Fuchsia

Bring the garden fuchsia into winter quarters before the first frost, and cut it back by about a third beforehand, removing fallen leaves and diseased shoots as you do so. Set it up frost-free. Either bright and cool at 5 to 10 °C (conservatory, bright garage) or cool and dark at 2 to 5 °C, where it drops its leaves and sprouts again in spring; water only sparingly, do not feed and put it back outdoors only after the Ice Saints.

The most reliable method is the tip cutting: in spring (March to April) when pruning, or in late summer (July to August), cut vigorous shoot tips that are not yet woody, 5 to 8 cm long, directly below a node. Remove the lower pairs of leaves and all buds or flowers, so that the plant puts its energy into root formation. Insert the cutting in slightly moist, low-nutrient seed compost and place it bright, warm (around 20 °C) and out of direct sun. Covering it with a clear propagator lid or an upturned plastic bag raises the humidity and speeds up rooting. After about 3 to 6 weeks, new pairs of leaves show that roots have formed. Then pot on into ordinary potting compost and gradually acclimatise to the open air. Spring cuttings are particularly soft and root quickly; late-summer cuttings are somewhat firmer and sturdier for overwintering. Cuttings come true to variety, because they take over the genetic traits of the mother plant unchanged.

For fuchsias planted out or kept close to the ground, layering is suitable: gently bend a long, flexible shoot tip to the ground (or into a neighbouring pot), fix the shoot so that a node touches the soil, and keep the spot moist. Once roots have formed there, you cut the connection to the mother plant and replant the layer. This gentle route is especially worthwhile for valuable single specimens.

Large, well-established fuchsias (above all planted out, with several stems) can also be divided in early spring before new growth starts: dig up the root ball or cut it vertically with a clean spade into sections, each carrying several shoots and enough healthy roots. Remove diseased parts of the roots and replant the pieces straight away. For fuchsias, division is a secondary method (most plants are grown and overwintered in pots), but it is practical for vigorous clumps.

Sowing Fuchsia × hybrida is not recommended, because hybrid seed does not reliably pass on the variety's characteristics. The offspring segregate and do not match the mother plant.