs of leaves, but they take longer to take root.

Purchased ready-made hanging baskets with fuchsias usually have some supply of fertilizer, but it runs out in about a month. If the new leaves become small and the flowering weakens, this is a signal to start regular feeding or increase the “calorie content” of the diet.

Prepared cuttings are planted in growing boxes or bowls and kept at a temperature of 16–18 °C. They can be pre-treated with root formation stimulants (according to the instructions). The substrate in the bowls should be light and breathable. They take root within 10–20 days.

In addition, fuchsia cuttings quite easily take root in water in a glass (preferably dark glass) container. You can also root them in a special sponge, which is used to strengthen cut flowers in bouquets.

After the roots have formed, the young plants are planted in pots (optimally 7 cm in diameter) with any loose nutrient substrate. You can use soil for growing seedlings made from high-moor peat with the addition of perlite and fertilizers. After planting, they are kept at a temperature of 15–16 °C. Plants need good lighting, but without direct sunlight, and ventilation without drafts. Water generously, but the soil should not be too wet. When the cuttings begin to grow, they begin to be fed with nitrogen and potassium fertilizers. Then fertilizing is continued every 10–12 days, using a complete complex fertilizer. You can alternate them with humic extracts (Agricola, potassium humate, Humat+7 and others).

Relatively recently, fuchsia hybrids have been obtained that can be propagated by seeds. They bloom 4–5 months after germination (that is, if sown in January, already in July) and bloom until the first frost. The crops are kept at a temperature of 24 °C and in the light, but still, seedlings usually appear only after 45–55 days. The resulting seedlings are planted in a substrate, the same as for cuttings, in pots with a diameter of 5 cm. Just like cuttings of fuchsias, seedlings need a lot of light, good ventilation, watering and nutrition.

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Magnificent fuchsia in the garden: cultivation and care

Fuchsia is deservedly one of the ten most popular plants. The splendor of flowering and the variety of varieties allows not only to replenish the collection of indoor flowers, but also to actively use this plant in landscape design. The flower has earned popularity thanks to its unusually beautiful bell flowers, for which the plant is called “ballerina”. Fuchsia feels great in the garden, and growing and caring for it does not require special preparation.

Hybrid varieties for the street

The coloring of “ballerina” flowers pleases with variety - from variegated light and blue single-color tones to bright ones, from soft pink to lilac.

For garden design, varieties with large, strongly growing, straight shoots are most often used. They undoubtedly need careful care, but they get better year after year.
All types of fuchsia have their own lighting requirements, but most do not tolerate direct sunlight. Therefore, it is better to plant these plants in shaded areas.

For sunny areas and open areas, varieties such as Hawaiian Aloha and Coral are suitable. They bloom luxuriously even under the scorching sun, but require more strict care.

Compact and ampelous bushes are best grown in pots in the garden. These species are short-lived and begin to grow upward over time.
Therefore, when growing them, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the plant, periodically replacing old woody bushes with young ones. They can also be placed in the garden as a decorative group or used to decorate a balcony or terrace. For the winter, the street “ballerina” can be dug up and left until spring in a cool room with sufficient light. The following varieties of fuchsia are mainly suitable for the garden:

Selecting a location

Many varieties of fuchsia are quite resistant to cold, but most varieties are heat-loving plants. For growing in the garden, windless areas with moderate lighting, even slightly shaded ones, are suitable for them.

The soil for “ballerina” is neutral and fertile.

Planting seedlings

Fuchsia is planted in open ground in spring or early summer. After about 15-20 days, the plant will acclimatize well, and if all care rules are followed, it will grow well.
When planting, you need to ensure that the root collar is not deepened by more than 20 cm.

Many gardeners believe that it is not at all necessary to replant the plant directly into the ground, but rather bury it in the soil directly in the pot. This way you can avoid frequent watering and it will be easier to dig it up for indoor storage in the fall.

As already noted, fuchsias do not like scorching rays, but they like the morning sun. However, this plant requires some watering and care.

Watering

Maintaining a sufficient level of humidity is an important condition when caring for fuchsia. The soil should be constantly moist, but waterlogging should be avoided (the soil must contain drainage).

Excessive moisture displaces oxygen from the soil and thereby causes root rot and subsequent death of the plant.
If the soil gets too dry, the “ballerina” can shed its leaves. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the foliage - as soon as it wilts, the plant should be watered.

Fuchsia is watered in the morning (so that the moisture is well absorbed by the roots and does not evaporate), trying to use settled water, and in the evening give the plant warm shower.

Important! In winter and late autumn, the “ballerina” is not watered.

After irrigation, the soil around is loosened and weeds are removed.

Top dressing

In principle, fuchsia is an excellent instant fertilizer. Therefore, you can safely use such fertilizers. When fuchsia begins to bloom, it is fed. To do this, it is advisable to water it daily with liquid fertilizers for blooming crops. As a rule, such fertilizing is applied from spring to early September.
Fertilizing the soil should be alternated with foliar feeding (spraying leaves). The concentration of the solution must correspond to the instructions.

Important! Do not apply soluble fertilizers if the fuchsia has signs of disease and in the first 2 weeks after transplanting the plant.

When asked by young flower growers about how to fertilize fuchsia so that it blooms, experienced florists answer that the plant needs potassium and phosphorus to initiate lush flowering. Therefore, these elements must be present in sufficient quantities in the feeding.

Pests and diseases

Like many cultivated plants, fuchsia is susceptible to various pests and diseases:

• Whitefly. A small insect that resembles a microscopic moth. It settles on the underside of leaves and sucks juices from the plant.

Fighting it is not only possible, but also easy. The most important thing is to prevent strong spread.

To do this, you need to regularly examine the “ballerina” and from time to time give the plant a cool shower. In this way, a double benefit is achieved: dust and pests are washed away.

If these methods do not help and the whitefly remains on the flower, you will have to use chemicals. “Aktara” is well suited for this, the solution of which is watered over the plant. If there are too many pests, fuchsia is treated with insecticides (Iskra, Confidor, Fitoverm, Agravertin, Tanrek). As a rule, one treatment is enough.

• Spider mite. It appears mainly in dry and hot weather. If a plant is infested by this pest, it lags behind in development, the tops and buds dry out, and on the back of the leaf you can see a thin cobweb and small spiders of a yellow or reddish hue. They fight this pest by spraying with anti-tick preparations (Fitoverm, Fufanon, Akarin) and increase the humidity.

Wintering fuchsia

For the winter, it is better to transplant fuchsias planted in open ground into a pot and move them to a dark, cool place.

Important! Before wintering, fuchsia must survive the first frost. This way she will undergo a kind of hardening before wintering.

Indoor storage

It must be remembered that fuchsias came to us from the tropics, so at home you will have to create conditions characteristic of a tropical winter - cool nights.

When moving the “ballerina” indoors, place it in a room with soft, bright light and, preferably, without the use of heating devices. This is especially important at night - this is the most critical period.
During the dormant period, it is important to keep the soil moist and not allow it to dry out.

At the end of January, the plant is pruned, cutting off 1/3 of the length of the shoots. Secondary pruning is carried out in the spring. At the same time, dry old shoots are removed and a crown is formed.

In the spring, when daylight hours increase, you can start feeding the plant and move it to a warmer room so that it “wake up”.

In the open ground

Some winter-hardy varieties of fuchsia in the southern regions can be left in the garden. Only for the winter they are covered with spruce branches or oak leaves. Before wintering, the leaves and buds of the bushes are cut off, sprinkled with a layer of earth (about 20 cm) and covered with spruce branches.
To isolate the plant from excess moisture, cover it with a film or put roofing felt on top. The flower opens only in mid-May.

Important! In regions with cold climates, fuchsias must be moved indoors for the winter.

Reproduction at home

Many people get so used to flowers that they get very worried when one of them dies.

Fortunately, propagating fuchsia at home is not only possible, but also simple. In addition, the flower can be propagated both by seeds and vegetatively.

Cuttings

The vegetative method is most often used. After all, caring for seedlings in this case is much easier, and the young specimens themselves quickly mature and begin to bloom.
In this case, planting material can be cut at any time throughout the summer. The main thing is to make sure that the shoots have healthy buds, and that the stems themselves are not green, but slightly woody.

The cuttings are carefully cut sharp knife and remove all leaves except the top pair. You can root shoots in:

• water;
• mixtures of sand and peat;
• wet perlite.

After 7-15 days, small roots will become visible on the cuttings. This means that they can be transplanted into separate small containers (9 cm in diameter). You can also transplant into a large container, but then several cuttings are planted at once.

Seeds

Fuchsia is rarely grown from seeds, mainly when there is a desire to conduct breeding experiments. Plants grown in this way may lose their parental varietal qualities, and there is too much hassle with them.
If you still decide on this method of reproduction, then carry it out in March-April. In this case, the seeds are planted in containers, lightly sprinkled, covered with glass or film.

The ideal option is to use peat tablets, which are then immediately replanted, and root system remains untouched.

After sowing the seeds, the containers are taken out to a room with sufficient sunlight, and in which the temperature is maintained at +16-18°C. After 14-20 days, the seeds will germinate, and after 1-1.5 months they can be picked, planted at a great distance from each other. And only after 2 months they are planted in separate containers.

As you can see, growing fuchsia in the garden is quite simple. And its lush blooms look great outdoors and will delight owners all summer with their unusual blooms, creating an atmosphere of celebration and harmony.

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Fuchsia ballerina photo

Fuchsia ballerina is a houseplant that looks like a small tree, but its branches are too thin to hold their shape and bend under the weight of the flowers. There are few leaves, they are small oval, green, inconspicuous. In the photo, the fuchsia ballerina is covered with elongated flowers, very reminiscent of ballerinas in concert tutus.

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Fuchsia: varieties, cultivation and care, reproduction and diseases

Simple propagation, wonderful forms, various shades of fuchsia have won the hearts of flower growers. They take root well in indoor and outdoor conditions.

Varieties and types

Fuchsia can be a tree, shrub or hanging plant. Flexible branches form a cascading crown. The leaves are bright green in color and up to 5 cm in length. Their shape is oval with a sharp end. The inflorescences are white, pink and purple, reminiscent of dancing ballerinas or bluebells.

Many species have led to the discovery of new varieties and the cultivation of hybrids. Hybrid varieties are in demand at home. Fuchsias are classified by growth type: bush, ampelous and ampelous-bush.

Among the bushes one can note:

• Waist. Orange buds.
• Henriette Ernest. The inflorescences are light lilac.
• Anabelle. Has white terry buds.
• Allison Bell. Semi-double purple-red inflorescences.
• Armbrough Campbell. Red sepals and pink petals. Talia Anabel Armbro Campbell Blue Angel Imperial Fantasy Prince of Peace Holly’s Beauty

Ampel varieties:

• Imperial Crown. The buds are scarlet and arranged in clusters.
• Blue Angel. Lilac-purple bloom.
• Prince of Peace. White and red skirts.
• Hollies Beauty. White-pinkish inflorescences.

Can it be grown from seeds?

Yes, fuchsias reproduce by seeds, but the difficulty of this method is as follows: the plant cannot be allowed to self-pollinate or with the help of insects. To prevent this from happening, the anthers in the maternal specimen are removed from the unopened bud, and the paternal pollen, taken with a brush, is applied to the stigma of the pistil. That is, the participation of maternal and paternal fuchsias is necessary. Then, the bud is covered with a paper or fabric cover and tied to the stem until the fruit ripens. Next, the seeds are removed and dried for several days. When sowing, fresh seeds are used.

Algorithm of actions:

• In preparation soil mixture: turf soil, peat, sand in a ratio of 3:2:1 or you can use soil from the store.
• Before sowing the seeds, the soil is irrigated, compacted and sprayed with a solution of potassium permanganate.
• Seeds mixed with perlite are laid out on top of the ground or slightly pressed into it. Thin layer the lands are covered.
• In order for seedlings to sprout, they need sufficient access to light, but without direct sunlight.
• The container is covered with film and sent to a warm place with a temperature of 22 degrees.
• Condensation from the film is removed daily and the soil is ventilated.
• As soon as the soil becomes dry, it should be sprayed with a spray bottle.
• A month later the first shoots appear.
• The plastic bag is removed from the container for a while. In this way, the seedlings become accustomed to room temperature. Then it is completely removed.
• The appearance of four leaves is a signal for picking.
• Seedlings are seated in separate cups.
• Watering is done through the tray.
• As soon as rooting occurs, you should feed the plant with complex mineral fertilizers.
• This type of propagation does not preserve varietal characteristics, and therefore is more interesting to breeders.

Propagation by cuttings

The reproduction method is considered the most reliable and is used throughout the entire time. The best period will, of course, be spring, when the plant awakens from hibernation.

• Rooting cuttings Cuttings are used from young shoots; you can also take lignified ones, only in this case you will have to wait a long time for their rooting and growth.
• A length of 10 to 20 cm will be sufficient.
• The lower leaves are removed, and the remaining ones will need to be shortened by half.
• The cutting is placed in filtered water and covered with a plastic bag. The container is located in a bright place without direct sunlight.
• As the liquid in the container evaporates, it is added.
• After 5–10 days, new roots will appear.
• As soon as they reach 2 cm, they should immediately be planted in the substrate.
• Planting is carried out in small plastic cups, which will eventually be replaced with larger containers.

Rooting of cuttings can be done in peat tablets:

• The tablet should be wetted with warm water.
• When it gets wet, make a hole with a stick and send the cutting there.
• All this is placed in a bag and sprayed to create a greenhouse effect.
• On days 7–10, young roots will appear.
• The cuttings along with the tablets are lowered into the prepared soil.

Care

• Light and fertile soil is prepared for adult plants. Sand, perlite and peat are added. In some cases, clay is added to retain nutrients.
• A plant that does not replant requires some adjustment. The stems are cut in half if they are bare. The cut parts are suitable for cuttings for propagation.
• The transplant takes place in April. If the diameter of the flowerpots is 30–35 cm, then you need to plant 5 specimens, 20–25 cm – 3 and add granular fertilizer “Green World”. You don’t have to do this, but then when watering, after rooting, you need to add liquid fertilizer for flowering plants. The flower works well with organic additives, for example, horse and cow manure. Avoid using chicken manure due to its strong concentration. During extension green mass should be entered nitrogen fertilizers("Emerald"). In winter, do not fertilize.
• In hot weather, flowers are watered daily so that they do not lose shape due to the dry soil. The water used is filtered and settled. In the autumn, reduce irrigation and increase it to 2 times every 30 days in winter.
• To protect fuchsia from overheating, it will be enough to place the flowerpots on damp pebbles and spray them in the morning and evening.
• The place for fuchsia should be constant with bright, diffused lighting; any movement leads to poor growth and shedding of leaves. If there is not enough light, artificial lighting can be used.
• In summer, the flower feels good at temperatures of 18–20 ºC. It can be placed on the windowsill in the northern part of the apartment. High temperatures cause leaves to drop and inflorescences not to appear. As a result, the bush dries out.
• During the dormant period (winter), conditions with a temperature of 10 ºC should be created.
• Ceramic flowerpots should be used; unlike plastic pots, they do not heat up.
• Remove diseased branches in a timely manner and pinch them in a timely manner. This is a guarantee of abundant flowering.
• Withered inflorescences must be removed to stimulate the growth of new buds.
• Spraying with Zircon solution improves immunity.

How to pinch correctly?

• The pinching procedure is carried out to form a thick, compact and beautifully formed bush. Shoots ensure the formation of new buds, so we must strive to increase them.
• The crown is cut off from cuttings that have taken root. There should be 6 leaves left, new shoots are forming. Further, they are also pinched.
• This method creates a bush and ampelous appearance of flowers.
• If there are several cuttings in one flowerpot and simultaneous pinching will lead to the formation of a powerful bush and simultaneous flowering. This happens after 75 days.
• The next pinching occurs in February, before the upcoming flowering.

To get a standard tree, you need to maintain the cutting height to 100 cm or lower. For this, an erect stem that is quite strong is used.

• Then only the top of the head is trimmed.
• Since the shoot is very thin and fragile, it should be supported. You can use a bamboo stick. Tie it to the stem with a soft cloth.
• The appearance of 6–7 shoots will be a signal for the formation of a trunk crown. After the first or second pairs of leaves appear on the shoot, they are pruned.
• Leaving the leaves behind will help the plant establish itself. Therefore, you cannot remove them all at once; this must be done gradually, waiting until the crown begins to form.
• Small-flowered plants are excellent for forming a standard tree.

The ampel form is carried out in various ways:

• A cap is formed by cutting off the shoots after the second node. The next shoots grow a little longer.
• Another option is to trim through two nodes several times, and only then leave long shoots.

There is no need to be afraid of pruning, just remember that pinching delays flowering.

Why doesn't it bloom?

• In winter, the flower should be in an environment with a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius. Watering is reduced and the plant rests. As temperatures rise, additional lighting should be provided.
• Late pruning and pinching of the flower.
• Excessive saturation of the soil with water.
• In summer there is not enough fertilizer.
• Wrong flowerpot selected.
• Lack of lighting.
• Lack of potassium and phosphorus for the development of inflorescences.
• The roots should be short and not wrap around the earth ball.
• Direct sunlight.
• When growing green mass, nitrogen is introduced; if there is an increased amount of it, the flower will not bloom until it is all drawn out of the soil.

Diseases and pests

The health of a plant can be judged by its roots. They are in excellent condition if white and short. Long, intertwining roots need to be transplanted into a larger pot. Changing the spines to Brown color, indicates the formation of rot, which is the result of abundant watering.

Improper watering may cause inflorescences to fall off.

Luxurious flowering, variety of varieties and shapes, unpretentiousness and plasticity - this is why flower growers all over the world love fuchsias so much. They can be grown at home or outdoors, and formed into beautiful bushes, standard trees or “waterfalls” running down from hanging baskets or balcony boxes. And although fuchsias do not overwinter in open ground in Russia, since they can only withstand light frosts, they are still true perennial plants that do not cause unnecessary trouble in growing and propagating. It is worth getting at least one fuchsia, and every year you will be able to admire its numerous bright flowers, similar to ballerinas in fluffy skirts.

Cups and skirts

The most interesting thing about fuchsia is the flower. It consists of a cup and a corolla, similar to a skirt. In hybrid fuchsias, these parts of the flower often have the most fantastic shape and color. Very small flowers may consist only of a brightly colored calyx, but this rarely happens. Some fuchsias have 4-5 petals, which makes the flowers small, and such varieties are called non-double. But the most spectacular fuchsias are those with giant flowers, the corolla of which consists of numerous petals (such flowers are considered double). The petals themselves can be narrow and wide, long and short, small and large, which also affects the appearance of fuchsias.

The structure of a fuchsia flower. The light part is the calyx, the purple part is the corolla. Photo by the author

Surprisingly, the calyx is no less involved in creating a decorative effect than the corolla. When the sepals are lowered down, the whole flower resembles an elegant earring, and if they are raised like wings, then it resembles a ballerina with raised arms. And of course, the unusual combinations of colors of the calyx and petals give fuchsia a special attractiveness. The most common colors are various combinations of red, violet, blue, purple, pink and white.

From the history

The “father” of fuchsia is considered French monk and botanist Charles Plumier(Charles Plumier), who discovered it on the island of Haiti in 1696-1697. In Paris in 1703, his work on plants found in America was published. It was there that the name fuchsia was first heard, which he gave in honor of the famous German physician and botanist Leonart Fuchs(Leonhart Fuchs). The species that Plumier discovered was fuchsia trifolia. Although the plant was already mentioned in an English botanical journal in 1725 under the name fuchsia, the British do not agree with the French authorship and believe that it was brought to them by their sailors.

From the end of the 18th century, during the “feverish gathering of plants”, new species of fuchsias began to arrive in England at Kew Botanic Gardens. Soon, breeding work began in nurseries, for which fuchsias turned out to be a very grateful object. Already from 1835 to 1850, numerous hybrids and varieties were created in England, which were grown in houses and open ground, where some of them overwintered.

In other European countries in the 19th century, fuchsia also found its fans. In Germany, the emphasis was placed on crossing with fuchsia trifolia. And the famous French breeder Lemoine developed many varieties with large double flowers. After 1930, new fuchsias began to be created in the Botanical Garden of the University of California, USA. Now breeding is also carried out in the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

It is believed that over more than 200 years of selection, about 15,000 (!) varieties and hybrids of fuchsias have been obtained. Currently, however, about 5,000 are grown. In many countries there are societies of fuchsia lovers, uniting numerous fans of this wonderful plant.

Some fuchsias have flowers that point upward. Photo by the author

Reference

The genus Fuchsia (Fuchsia) belongs to the fireweed family, i.e. the same as our well-known fireweed (fireweed). More than 100 species of fuchsias are known - perennials, shrubs or small trees growing in the subtropical and tropical zones of Central and South America, as well as on islands from New Zealand to Tahiti. In culture the most common f. trifoliate (F. triphylla) and f. hybrid (F.x hybrida).

Fuchsia trifolia is a plant up to 60 cm high with straight semi-lignified stems growing from the rhizome and large leaves with a dark burgundy underside. It has graceful, tubular, bright coral flowers 5-6 cm long, collected in a short raceme. Varieties with its participation are separated into a separate group, but there are significantly fewer of them than those of hybrid fuchsia.

F. hybrida was obtained as a result of numerous crossings involving f. fiery red (F. coccinea), f. sparkling (F. fulgens), f. Magellan (F. magellanica) and other species. The bush can be upright, spreading and ampelous in shape (creeping or cascading down) and have a height of 30 to 70 cm. In most varieties, the flowers hang down, but bushes in which they are collected in small inflorescences and look upwards look no less elegant.

Growing beauty

Buying seedlings

In garden centers and stores, fuchsia is sold in pots of one plant at a time or in hanging baskets of 3-4 pieces together, depending on the size of the container. To ensure that there is less hassle with the plants during further cultivation and flowering is abundant, you need to pay attention to some points when choosing. First of all, look at how the plants are formed. If pinching was done correctly and the plants grew in the most favorable conditions, they usually look like dense, beautiful bushes with large, dark green leaves. In addition, their roots are not visible from the bottom hole of the pot. Such seedlings quickly take root.

They will not create problems, but seedlings with green but small leaves will not take on a decorative appearance so quickly. This often happens due to insufficient fertilizing and watering. The worst thing is if the planting material stood on a dark shelf for a long time or was not watered at all. In this case, the fuchsia leaves turn yellow, and the buds may fall off completely. Such plants, if they are not covered with non-woven material when planting, can suffer greatly from sunburn and completely lose their decorative value. They will have to be “cast” and “fattened”, but full flowering will still occur only in a month.

When purchasing, it is also very important to inspect the plants for the presence of pests. The underside of the leaves should not have spots or dots - traces of the harmful activity of sucking insects. In addition, you must shake the bush and see if whiteflies - small whitish insects that look like a miniature clothes moth - fly into the air. This is a pest that is very difficult to control.

Proper formation of seedlings is especially important for hanging fuchsia varieties. If pinched at the wrong time, they form long shoots that bloom only at the ends. They will have to be greatly shortened, and it will take at least 3-4 weeks for the flowers to appear again. In this sense, it is easier with straight-growing varieties - on shoots that are too elongated, it is enough to pinch the tops. This will cause side stems to grow, which will flower quite quickly.

Summer outside

Correctly formed ampelous fuchsia. Photo by the author

Fuchsias need warmth for good growth and bud formation. Therefore, they are planted in open ground or exposed in pots to the air no earlier than the end of May - beginning of June. In the conditions of central Russia, fuchsias grow better in places protected from wind and direct sunlight. If the plants are going to be placed in a flower garden and not in a pot, then you need to choose how to plant them. Large, perennial bushes and standard fuchsias are usually buried in the same container in which they grew indoors. In the fall, it will be easier to remove them for wintering without damaging the roots. Pots are dug into the soil at different depths, and the deeper, the more comfortable it will be for the roots.

Containers placed on the ground are best placed under trees or in a shady area to reduce drying out of the soil. Hanging baskets and flowerpots are placed on the walls of the house, balconies and terraces.

It is better to plant plants grown from cuttings, purchased in small pots, as well as trifoliate fuchsia directly into the ground so that they grow faster. It makes sense to place severely drooping varieties in containers raised so that the shoots do not lie on the ground and the leaves and flowers do not rot.

When planting a fuchsia seedling in the ground, you need to dig a hole one and a half to two times larger than the container and pour drainage onto its bottom, and then a layer of nutritious loose soil mixed with slow-soluble fertilizers. Fill the hole full with water and let it soak. Then carefully remove the plant from the pot and place it in the middle of the hole so that after filling with soil and watering it remains at the same depth as it grew in the pot. After this, add and compact the soil around the plant and water it generously. If several fuchsias are planted, the distance between them depends on the variety, age and crown volume of the plants. Young rooted cuttings are placed at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other.

Fuchsia needs constant and attentive care, for which it will reward with elegant, magnificent flowering. The first important point is watering. This is a fairly moisture-loving plant, so the soil should be constantly moist, but not wet. Regular watering is especially necessary for plants in any containers. And the more sunlight they get, the more often they should be watered, because their roots cannot get water themselves. Plants planted in the ground can be watered less. In dry, hot weather, fuchsias love a water shower, but only if the sun does not hit them, otherwise burns may appear on the leaves. If the leaves are wilted, then the plants must not only be watered, but also sprinkled with water and covered with non-woven material to restore the elasticity of the leaves. Plants that wilt several times in a row may practically stop blooming.

Since fuchsias continuously grow and bloom, they require increased nutrition. Plants in containers especially need it. For fertilizing, easily soluble complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in equal proportions are used. Potted fuchsias need to be fed once a week, ground ones - once every 10-12 days. Fertilizers can be diluted in water and fed with each watering, but then their dosage is greatly reduced. To avoid the accumulation of salts in the substrate, after every 3-4 feedings the plants need to be watered abundantly with clean water. Fertilizers containing humates also have a good effect, but they are best used in the first half of summer. Under no circumstances should fertilizing be carried out on dry soil - this can cause burns to young roots.

You can’t get too carried away with pinching, since each of them delays flowering. If you are forming a bush, then it is optimal to do this 3-4 times, depending on the time of planting the cutting and its growth rate. If the cuttings take root late, they are pinched 1-2 times.

For fuchsias growing in pots, constant watering can cause the substrate to become covered with a crust, which prevents water from penetrating into the lower layers of the soil. If the container is small, you can check this by simply lifting it. A dry earthen lump will be light. The crust needs to be loosened and the plant watered several times as the water is absorbed.

In hot, dry weather or with insufficient watering, fuchsia seed pods begin to form en masse, and flowering weakens. In order for the growth and formation of buds to proceed successfully, you need to regularly remove fading flowers, preventing the appearance of boxes. In addition, in both bush and standard fuchsias, it is necessary to periodically cut out thickening shoots and pinch out the longest ones in order to maintain the shape of the plant.

The art of the hairdresser

Fuchsias are grown in the form of a bush or standard tree. The latter option is very convenient for spreading and hanging varieties, since in the form of a bush such fuchsias lie on the ground and their stems can rot.

To obtain a bush form, the tops of rooted cuttings planted in pots and starting to grow are pinched above the 2-3rd pair of leaves. This speeds up branching. Overgrown side shoots are also pinched above the 2-3rd pair of leaves and so on. Excess, weak branches that thicken the crown are removed completely. A spherical crown is gradually formed.

To grow a standard tree with a lush crown, it will take 2 seasons. First, rooted cuttings are grown into one stem, which is not pinched to a certain height. Emerging side shoots are removed. There remains one smooth, powerful, upward-growing stem. When its height reaches 10-15 cm, place a peg nearby and, as it grows, tie the fuchsia to it, securing it every 5 cm. The grown seedling is transferred to a larger pot (optimally 13 cm in diameter). All emerging side shoots are trimmed, leaving a pair of leaves at their base. This is necessary for the stem to develop in thickness. When the stem reaches a height of 30-50 cm, the newly grown side shoots (3-4 pieces) in its upper part are left, and all leaves are removed from the stem. As soon as the tree grows to 50-70 cm, the top of the main shoot is pinched and the crown begins to be formed in the same way as a bush - by pinching the shoots above every 2-4 pairs of leaves. Shoots and leaves appearing below the crown level are constantly removed. The plant is transplanted into a pot with a diameter of at least 20 cm, preferably clay - it is more stable and better ventilated.

In order for the tree to be strong, beautiful and bloom profusely, it requires careful care: abundant watering, constant feeding, as well as periodic spraying of the crown with water in the heat to reduce evaporation.

From f. It is impossible to obtain a three-leaf standard tree, since its rhizome produces several stems at once. But you can graft its cuttings onto a standard grown from another type of fuchsia. The same can be done if you have a ready-grown bole and cuttings of an interesting fuchsia variety.

Winter - indoors

With the onset of cold weather, usually before the first frost, potted fuchsias are brought into a cool room: into a cold greenhouse or onto an unheated veranda. Those fuchsias that grew in the ground are dug up and planted in pots or bags made of thick black film. Water very sparingly. Most fuchsias gradually lose their leaves. From November to February, the room temperature is maintained at 5-10 °C. At the same time, plants need the maximum amount of light and good ventilation. Water rarely, but do not allow the clod of earth in the container to dry out completely. At the beginning of March, the temperature is raised to 18-20 °C, fuchsias begin to be watered more often and fed with fertilizers with a high nitrogen content, and even better - with humates. In March, last year's shoots are cut to approximately half their length and cuttings are prepared from them for propagation. Weak branches are cut out completely. Ampelous varieties are pruned more weakly, because long hanging branches are their main decoration. If necessary, plants are transferred to larger pots or the top layer of soil is replaced with a new, nutritious one. When replanting, you can slightly shorten the longest roots. After pruning, warm water is used for watering. Within a month, leaves appear on the bushes, and then buds.

A large container is a great place for fuchsia. Photo by the author

In summer cottage conditions, after the leaves have fallen, fuchsias can be brought into the basement and stored there at a temperature of 3-5 °C. Water occasionally, not allowing the soil to dry out completely. The basement must be ventilated to prevent mold from forming. At the end of March - beginning of April, the plants are taken out of the basement into a bright room.

Many gardeners successfully keep fuchsias in winter and in apartments - on the coolest and brightest windowsill. In March, when sunny days arrive, the plants undergo a “radical pruning” of the elongated shoots, and after a while they restore their beautiful shape and bloom again.

Reproduction

Basically, fuchsias are propagated vegetatively - by cuttings (and trifoliate - also by dividing the bush). This is usually done in early spring, in February - March, using last year's shoots from overwintered plants. Green cuttings 5-7 cm long are cut from the top of the shoots. The two lower leaves are removed, leaving the petioles, and the large leaves above are cut in half. For propagation, you can also use sections of stems without tops with 2-3 pairs of leaves, but they take longer to take root.

Prepared cuttings are planted in growing boxes or bowls and kept at a temperature of 16-18 °C. They can be pre-treated with root formation stimulants (according to the instructions). The substrate in the bowls should be light and breathable. They take root within 10-20 days.

In addition, fuchsia cuttings quite easily take root in water in a glass (preferably dark glass) container. You can also root them in a special sponge, which is used to strengthen cut flowers in bouquets.

After the roots have formed, the young plants are planted in pots (optimally 7 cm in diameter) with any loose nutrient substrate. You can use soil for growing seedlings made from high-moor peat with the addition of perlite and fertilizers. After planting, they are kept at a temperature of 15-16 °C. Plants need good lighting, but without direct sunlight, and ventilation without drafts. Water generously, but the soil should not be too wet. When the cuttings begin to grow, they begin to be fed with nitrogen and potassium fertilizers. Then fertilizing is continued every 10-12 days, using a complete complex fertilizer. You can alternate them with humic extracts (Agricola, potassium humate, Humat+7 and others).

Relatively recently, fuchsia hybrids have been obtained that can be propagated by seeds. They bloom 4-5 months after germination (that is, with January sowing - already in July) and bloom until the first frost. The crops are kept at a temperature of 24 °C and in the light, but still, seedlings usually appear only after 45-55 days. The resulting seedlings are planted in a substrate, the same as for cuttings, in pots with a diameter of 5 cm. Just like cuttings of fuchsias, seedlings need a lot of light, good ventilation, watering and nutrition.

Fuchsia - home flower

Fuchsia (Latin name Fuchsia) is a tropical plant of South and Central America, belonging to the fireweed family. Its unusual flowers resemble the fluffy skirts of ballerinas. A florist who sees fuchsia at least once during the budding period will definitely fall in love with this plant. However, even a novice plant grower can achieve flowering of a green bush at home; you just need to follow simple rules of care.

Description and general information about fuchsia

The fuchsia genus includes more than 100 species. In home floriculture, fuchsia has become especially popular after the development of hybrids that are easily propagated by seeds and begin to bloom in the first year of life.

Under natural conditions, this greenfinch always grows in the shade, under the canopy of trees. These small subshrubs and shrubs love relative coolness and humidity. In addition to the bush form, there are also creeping (ampeloid) varieties of fuchsias.

The oval leaves of fuchsia are slightly pointed at the edges and are usually attached to the stem opposite each other. The color of the leaves is green or slightly reddish. The graceful shape of the flower is created by the combination of a bright calyx, a tubular corolla (it can also be bell-shaped or funnel-shaped) and stamens and pistil peeking out from below. The main color of the buds: pink, red, lilac, white, cream, violet, etc. Sometimes fuchsia petals can be colored in two or three colors at the same time.

A little history

Fuchsia was discovered at the end of the 17th century by the French priest Charles Plumiere. He went on a trip to South America in search of medicinal quinine. In the eastern part of the island of Haiti, a traveler found an unusual flower and named it after the famous physician and botanist Leonard Fuchs of that time. The full name was Fuchsia Triphylla Flora Coccinea. Subsequently, systematizer Carl Linnaeus simplified the name to the species F. Triphylla. Unfortunately, Plumiere was unable to bring a single plant to Europe. The generally accepted date for the discovery of fuchsia is 1703, when it was published Notebook researcher.

The flower was first brought to England in 1789. The plant was donated to the famous Kew Botanic Gardens. Much later, when F.magellanica came to Europe, new varieties and hybrids of fuchsia were developed. And at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, fuchsia began its victorious march across Europe. The exotic flower began to be grown both as a home and garden plant. Fuchsia is still of interest to gardeners, and in America there is even an American Fuchsia Society (AFS), whose goal is to streamline and systematize the diversity of fuchsia hybrids and varieties.

Types and varieties

The fuchsia genus has more than 100 species and more than 10,000 varieties. Below are just a few of them.

Popular varieties:

• Basseveldse Ezels - double white-pink-burgundy flowers;
• Bicentennial - a variety with magnificent long salmon-colored flowers;
• Dark Eyes - flowers have blue-violet sepals, dark red tubes, erect plant;
• Garden News - pale pink dainty flowers.

Here are other interesting varieties: Litte Bell, Deep Purple, Quasar, Cecile, Baby Blue Eyes, Swingtime, Ballerinas, Wonderful, Blue Mirage, Margharita, Annabel and others.

How to care for fuchsia. Features of cultivation

Growing fuchsia is not difficult, just follow the following care rules:

Temperature. Relative coolness is preferable for home fuchsia than the scorching sun and heat. The ideal temperature is +18-20 degrees in summer and slightly below +15 degrees in winter. It is better to think in advance where to place the plant. In winter, you can place the pot on the northern windows, away from radiators, and in summer you can take it out into the garden or balcony, into the shade.

Lighting. For normal flower growth, diffused sunlight is sufficient. You can place fuchsia on windows in any direction, except south; the plant can get burned from direct rays and lose its leaves. Do not move a pot of blooming fuchsia. Otherwise, she will drop all the buds.

In spring and summer, the flower is watered abundantly and regularly. The soil should not be allowed to dry out, so you need to ensure that the top layer of the substrate dries out. In autumn, watering is reduced somewhat. When switching to a “cold” wintering, water very rarely. If the plant remains in the room - a little more often. Before watering, the water needs to stand. Fuchsia prefers high humidity air. Therefore, spraying will only be beneficial. Fertilizers. Fertilizers are applied only in spring and summer. Once every two weeks, water with water with the addition of complex fertilizer for flowering plants.

Transfer. Transplant better in spring when the plant gains strength after winter. You can choose an earthen mixture in a specialized store or prepare it yourself. For example, fuchsia grows well in the following substrate: turf and leaf soil, peat, sand and humus (in equal parts). It is convenient to replant using the transshipment method so as not to damage the roots. The plant, together with a lump of earth, is transferred into a pot, which is only a few centimeters larger than the previous one. A layer of drainage is poured onto the bottom.

Trimming. It is suggested that fuchsia should be pruned twice a year. The first is after flowering, in early autumn. All branches that bloomed are pruned 2 cm above the dormant buds. The second formative pruning is carried out at the beginning of winter.

Reproduction. At the end of winter - beginning of spring, fuchsia is easily propagated by cuttings. A shoot measuring 5-7 cm is cut off. The cut site of the cutting can be treated with root or other growth stimulant. But even without this, the branches easily take root in water or wet sand. After about 20 days, when roots have formed, the cuttings are planted in small pots. It is better to plant two or three cuttings in one pot, so the bush comes out fluffy and will bloom faster. Propagation by seeds is preferred by breeders and experimental gardeners. Fuchsias from seeds are unlikely to retain the characteristics of the mother plant. In addition, there is a risk of self-pollination or pollination by insects. Otherwise, growing fuchsia from seeds is similar to growing other plants. The seeds are dried for 1-2 days, planted in a wet substrate, and a greenhouse is created. In good light, you can expect germination in a couple of weeks.

Difficulties in growing fuchsia:

• Falling leaves. The flower reacts by dropping leaves to too dry air, infrequent watering or lack of light.
• Falling buds. The watering regime, dry air, or rearrangement from place to place may be disrupted.
• Does not bloom or has a short flowering period. There are many reasons. The most common are lack of light during the growth period, warm keeping in winter, infrequent watering, and lack of fertilizer.
• Brown spots appeared on the edges of the leaves. Overmoistening during the cold season.
• The stems stretched out and became bare. This may also be due to improper maintenance in winter. In the spring, you need to prune the plant so that the bare stems produce new shoots.
• Pests. Sometimes fuchsia is attacked by pests: whitefly, aphids, spider mites.

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Fuchsias are often called "dancing ballerinas". This is probably why the word “Ballerina” appears so often in the names of different varieties and creates considerable confusion.

Ballet Girl. Photo by Elena Bessina

The first official “Ballerina” was bred back in 1894 by the English breeder Veitch. His variety was named Ballet Girl. Here, for example, is how the search engine website describes this variety: FuchsiaFinder: bush, double, red sepals, white skirt with red base. It seems that this is our favorite Ballerina. But here is a description of the same variety from German Society of Friends of the Fuchsias: bush, white skirt, carmine sepals, semi-double flowers. If we turn to the catalog of varieties Dutch circle of friends fuchsia, then the diversity will only increase: terry, red sepals, white skirt with red at the base. And if you look at the catalogs of various European nurseries, you come to the conclusion that the “Ballerinas” in their photographs are somehow not particularly similar to the fuchsia that is most often called “Ballerina” here.

The next one in chronology is “Ballerina” - actually a variety called "Ballerina"— born in 1939. Resource Find that fuchsia, for example, describes it as an upright growing variety with simple flowers with ivory sepals and a pure pink skirt. This variety was developed by the American Gustav Niederholzer. However, at the moment it is difficult to find a photograph of this fuchsia anywhere. (Perhaps because this variety has not survived to this day?) In 1967 its own "Ballerina" appeared among the Germans (breeder Paul Götz) brought out “Ballerina” with simple medium-sized flowers with red sepals and a white skirt (pictured right). This one is still often found in the catalogs of many European nurseries (maybe it adds confusion to photo catalogs of varieties?).

In 1989, breeder Goetz, then Wolfgang, developed the variety Ballerina Blau(also appears in catalogs under the names Blaue Ballerina, Ballerina Blue), literally translated - Blue Ballerina. There's a lot of confusion with that too. On the website of the German Friendship Society, the fuchsia variety is described as growing upright with dark foliage, simple flowers with red sepals and a blue skirt. “This new variety received a gold medal at the National Garden Exhibition in Frankfurt 1989. Thus began Ballerina Blue’s impressive career,” the website states. The advantages of the variety include the ability to withstand high heat loads and early onset of flowering. Let's try to look for Ballerina Blue in Russian collections, and we will immediately discover that this is most often a variety with not simple, but double flowers.

In addition to the Blue Ballerina, in 1940, the Pink Ballet Girl– Pink Ballerina (pictured left). Its appearance is described differently in different sources. Fuchsia with this name is still on sale today; does it have anything in common with that Pink Ballerina of the 40s? Interestingly, the international registrar of fuchsias, which is American Fuchsia Society (AFS), none of the above Ballerinas are registered. There are completely different names. Appears under number 1545 Baby Ballerina(breeder Soo Yun, 1980). It is a semi-ampeloid with simple flowers, ivory sepals and a purple skirt. Appears under number 7123 Ballerina Dance(breeder Smith, 2009, parent varieties Swingtime x Diana Princess of Wales) with single and semi-double flowers, pink sepals and a white skirt.

And this is only half of all ballerinas. Eat Ballerina Bali– semi-double red-violet flowers, vertical growth (author unknown). Freeland Ballerina(Stroud, UK, 1989) - with semi-double pink-lavender flowers. Harti's Ballerina(Pfefferle, Germany, 2002) has red-violet simple flowers (the same breeder developed the variety in 1994 Ballett– also in red-violet colors). There is a Lonely Ballerina - Lonely Ballerina(Blackwell, UK, 1962) - ampel with double carmine pink flowers. Or here Marlea's Ballerina(AFS no. 3636, Michiels, Belgium, 1997) with white single flowers. And white Southbridge Ballerina(McConchie, New Zealand, 1991). Finally there is Ballerina Dreams– Ballerina's Dreams (pictured left)- a variety of unknown authorship and year of breeding, but it can still be found both in photographs and on sale.

Disputes about what kind of real fuchsia “Ballerina” actually is sometimes arise among fuchsia lovers. To avoid confusion, when talking to someone about Ballerina fuchsia, make sure you are talking about the same thing :)

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Description

Fuchsia - perennial plant of the fireweed family. Thanks to the numerous variety of decorative varieties with unusual bright colors, this tenacious evergreen flower has deservedly taken an honorable place among ornamental plants. Many hybrid forms of fuchsia are known: with straight stems, with pyramidal ones, spreading, hanging, climbing, in the form of a bush or tree. Of particular interest in modern design represents an ampelous fuchsia with thin stems forming a crown in the form of a cascade. The length of the bright green oval-shaped leaves with sharp tips is about 5 cm.
The variety of flower colors is amazing in its diversity: white, red, pink, blue, light blue, purple, yellow. The flowers themselves have an unusual shape due to the protruding stamens from under a lush petal skirt that emerges from a tubular corolla.

IN modern world fuchsia was previously known only as a flowering houseplant all year round. But over time, it increasingly began to appear on the street in the warm season, decorating the exterior of houses and flower beds of gardens. About ten thousand varieties of this plant are known in the world.

With proper care, it can bloom from spring to autumn, its peak flowering is in April and October. The plant is so unpretentious that gardeners find caring for it a pleasure.

Varieties for growing in pots

Fuchsia is native to South America and New Zealand. It was from there that many varieties of this plant were brought. Ampelous fuchsia was recently bred. There are known double, semi-double and simple varieties, some of which we will briefly consider.

The following types and varieties of fuchsia can also be placed in flowerpots:

In flowerpots, all ampelous varieties of this plant look simply unsurpassed; they can transform even the most modest exterior of a house.

Conditions for fuchsia

If you create comfortable growing conditions for ampelous fuchsia and provide it with proper care at home, then it can delight others for many years.

Lighting and temperature

Ampel varieties of fuchsia feel comfortable in partial shade or in light with moderate brightness, do not like direct sunlight, and do not tolerate drafts and cool air. Direct sunlight has a depressing effect on them: the plant will not die, but the flowers will become very small, the leaves will thin out significantly, and it will be almost impossible to return to its former luxurious appearance. All these factors must be taken into account when placing them.

Fuchsia feels much better in a place where it receives sunbathing only in the morning, and from midday until sunset it is advisable for it to be in partial shade. The eastern side, as well as the southwestern side, suits her best. But it should be noted that with a long stay of this flower in a shady place, the number of flowers noticeably decreases.
If he doesn't have enough light long time, the plant will not bloom or may die. In this case, it must be moved to a brighter place; if this is not possible, then artificial lighting can help out.

The optimal temperature for growing fuchsia should be approximately +22 °C during the day and not lower than +15 at night. Very tall, just like low temperatures negatively affect the flowering process. The plant adapts to temperature conditions: when there is a lot of light and warmth around, the flowering cannot be stopped (spring, summer, autumn), but if it gets colder, the buds no longer appear, the development of flowers slows down (at the end of the autumn period, in winter).

Container size and substrate

All parts of fuchsia do not like high temperatures, including its rather delicate roots.
In an ordinary pot, the roots can easily overheat. If the plant will overwinter on a windowsill indoors, then thermal insulation must be made under the container.

Fuchsia is not very demanding on the soil for growing, but it feels more comfortable in fertile, neutrally acidic soil with easy air access, and for this the soil must be porous. Several options are possible for combining the components of the earthen mixture intended for growing this flower; it is also permissible to use ready mixture for any plant. The substrate for fuchsia can consist of peat, humus, turf and leaf soil, sand, and expanded clay can be used for drainage. The earthen mixture is also made from peat, sand, perlite and clay.

Planting and propagation

The processes of planting ampelous fuchsia, propagating and caring for it have a number of features that must be adhered to. Propagation of this plant is best done in early spring using cuttings or planting seeds. The first method is much simpler.

Seed method

At home, fuchsia is grown by seed extremely rarely, except for the purpose of experimenting. This process is quite complex and has many nuances, but it cannot be said that it is ineffective.

Seeds can be purchased at a specialty store. They can also be collected from a house plant, which is a very entertaining process. First, you need to avoid self-pollination; for this purpose, you need to tear off the anthers on the flower and place pollen of the desired variety on the stamens.

After this, wrap the bud in gauze and secure it with a thread; it will remain in this state for less than a month, until the fruit appears. All this time, any movement of the flower is contraindicated. The finished fruit is removed, carefully cut and the seeds are removed, which need to be dried.
Only after this are the seeds ready for sowing, which is best done in early spring. Fuchsia seeds are placed on the surface in wooden boxes with a mixture of peat and coarse sand and pressed lightly with your fingers. It is not recommended to plant seeds deep into the soil: they may not sprout.

The boxes are covered in the form of a small greenhouse with sufficient lighting without direct sunlight, creating the necessary humidity and temperature within 18–22 ° C. Regularly once a day, the greenhouse must be opened for ventilation for several minutes, as well as the condensation that has formed must be removed and watered with settled water. room temperature using a sprayer. If you approach this process responsibly, sprouts will appear in a maximum of two weeks.

After sprouting, the greenhouse can be left open for a longer time each time so that the sprouts quickly get used to normal humidity and room temperature. After the young plants have grown noticeably and become accustomed to natural conditions, they are transplanted one by one into separate pots, before which the plants and fertile fertilized soil are well moistened. Pots with planted young flowers are placed in a shaded place for the first time.
Further care for such plants consists of fertilizing every two weeks after planting, regularly fertilizing the soil, placing the plant in high-quality diffused lighting, systematic watering, pruning during the period of active growth, and annual replanting.

Vegetative propagation

The optimal way to propagate fuchsia is using cuttings, which can easily avoid problems: the shoots take root well. This method is more popular and much simpler than the seed method. Its main advantage is a small waste of time with excellent results. The best period for this breeding is also spring. Young shoots are ideal for cuttings, because old woody shoots take much longer to take and grow more slowly.

The length of each cutting is individual and depends largely on the variety of fuchsia; it can range from 8 to 20 cm. Before placing the shoot in settled or filtered water, you need to tear off the leaves so that none of them come into contact with the water, otherwise they will begin to rot and mold , and this will have a detrimental effect on the condition of the cutting.

Large leaves on the shoot are also not needed: they take away a lot of the moisture it needs to form a root. The glass with the shoot must be covered with polyethylene to maintain a sufficiently high humidity. If everything is done correctly, the roots on the shoot will be noticeable within a few days, but another couple of weeks are needed for the root to become full-fledged.

You can replant a young plant into the soil when the first roots appear; it is not necessary to wait for the entire root system to form, but it is still safer to wait these couple of weeks.

Further care for young flowers follows the same rules as for plants obtained from seeds. There is another way of propagation using cuttings - when they are planted directly into the substrate, but at the same time you need to make a kind of greenhouse over them, the exit from which is a little troublesome for gardeners and dangerous for the sprouted plant itself: it may even die if something is done wrong or hasty.

How to propagate fuchsia is up to each individual to decide; the main thing is to learn all the simple rules, and it will definitely take root and bloom.

Features of care

Ampelous fuchsia deservedly enjoys the love of flower growers not only for its attractive appearance, but also thanks to its unpretentious care in the garden, in a flowerpot, in a flowerbed or in a pot on the windowsill. After all, the cultivation of ampelous fuchsia can take place both in the shade in the garden and in an open space not protected from the sun; it does not make any special demands on the nutritional value of the soil and frequent watering, and you can get as much pleasure from its beauty as no other plant.

Watering and spraying

Rational watering has great importance when growing fuchsia. How often to water this plant and how much liquid it needs is influenced by various factors: weather conditions, the type of flower, its location, stage of development, and even the size of the pot and the material from which it is made.

For irrigation, it is recommended to use settled or melt water. It is necessary to water the flower in fairly moderate quantities. During active development, the soil should be slightly moist. In the summer, spraying with fairly cool water will not hurt the ampelous fuchsia.
It is better to drain the excess water remaining after watering. From late autumn, it is enough to water the plant no more than once every two weeks. With the arrival of frost, you can practically not water the plant or do it very rarely.

Trimming

Pruning fuchsia is a must. It promotes plant rejuvenation and crown formation, and prevents the process of bare stems. Pruning is carried out annually in the spring. The shoots are cut to a third of their length along the entire circumference of the flower in order to create symmetry of the plant.

Fertilizer

Fertilizing fuchsia is necessary for its better development. A fertilized plant is noticeable from a distance: it blooms unusually beautifully and develops luxuriantly. They usually begin to fertilize these plants as soon as the first flowers appear, and continue to do this while it is actively blooming and developing. Fertilizing is done approximately once a week with liquid complex fertilizers for plants, in which it is necessary to control the nitrogen level. In winter, the flower does not need fertilizer.

Transfer

The replanting process is also very necessary for fuchsia to form, because with the new soil it receives all the necessary microelements and nutrients. Young plants are replanted once a year; older plants need to be replanted once every three years.

The transfer method is optimal for replanting fuchsia: it is carefully transferred, preserving the integrity of the old soil with the root system, and a fresh earth mixture is added to the free space of the pot, preventing the formation of a void between the root system of the flower and the walls of the pot. After this, the plant must be watered and left to adapt. In no case should you forget about the drainage layer.

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Cups and skirts

The most interesting thing about fuchsia is the flower. It consists of a cup and a corolla, similar to a skirt. In hybrid fuchsias, these parts of the flower often have the most fantastic shape and color. Very small flowers may consist only of a brightly colored calyx, but this rarely happens. Some fuchsias have 4-5 petals, which makes the flowers small, and such varieties are called non-double. But the most spectacular fuchsias are those with giant flowers, the corolla of which consists of numerous petals (such flowers are considered double). The petals themselves can be narrow and wide, long and short, small and large, which also affects the appearance of fuchsias.

The structure of a fuchsia flower. The light part is the calyx, the purple part is the corolla. Photo by the author

Surprisingly, the calyx is no less involved in creating a decorative effect than the corolla. When the sepals are lowered down, the whole flower resembles an elegant earring, and if they are raised like wings, then it resembles a ballerina with raised arms. And of course, the unusual combinations of colors of the calyx and petals give fuchsia a special attractiveness. The most common colors are various combinations of red, violet, blue, purple, pink and white.

From the history

The “father” of fuchsia is considered French monk and botanist Charles Plumier(Charles Plumier), who discovered it on the island of Haiti in 1696-1697. In Paris in 1703, his work on plants found in America was published. It was there that the name fuchsia was first heard, which he gave in honor of the famous German physician and botanist Leonart Fuchs(Leonhart Fuchs). The species that Plumier discovered was fuchsia trifolia. Although the plant was already mentioned in an English botanical journal in 1725 under the name fuchsia, the British do not agree with the French authorship and believe that it was brought to them by their sailors.

From the end of the 18th century, during the “feverish gathering of plants”, new species of fuchsias began to arrive in England at Kew Botanic Gardens. Soon, breeding work began in nurseries, for which fuchsias turned out to be a very grateful object. Already from 1835 to 1850, numerous hybrids and varieties were created in England, which were grown in houses and open ground, where some of them overwintered.

In other European countries in the 19th century, fuchsia also found its fans. In Germany, the emphasis was placed on crossing with fuchsia trifolia. And the famous French breeder Lemoine developed many varieties with large double flowers. After 1930, new fuchsias began to be created in the Botanical Garden of the University of California, USA. Now breeding is also carried out in the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

It is believed that over more than 200 years of selection, about 15,000 (!) varieties and hybrids of fuchsias have been obtained. Currently, however, about 5,000 are grown. In many countries there are societies of fuchsia lovers, uniting numerous fans of this wonderful plant.

Some fuchsias have flowers that point upward. Photo by the author

Reference

The genus Fuchsia (Fuchsia) belongs to the fireweed family, i.e. the same as our well-known fireweed (fireweed). More than 100 species of fuchsias are known - perennials, shrubs or small trees growing in the subtropical and tropical zones of Central and South America, as well as on islands from New Zealand to Tahiti. In culture the most common f. trifoliate (F. triphylla) and f. hybrid (F.x hybrida).

Fuchsia trifolia is a plant up to 60 cm high with straight semi-lignified stems growing from the rhizome and large leaves with a dark burgundy underside. It has graceful, tubular, bright coral flowers 5-6 cm long, collected in a short raceme. Varieties with its participation are separated into a separate group, but there are significantly fewer of them than those of hybrid fuchsia.

F. hybrida was obtained as a result of numerous crossings involving f. fiery red (F. coccinea), f. sparkling (F. fulgens), f. Magellan (F. magellanica) and other species. The bush can be upright, spreading and ampelous in shape (creeping or cascading down) and have a height of 30 to 70 cm. In most varieties, the flowers hang down, but bushes in which they are collected in small inflorescences and look upwards look no less elegant.

Growing beauty

Buying seedlings

In garden centers and stores, fuchsia is sold in pots of one plant at a time or in hanging baskets of 3-4 pieces together, depending on the size of the container. To ensure that there is less hassle with the plants during further cultivation and flowering is abundant, you need to pay attention to some points when choosing. First of all, look at how the plants are formed. If pinching was done correctly and the plants grew in the most favorable conditions, they usually look like dense, beautiful bushes with large, dark green leaves. In addition, their roots are not visible from the bottom hole of the pot. Such seedlings quickly take root.

They will not create problems, but seedlings with green but small leaves will not take on a decorative appearance so quickly. This often happens due to insufficient fertilizing and watering. The worst thing is if the planting material stood on a dark shelf for a long time or was not watered at all. In this case, the fuchsia leaves turn yellow, and the buds may fall off completely. Such plants, if they are not covered with non-woven material when planting, can suffer greatly from sunburn and completely lose their decorative value. They will have to be “cast” and “fattened”, but full flowering will still occur only in a month.

When purchasing, it is also very important to inspect the plants for the presence of pests. The underside of the leaves should not have spots or dots - traces of the harmful activity of sucking insects. In addition, you must shake the bush and see if whiteflies - small whitish insects that look like a miniature clothes moth - fly into the air. This is a pest that is very difficult to control.

Summer outside

Correctly formed ampelous fuchsia. Photo by the author

Fuchsias need warmth for good growth and bud formation. Therefore, they are planted in open ground or exposed in pots to the air no earlier than the end of May - beginning of June. In the conditions of central Russia, fuchsias grow better in places protected from wind and direct sunlight. If the plants are going to be placed in a flower garden and not in a pot, then you need to choose how to plant them. Large, perennial bushes and standard fuchsias are usually buried in the same container in which they grew indoors. In the fall, it will be easier to remove them for wintering without damaging the roots. Pots are dug into the soil at different depths, and the deeper, the more comfortable it will be for the roots.

Containers placed on the ground are best placed under trees or in a shady area to reduce drying out of the soil. Hanging baskets and flowerpots are placed on the walls of the house, balconies and terraces.

It is better to plant plants grown from cuttings, purchased in small pots, as well as trifoliate fuchsia directly into the ground so that they grow faster. It makes sense to place severely drooping varieties in containers raised so that the shoots do not lie on the ground and the leaves and flowers do not rot.

When planting a fuchsia seedling in the ground, you need to dig a hole one and a half to two times larger than the container and pour drainage onto its bottom, and then a layer of nutritious loose soil mixed with slow-soluble fertilizers. Fill the hole full with water and let it soak. Then carefully remove the plant from the pot and place it in the middle of the hole so that after filling with soil and watering it remains at the same depth as it grew in the pot. After this, add and compact the soil around the plant and water it generously. If several fuchsias are planted, the distance between them depends on the variety, age and crown volume of the plants. Young rooted cuttings are placed at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other.

Fuchsia needs constant and attentive care, for which it will reward with elegant, magnificent flowering. The first important point is watering. This is a fairly moisture-loving plant, so the soil should be constantly moist, but not wet. Regular watering is especially necessary for plants in any containers. And the more sunlight they get, the more often they should be watered, because their roots cannot get water themselves. Plants planted in the ground can be watered less. In dry, hot weather, fuchsias love a water shower, but only if the sun does not hit them, otherwise burns may appear on the leaves. If the leaves are wilted, then the plants must not only be watered, but also sprinkled with water and covered with non-woven material to restore the elasticity of the leaves. Plants that wilt several times in a row may practically stop blooming.

Since fuchsias continuously grow and bloom, they require increased nutrition. Plants in containers especially need it. For fertilizing, easily soluble complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in equal proportions are used. Potted fuchsias need to be fed once a week, ground ones - once every 10-12 days. Fertilizers can be diluted in water and fed with each watering, but then their dosage is greatly reduced. To avoid the accumulation of salts in the substrate, after every 3-4 feedings the plants need to be watered abundantly with clean water. Fertilizers containing humates also have a good effect, but they are best used in the first half of summer. Under no circumstances should fertilizing be carried out on dry soil - this can cause burns to young roots.

For fuchsias growing in pots, constant watering can cause the substrate to become covered with a crust, which prevents water from penetrating into the lower layers of the soil. If the container is small, you can check this by simply lifting it. A dry earthen lump will be light. The crust needs to be loosened and the plant watered several times as the water is absorbed.

In hot, dry weather or with insufficient watering, fuchsia seed pods begin to form en masse, and flowering weakens. In order for the growth and formation of buds to proceed successfully, you need to regularly remove fading flowers, preventing the appearance of boxes. In addition, in both bush and standard fuchsias, it is necessary to periodically cut out thickening shoots and pinch out the longest ones in order to maintain the shape of the plant.

The art of the hairdresser

Fuchsias are grown in the form of a bush or standard tree. The latter option is very convenient for spreading and hanging varieties, since in the form of a bush such fuchsias lie on the ground and their stems can rot.

To obtain a bush form, the tops of rooted cuttings planted in pots and starting to grow are pinched above the 2-3rd pair of leaves. This speeds up branching. Overgrown side shoots are also pinched above the 2-3rd pair of leaves and so on. Excess, weak branches that thicken the crown are removed completely. A spherical crown is gradually formed.

To grow a standard tree with a lush crown, it will take 2 seasons. First, rooted cuttings are grown into one stem, which is not pinched to a certain height. Emerging side shoots are removed. There remains one smooth, powerful, upward-growing stem. When its height reaches 10-15 cm, place a peg nearby and, as it grows, tie the fuchsia to it, securing it every 5 cm. The grown seedling is transferred to a larger pot (optimally 13 cm in diameter). All emerging side shoots are trimmed, leaving a pair of leaves at their base. This is necessary for the stem to develop in thickness. When the stem reaches a height of 30-50 cm, the newly grown side shoots (3-4 pieces) in its upper part are left, and all leaves are removed from the stem. As soon as the tree grows to 50-70 cm, the top of the main shoot is pinched and the crown begins to be formed in the same way as a bush - by pinching the shoots above every 2-4 pairs of leaves. Shoots and leaves appearing below the crown level are constantly removed. The plant is transplanted into a pot with a diameter of at least 20 cm, preferably clay - it is more stable and better ventilated.

In order for the tree to be strong, beautiful and bloom profusely, it requires careful care: abundant watering, constant feeding, as well as periodic spraying of the crown with water in the heat to reduce evaporation.

Winter - indoors

With the onset of cold weather, usually before the first frost, potted fuchsias are brought into a cool room: into a cold greenhouse or onto an unheated veranda. Those fuchsias that grew in the ground are dug up and planted in pots or bags made of thick black film. Water very sparingly. Most fuchsias gradually lose their leaves. From November to February, the room temperature is maintained at 5-10 °C. At the same time, plants need the maximum amount of light and good ventilation. Water rarely, but do not allow the clod of earth in the container to dry out completely. At the beginning of March, the temperature is raised to 18-20 °C, fuchsias begin to be watered more often and fed with fertilizers with a high nitrogen content, and even better - with humates. In March, last year's shoots are cut to approximately half their length and cuttings are prepared from them for propagation. Weak branches are cut out completely. Ampelous varieties are pruned more weakly, because long hanging branches are their main decoration. If necessary, plants are transferred to larger pots or the top layer of soil is replaced with a new, nutritious one. When replanting, you can slightly shorten the longest roots. After pruning, warm water is used for watering. Within a month, leaves appear on the bushes, and then buds.

A large container is a great place for fuchsia. Photo by the author

In summer cottage conditions, after the leaves have fallen, fuchsias can be brought into the basement and stored there at a temperature of 3-5 °C. Water occasionally, not allowing the soil to dry out completely. The basement must be ventilated to prevent mold from forming. At the end of March - beginning of April, the plants are taken out of the basement into a bright room.

Reproduction

Basically, fuchsias are propagated vegetatively - by cuttings (and trifoliate - also by dividing the bush). This is usually done in early spring, in February - March, using last year's shoots from overwintered plants. Green cuttings 5-7 cm long are cut from the top of the shoots. The two lower leaves are removed, leaving the petioles, and the large leaves above are cut in half. For propagation, you can also use sections of stems without tops with 2-3 pairs of leaves, but they take longer to take root.

Prepared cuttings are planted in growing boxes or bowls and kept at a temperature of 16-18 °C. They can be pre-treated with root formation stimulants (according to the instructions). The substrate in the bowls should be light and breathable. They take root within 10-20 days.

In addition, fuchsia cuttings quite easily take root in water in a glass (preferably dark glass) container. You can also root them in a special sponge, which is used to strengthen cut flowers in bouquets.

After the roots have formed, the young plants are planted in pots (optimally 7 cm in diameter) with any loose nutrient substrate. You can use soil for growing seedlings made from high-moor peat with the addition of perlite and fertilizers. After planting, they are kept at a temperature of 15-16 °C. Plants need good lighting, but without direct sunlight, and ventilation without drafts. Water generously, but the soil should not be too wet. When the cuttings begin to grow, they begin to be fed with nitrogen and potassium fertilizers. Then fertilizing is continued every 10-12 days, using a complete complex fertilizer. You can alternate them with humic extracts (Agricola, potassium humate, Humat+7 and others).

Relatively recently, fuchsia hybrids have been obtained that can be propagated by seeds. They bloom 4-5 months after germination (that is, with January sowing - already in July) and bloom until the first frost. The crops are kept at a temperature of 24 °C and in the light, but still, seedlings usually appear only after 45-55 days. The resulting seedlings are planted in a substrate, the same as for cuttings, in pots with a diameter of 5 cm. Just like cuttings of fuchsias, seedlings need a lot of light, good ventilation, watering and nutrition.

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Description of the plant

Fuchsia in nature looks like a shrub with flexible branches. Green or slightly reddish oval fuchsia leaves are opposite, pointed and serrated at the edges. The most important charm is given to the flower by its flowers - numerous, bizarre in shape and varied in color. The name “indoor fuchsia” refers to hybrid fuchsia (F. hybrida), which has hundreds of forms that differ in color and shape of flowers. Hybrid plant varieties amaze the imagination with their rich assortment. Hybrid flowers come in all sizes and shades. Growing hybrid fuchsia varieties is easy and convenient. They are easy to care for and extremely beautiful. In addition, the plant can be given any shape: ampelous, in the form of a bush, in the form of a pyramid or a standard tree. In ampelous varieties, the shoots are long and flexible. They are usually grown in hanging pots or elegant baskets.

To create a beautiful cascade of fuchsia flowers, several cuttings are planted in one wide flowerpot at once, and they are immediately placed closer to the edges and obliquely to give the future bush a cascading shape. During the growth of green mass, the basket is regularly turned to the light in different directions - then the crown will form evenly and lushly. Semi-ampeled fuchsia varieties first have the shape of a bush, but over time, under the weight of numerous buds and flowers, the flexible stems begin to bend beautifully and hang over the edge of the flowerpot. To prevent fragile branches from breaking, they are tied to supports.

Indoor fuchsia blooms for a long time and profusely with drooping flowers. The flowers themselves are also large and small, double and non-double, single and collected in brushes. Non-double flowers have 4-5 petals. Semi-double flowers are when the flower has from 5 to 7 petals, while double flowers have 8 or more petals.

The structure of the flower is peculiar. It consists of a corolla-shaped calyx and a tubular corolla, from under which long bright stamens are visible. The calyx lobes are usually longer than the petals, and the stamens are longer than the calyx. In general, the flower looks like a ballerina doll in a fluffy or simple tutu skirt, who has her arms outstretched to the sides and is ready to spin in a dance. (photo) Fuchsia flowers are located on long stalks. The coloring of flowers can be one-color, two-color, and sometimes, in one flower, there are three shades at once. The fuchsia fruit is an edible berry.

Often fashion designers or fashion designers, when describing the color of a model, use in the name, for example, a dress or fuchsia-colored shoes. The color of fuchsia is considered to be magenta purple. In fact, it is a collective definition of several shades of purple: from light crimson to deep violet.

You can also read an article on our website about how to grow fuchsia and care for the flower at home.

Three-leaved (Fuchsia triphylla)

This fuchsia grows as a bush up to 60 cm in size. Since it grows wide, it is convenient to grow it in a hanging basket. Fuchsia leaves are 8 cm long. Their shape resembles the shape of an egg. The upper side of the leaf is reddish-green, and the lower side is brown-red. Down is visible on the leaves along the veins. Three-leaved fuchsia flowers look like bells. Small fiery red sepals form multi-flowered inflorescences - racemes. Flowering is abundant and lasts from early May to October. In winter, this fuchsia must be kept in relative warmth, not lower than 10 degrees. But in summer it can withstand high temperatures and open sun. The most popular varieties of three-leaf fuchsia: Thalia, Mantilla, Coralle, Elfriede Ott and others. This type of plant is used to create flower arrangements in living rooms, on loggias and balconies.

Thalia

It has elegant flowers of bright orange color. Active and lush flowering continues throughout spring and autumn.

Magellan (Fuchsia magellanica)

Tall evergreen bush, reaching three meters in height. The purple leaves of the plant, up to 4 cm in size, have down along the veins. This fuchsia blooms all spring and until October. Flowers can be single or collected in inflorescences of 4 pieces.

Magellan fuchsia tolerates low temperatures. You can leave it for the winter glassed balcony, having previously cut it to a height of 10 - 15 cm. and covering, for example, with fallen leaves. Usually the plant is brought indoors for the winter, preferably in the coolest place. Watering fuchsia during the dormant period is necessary, but rare.

This type of fuchsia is used to decorate arches, shop windows, and glass on the veranda.

Recumbent (Fuchsia procumbens)

This creeping plant can be used for flower arrangements. The lonely flowers of the plant are always directed upward, as if reaching towards the sun. Their shades can range from pink to orange. This fuchsia blooms all spring and autumn.

Sparkling (Fuchsia fulgens)

This tall bush, up to two meters in height, has large leaves with jagged edges, reddish stems and scarlet-red flowers. Bears fruit. The berries of the plant are edible and collected in clusters. Sparkling fuchsia blooms all summer and is used to create floral ensembles.

Graceful (Fuchsia gracilis)

This fuchsia is called the sister of Magellan fuchsia because in nature it can grow up to 3 meters. When grown indoors, the height of fuchsia reaches only one meter. Beautiful, usually large flowers of Graceful Fuchsia sit on thin, almost invisible stalks. Flowering continues from spring to late autumn.

Shiny or shining (Fuchsia fulgens)

It looks like an elegant shrub. The stems are thin, flexible, reddish. The leaves are large, heart-shaped, oval, with sharp serrated edges. The color of the leaves is purple-green. This fuchsia blooms from spring until autumn with bright crimson flowers with a crimson tint. Inflorescences are collected in bunches. Wilted flowers need to be trimmed, the plant should be fed - then it will delight you continuously lush flowering until the coldest weather.

Splendens (FuchsiaSplendens)

This is a heavily leafy shrub. Blooms throughout the year. The flowers are shaped like a long red tube with green petals. It is believed that fuchsia of this variety has the largest fruits - up to 5 cm in length and the most delicious - with a lemony tart aroma of spices.

Bolivian (Fuchsia boliviana)

The plant came to us from Bolivia, Argentina, and Peru. This fuchsia is considered one of the most beautiful and spectacular species. Reaches one meter in height. The leaves are large and pleasantly velvety to the touch. Bolivian fuchsia flowers are collected in unusual clusters. They are distinguished by the huge size of their peduncles (up to 30 cm), on which flowers hanging down are gracefully attached. The flowers are red and white. This plant prefers to grow in shade or partial shade. Humidity is also important. Prefers to winter in warm rooms because he doesn't like cold temperature. Bolivian fuchsia blooms from early March to late April.

Thin (Fuchsia macrostemma)

This type of fuchsia at home can grow up to 3 meters in height. But it can be trimmed. Then, instead of stretching upward, it will grow in breadth. Fuchsia leaves have a reddish tint. It blooms from July to the end of September. Flowers on very thin and long peduncles are collected in brushes. The color of the flowers can range from light purple to violet.

Thyroid

This tall plant (up to three meters in height) has long and thin flowers collected in racemes. If you trim it in time, it grows up to one meter. Fuchsia blooms from early July to October. The shade of the flowers is pink, violet, purple. Thyroid fuchsia is used to create flower arrangements in offices and greenhouses.

Bright red (Fuchsia coccinea)

Bright red fuchsia has a long flowering period - from the beginning of April to the end of October. This is a very beautiful plant. Its red flowers with purple accents are eye-catching. You can grow such fuchsia in private apartment, and in the office.

Alisson Bell

This fuchsia blooms for a long time with semi-double flowers of a violet-red hue.

Annabel

It blooms with huge double white flowers.

Ballerina

This fuchsia variety is distinguished by the fact that it has many small flowers with scarlet sepals and a pink and white skirt.

Henriette Ernst

This fuchsia has large double flowers with scarlet sepals and a light lilac skirt.

Dancing Flame

There is a standard and bush form of the plant. The buds are large and elongated. Sepals pink-orange. The skirt is bright pink with an orange tint. The flowers are semi-double. Flowering is abundant. A very bright and elegant variety!

Coquet Bell

This is a bush form of fuchsia. The flowers are large, not double, in the form of bells. The sepals are pink and the skirt is lilac.

Ampelnaya

Ampelous is one of the most popular forms of fuchsia. Flexible stems cascading down are strewn with bright lantern flowers. In addition, ampelous fuchsia varieties belong to shade-tolerant varieties indoor plants. They are not demanding on the composition of the earthen soil and frequent watering. They look beautiful in wicker flowerpots or elegant hanging baskets. Two-tone fuchsias look especially impressive, with flowers hanging down from baskets or hanging pots.

Popular hanging fuchsia varieties:

Blue Angel

It has double flowers lilac color on white sepals.

Holly's Beauty

It has large, slightly elongated buds. The flowers are bright. The sepals are white. The skirt is lilac-blue.

Imperial Crown

It blooms profusely with elongated scarlet-pink flowers, which are collected in racemes.

Prince of Peace

This variety is decorated with flowers formed by white sepals and a red skirt.

Archie Owen

This semi-ampeloid form of fuchsia has pink sepals and a dark pink skirt. The buds are oblong. The flowers are very large, double.

Bella Rosella (Bella Rosella)

This fuchsia variety has bush and ampelous bush forms. The leaves are medium-sized and green. The buds are oblong and large. The sepals are pink and the skirt is lilac. The flowers themselves are very large, double, and extremely beautiful. This fuchsia is considered one of the largest flowering ones. It blooms profusely and for a long time.

Bicentennial

This is an ampelous form of fuchsia. Large buds are slightly oblong. The sepals are light, acquiring a delicate orange hue over time. The red skirt with salmon strokes also becomes almost orange over time. The flowers are large, double, and very beautiful.

Blue Mirage

This fuchsia comes in ampelous form and bush form. The buds are round. Large double flowers. The sepals are white with greenish tips, and the skirt is bright purple with white strokes.

Blue Veil

This fuchsia has a bush and ampelous form. The buds are round. The flowers are double and large. Sepals are pure white with green tips. Lilac terry skirt. Flowering is long and abundant.

Cecile

It comes in bush and hanging form. The flowers are densely double. The sepals are dark pink, and the skirt is a rich blue-lavender color with wavy edges.

Conclusion

We introduced you to fuchsia of different varieties, shapes, colors and sizes. We hope that you will be able to choose varieties for yourself that will delight you with their splendor all year round, bring a minimum of hassle and maximum pleasure.

“Tears” is the popular name for the beautiful fuchsia (Fucsia). But I prefer her other name - ballerina flower, or dancing plant. Her amazing bright and lush petals look like multi-colored ballet tutu skirts. So, fuchsia: growing conditions in an apartment.

The ballerina flower is very common on our windowsills. And not least because it is extremely unpretentious, forgives us mistakes in floriculture and can adapt to conditions unusual for it.

In addition, with proper care and good lighting, it blooms profusely and for a long time in spring and summer. And it is capable of laying buds even on a northern windowsill - however, the “ballet group” among the foliage will not be as numerous as with more sun.

Conditions for growing fuchsia the apartment is quite simple. In the warm season, it needs abundant watering, regular fertilizing twice a month with fertilizer for flowering plants, timely replanting and protection from pests. As they say, nothing complicated - the ballerina flower will “dance” even for those who do not have much experience in indoor floriculture!

Also, although this spectacular plant is considered an indoor plant, it can be taken out into the fresh air in the summer. For example, post on open balcony or in the garden. But, nevertheless, it must be protected from drafts and strong gusts of wind. Therefore, for balcony maintenance on upper floors This phytoexot is not suitable.

In winter and autumn, such a green friend will be grateful for a drop in air temperature to 5-10 degrees Celsius. This is quite achievable if you place it on a glazed balcony or loggia. Or move it closer to the window glass in the room - but so that the plant is not disturbed by a cold draft.

However, the dancing phytoexotic can easily tolerate warmer room temperatures. True, in this case it can become very stretched and even partially shed its leaves. But this is not a reason for concern: with the arrival of spring, the ballerina flower will quickly build up its “green muscles”.

To give more decorative look it needs to be trimmed. Moreover, fuchsia is very easily propagated by cuttings that take root even in water.

I would also like to say something about lighting. Although this phytobeauty can grow in a semi-shaded place, for abundant flowering it needs bright, diffused light. Sometimes a plant begins to bud only if you simply move it on the windowsill closer to the glass!

The only peculiarity: although this plant is called a ballerina, it does not like “dancing” (that is, moving!) on the windowsill during flowering and budding. In this case, she can shed her flowers and buds.

Therefore, try to immediately find a place for this spectacular phytofriend so that you can admire it in its heyday.

You can buy fuchsia in many flower shops, as well as from gardeners "from hand". There are many collectors of this amazing plant. You can purchase different varieties of this floristic miracle from them.

Since this plant is very decorative and showy, delivery of fuchsia flowers is now very common. A huge flowerpot with dancing ballerina petals can be an excellent alternative to cut flower bouquets for a gift.

However, such a gift should be presented only if you are sure that the person for whom it is intended is interested in indoor plants.

Places where you can admire blooming fuchsia in urban areas:

Open terraces of cafes and restaurants;

House facades;

- balconies;

Flower stalls, where it is customary to display your goods on the street in the summer.

P.S. Fuchsia is so common in indoor floriculture that it seems almost “native” to our latitudes. In fact, this is a real phytoexotic that came to us from afar. The homeland of the ballerina flower is South and Central America.

Currently, an unusually beautiful exotic plant is becoming more and more fans - fuchsia, adapted for growing at home.

The plant belongs to the family Fireweed, native to Central and South America and South Zealand. The plant is named after the famous German scientist Leonart von Fuchs.

General description and types of plants

Fuchsia extremely common in its homeland. It has more than 100 species, differing in color, size and shape of flowers, flowering times, leaves, etc. All types of fuchsia growing in nature can be divided into 2 large groups:

• tree-like;
• bushy.

Most common fuchsia varieties occurring in nature are:

• Fuchsia brilliant;
• Fuchsia Magellanica;
• Fuchsia corymbosa;
• Fuchsia boliviana and etc.

For home cultivation it is necessary to select plant varieties Fuchsia hybrid(Fuchsia hybrida). Outwardly, it looks like a small bush, all strewn with unusual flowers, which in shape are associated with a ballet tutu, i.e. just as lush and wavy.

Color spectrum These colors are quite wide: from white to purple, from blue to violet. Caring for such a plant, knowing and following its basic rules, will not be difficult even for novice gardeners.

It should immediately be noted that get the fruits of the plant It won't work at home.

What favorable conditions need to be created for fuchsia so that it pleases with its lush growth and abundant flowering at home on the windowsill? This should be looked at in more detail.

Basic rules for caring for fuchsia during the growing season

Main events for caring for fuchsia, after its acquisition, are considered:

• correct choice of location;
• compliance with temperature and humidity conditions content;
• feeding

In the life activity of fuchsia we can distinguish 2 periods:

• active growth: from spring to autumn;
• relative rest: winter.

Let's look at the rules for caring for a fuchsia flower. period of active growth A. At this time, the plant should be placed on a well-lit windowsill of an eastern or western window, but not in direct sunlight. It is better not to put fuchsia on southern windows, because... she is too likely to get sunburned.

If there is no bright place in the house for fuchsia, then it should be provided with additional artificial lighting using, for example, fluorescent lamps. Otherwise, fuchsia blooms may not be seen.

This also applies when installing a flower on a northern windowsill with insufficient light.

The plant loves clean, often ventilated, air. The presence of drafts is unacceptable. Rearrangements from place to place and rotations around its axis are not desirable for fuchsia. The air temperature during this period should be approximately +20+22 degrees.

More high temperatures The flower tolerates the surrounding air with difficulty: it slows down its growth, drops flowers and leaves. You can place fuchsia on a balcony, loggia, or open terrace in the summer. To prevent the sensitive root system of the plant from overheating in the heat, you need to transplant it into a wide ceramic pot.

Watering fuchsia during the growing season it should be moderate: neither the soil should become moldy nor should it dry out. Water for irrigation should be used that is settled, soft, and at room temperature. In the hot season, the plant needs to create an additional humid microclimate.

Early in the morning or in the evening it is good to produce spraying fuchsia with cool water. You can place a beautiful container with water and pebbles next to the flower, which will help create the desired microclimate around the flower.

The plant needs weekly feeding fertilizers throughout the active period. After flowering has stopped, you can take a short break from using fertilizers. In the fall, from about September-October, fertilizing the flower is gradually stopped. As fertilizers, special fertilizers for house flowers are used with a high content of phosphorus and potassium, which are so necessary for the normal functioning of the flower.

With proper care, fuchsia will delight everyone with its long and lush flowering, from May to the end of November. A prerequisite for long-term flowering of a plant is constant removing faded flowers.

Throughout the growing season, the plant should be constantly pinch to form the desired shape. You need to be prepared for the fact that each pinching delays flowering for almost 2 months.

At home, fuchsia should be exposed to annual transplant. It is better to carry it out in March. The scheme for this is simple: first, drainage is placed in the pot, on which the prepared earthen mixture is placed, the plant with the earthen lump is carefully transferred and sprinkled with earth.

Basic rules for caring for fuchsia during the dormant period

in winter When caring for fuchsia, you need to take into account that the flower is in a state of sleep and rest. During this period, it is important to create optimal conditions of detention.

Temperature air during this period should not rise above 10 degrees. For this purpose, when growing a plant in a city, you can use an insulated loggia.

Good lighting and a constant supply of fresh air must be ensured in sufficient quantities even in winter. In exceptional cases, fuchsia can be left for a period of rest without light. Watering the plant in winter is significantly reduced - up to 1-2 times a month. But the soil is not allowed to dry out. During the dormant period, fuchsia should not be fertilized. It is important to know that if the specified plant care is not followed in winter, fuchsia will not bloom during the growing season.

During the rest period it is necessary to do pruning the plant, as a result of which all old leaves are removed.

Propagation of fuchsia at home

With proper care of the fuchsia flower, reproduction it can be done using:

• leaves;
• seeds;
• Cherenkov.

Using leaves flower propagation occurs as follows: good material is selected - stems with highly developed leaves, which is sprinkled into prepared loose soil to a depth of 1-2 (cm). Leaves are moistened warm water using a spray bottle and covered with transparent material.

Spraying plants should occur daily. The young plant is transplanted into a pot when small rosettes appear on its stem. Without artificial pollination When propagating fuchsia by seeds at home, you cannot do it.

Experienced flower growers, when cross-pollinating plants, mix several different varieties. As a result, new plant hybrids with a variety of colors of flowers and leaves are obtained.

But the most common is considered cutting propagation method flower. The best time for this is spring or autumn. To do this, plant cuttings 6-7 (cm) long are taken, which are placed in water or rooted in loose prepared soil consisting of humus, sand, and turf soil.

This entire period is carried out spraying cuttings with warm water. After about 3-4 weeks, when the young plant has formed roots, it is transplanted into a prepared pot. When you get a lush plant, you need to transplant several of these cuttings into one pot. To the delight of many gardeners, the young plant will bloom in the same year.

Thus, fuchsia, with proper care, will create a unique atmosphere of comfort, joy and light in the house.

And for the most curious, we suggest you watch a video trailer about the variety of types of fuchsia.