Getting the Best from Your Fuchsia

Fuchsia can often be overlooked for more showy and exciting shrubs. This should not be the case, Fuchsia is a very versatile shrub that can work well in all types of garden. They are an extremely reliable plant that can add great colour and keep flowering for months upon months.

Many will associate fuchsia with roadside hedges around Ireland. These verges are peppered with the red and purple flowering shrub. While fuchsia along roads often looks great there is so much more to the flower. There are different varieties which can add seasonal interest to a garden.

Fuchsia Varieties

Fuchsia Genii is a rather unusual variety, it is a yellow leaf variety which can make a welcome change to the traditional dark green varieties. This variety can work to brighten up a somewhat dark spot in the garden as it does very well in semi shade. The flowers contrast against the bright leaves very well. I have grown this variety in my own garden for over ten years. It is a very reliable plant and could almost be classed as evergreen as it keeps its leaves from March right through to October or November. (Depending on how mild the weather is towards the end of the year!!).

For those who enjoy variegated leaves in a garden, Fuchsia “Sunray” is a great investment. It has pink and green variegated leaves and pink flowers. 

Container Planting

While many have fuchsia in their garden as a large shrub, others will opt for younger Fuchsia to plant in hanging baskets or container plants. When planted in the middle of a hanging basket they add great height to the arrangement. Their colours tend to work with any planting combination, making them very versatile.

Caring for Fuchsia

In terms of feeding and caring for fuchsia they require very little work. A good quality tomato feed or seaweed feed will work wonders on them.

Pest Control

Vine weevil and greenfly are the main two pests to watch out for. They can easily be treated for with pest controls from the garden center. Vine weevil can be treated with ‘VineWeevilFree – Nematodes’, these are beneficial Nematodes, tiny creatures that are a fantastic natural predator of vine weevil larvae. If you have a problem with greenfly then ladybirds are your best friend, they can eat up to 5,000 greenfly, also called aphids, in their lifetime. You can also use an insecticide like Total Bug Killer which is ready to use and is an organic and natural product.

Double Flowering Varieties

Many gardeners will spend hours out in the garden picking the seed pods off fuchsia to encourage more flowers. This can be a very tedious job depending on the variety and how many seed pods they produce. If you want to avoid this you should go for double flowering varieties which do not produce as many seed pods to begin with.

Taking Cuttings

Our horticulturist Malachy has shared his tips for taking cuttings from your fuchsia, so that you can continue to get the most from your plant as the season moves on. For all his tricks, check out the below YouTuble video.

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GET IN TOUCH:

Gardens really are our second nature. So if you’d like help with something on this post, or anything else in your corner of second nature, please reach out to us on social media, or by email on hello@countrylife.ie. If the question is quite specific, it’s really helpful to include a photo. We’d love to help.

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