Reproduction methods
You can use two - seeds and cuttings.
Growing fuchsia from seeds is carried out mainly for breeding purposes. To do this, you can purchase seeds in a specialized store or get it yourself from the fruits of the plant.
With self-selection of seeds, some preparations must be made initially. Choose a flower on a flowering plant, open its anthers and apply pollen from another fuchsia variety to the stamens. Then wrap the bud in cheesecloth and wait for the formation of the fruit. After it is ripe, take out the seeds and, after drying, can be planted in the ground.
Fuchsia seeds are quite large for flowers.
Fuchsia propagation
Every day, for 15–20 minutes, it is necessary to ventilate, during which the soil is loosened and condensation is removed from the inner surface of the film or glass, which forms with a slight temperature difference between night and day. At the same time, watering with settled water from a sprayer is also done.
In two weeks, in case of successful germination, the first leaves of fuchsia should appear. With their appearance, the duration of exposure to the open air gradually increases until the full opening, when young plants have already adapted to normal conditions.
After a stable rooting of the shoots, they can be transplanted separately into different pots with a preliminary dive (removal of weak and non-viable shoots).
Fuchsia seedlings
Young plants require annual replanting in order to increase the space in their development. This procedure also promotes lush flowering.
In the future, caring for young fuchsias is reduced to regular feeding every two weeks for six months and daily watering. For fertilization, mixtures prepared for flowering plants are suitable.
At the beginning of active flowering, fertilizers should be applied every week, which ensures the active formation of new inflorescences and increases the life expectancy of flowers.
Fuchsia tends upward in its development. In order to get a low-growing bush, and not a tall tree, it is necessary to regularly cut off the top, allowing lateral shoots to develop.
Fuchsia propagation by cuttings takes less time and the result is visible almost immediately, compared to the seed method of obtaining new plants.
For cuttings, it is better to choose young shoots, but already hardened ones, having a certain age, are also suitable, a matter of time that it takes to root.
Cuttings are cut from a healthy adult plant and can be up to 20 centimeters long. When placed in a nutrient liquid, it is necessary to ensure that no leaves are immersed in water, therefore, all lower leaves must be torn off. If this is not done, then with constant presence in water, the leaves begin to rot, which leads to the appearance of mold throughout the sprout, and it will not be able to grow and develop.
Fuchsia cuttings are grown in pots and then transplanted into soil in the garden
There is no need to stimulate the emergence of roots, since the cuttings take root on their own without any problems. It is enough just to top up water in a timely manner, compensating for natural evaporation. As a rule, a small container (glass) is used, which should be covered with a transparent polyethylene bag to improve and accelerate growth, thus creating a greenhouse effect that favors comfortable conditions for the cutting. Regular ventilation and condensation removal can be done once a day.
Fuchsia root
Under such conditions, the first roots begin to appear on days 3-4, and a full-fledged root system is formed within two weeks. But there is no need to wait until the entire root system is formed, planting in the ground can be done already in the presence of several stably engrafted roots.
Sometimes cultivation of fuchsia by cuttings is practiced, when a freshly cut or torn shoot is immediately planted in soil rich in all the necessary elements for growth and development. But this is done only in greenhouses, where the required temperature and humidity are constantly maintained.
Description of fuchsia
Fuchsia is a shrub or tree. Its leaves can be located opposite or be collected in whorls. Some species begin to shed their foliage during the dormant period. The shape of the leaf plates can be different, most often they are slightly elongated. The edges of the leaf may be jagged or smooth. The recognizable flowers of the plant can be colored in shades of white, pink, purple or red. They bark with a prominent tube-shaped cup, decorated with protruding stamens. The petals and calyx can be solid or painted in different colors and shades.
There are varieties with double flowers. A wide palette of fuchsia colors, including rather rare tones, gave the name to one of the shades of purple, as well as to a chemical compound with a solution of a similar color - fuchsin.
It is known that growing in its homeland, fuchsia gives quite edible berries, which are rather difficult to obtain in indoor conditions. Often, dishes are decorated with flowers of this plant, by the way, edible.
Growing FUCHSIA from A to Z!
Preparing cuttings
Cuttings can only be harvested when the fuchsia has faded. It is necessary to start with the selection of a strong donor flower, on which the full development of the shoot depends. If the original donor material was rarely fed with fertilizers or, conversely, often with nitrogen, then the cutting will root weakly or simply rot.
You should choose the right plant fragments for propagation. The stems are cut so that there are up to three internodes between them. An ideal shoot for a cutting can only be young and green, because older shoots are more difficult to root. They will work too, but the roots will take longer to form.
Then, all leaves except the top two are removed from the stem fragment to reduce moisture evaporation and facilitate rooting.
Then you should wait 10 minutes for the cut to dry out, and treat the cut site with any root formation stimulant - natural phytohormones, natural bioregulators, which have a stimulating effect and increase the immunity of cuttings.
Substrate
To root the cuttings, a loose and moisture-absorbing substrate with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction is required - this is the medium that is suitable for fuchsias.
In addition to earth, the peat and water tablets described earlier use a number of other options.
- Planting palette with vermiculite, sawdust and sand.
- Coconut tablet made from compressed coconut fiber that retains air. It allows the roots to breathe and prevents decay.
- Perlite is a natural volcanic material that acts as a baking powder. It prevents caking, reduces the risk of rotting and crusting on the surface of the earthy coma. They are diluted with a mixture of sand, sphagnum and peat.
- Vermiculite is a rock mineral, an environmentally friendly layered mineral. It effectively creates a favorable microclimate for the development of roots, actively stimulating their growth, reduces the disease of rot, and optimally regulates the air-humidity regime. As a sorbent, it cleans the soil of harmful toxic substances, it can absorb fertilizers and gradually feed the roots with them. It is used independently and as part of earthen mixtures.
- A hydrogel is a soft polymer granules that absorb and retain water and slowly release it to the roots when they either grow into the granules or come into contact with them. Air freely reaches the roots through the openings between the granules.
Groundless substances are also suitable and often used for rooting cuttings. One of the commonly used mixtures consists of perlite, vermiculite and peat - very light and low in nutrition, it is ideal for propagation.
Creation of conditions
After planting in the substrate, the cutting needs the right microclimate. Not yet having its own roots supplying it with water, it needs high humidity. To do this, the stalk is placed in a mini-greenhouse from an ordinary plastic bag. To avoid the accumulation of condensate, it is periodically opened and ventilated.
For photosynthesis to take place, cuttings need diffused light. Direct sunlight is not suitable for them and can harm them. You can make up for the lack of natural light by using LED and fluorescent lamps.
When rooting is done in water, it is necessary to monitor the water level so that it does not decrease, periodically refilling it to the optimal level. If a different substrate is used, then it should not be allowed to dry out and, if necessary, moistened.
Transfer
After rooting, when the cutting has already begun, it needs to be planted in a small plastic container. When the roots braid all the ground available in a small container, you should transfer the cutting into a container with a 2 cm larger volume with a greenhouse, then pour it with warm water.
Transplanting can injure the fuchsia due to the fragility of the roots, so it is important to be careful during the transplanting process. Actively growing cuttings during the summer season must be transferred to a large container up to 6 times
Possible problems
Plant damage can be divided into two groups. Some are caused by improper care, while others are caused by infection with fungi or bacteria.
Content errors
- Pale leaves, the appearance of yellow spots - a lack of nutrients. Complex mineral feeding is required.
- Falling leaves and buds - violation of the irrigation regime, the soil is flooded or overdried. The same problem occurs when there is a lack of light.
- Short flowering - there are several reasons: lack of nutrition or moisture, high temperature.
Infectious diseases and pests
The most common fuchsia disease is rust. The first sign of infestation is brown spots on the back of the leaves. Rust spreads quickly, noticing the symptoms of the disease, the flower is isolated. Affected leaves are cut off and destroyed. The plant and the soil are treated with Topaz.
Pests of indoor fuchsia whitefly and spider mites. The result of their vital activity is wilting and falling of leaves. Against whitefly use insecticide "Aktara" or "Conifor". The tick is fought with the means "Akarin", "Fitoverm". It will take 3 treatments.
Planting and growing errors affect flowering duration and bud size. A light-loving shrub needs diffused lighting, an abundance of fresh air and moisture. For the summer period, you need a place where the temperature will not exceed 20 °. In the heat, fuchsia sheds flowers and leaves.