How to care for indoor fuchsia. Fuchsia: growing and care at home

Fuchsia has won the hearts of flower growers with both its elegant appearance and long-lasting flowering. This bright indoor plant easy to care for, grows quickly and reproduces easily.

Description, main varieties, types and photo selection of indoor flower - fuchsia

Fuchsia grows as hanging plant, shrub or low tree. Flexible branches form a cascading crown. The bright green leaves are about 5 cm long and have an oval shape with a sharp tip.

The flowers come in a wide variety of colors - from white and pink to blue and purple. With their shape, some of them resemble bells, others resemble dancing ballerinas. This effect is created by the unusual structure of the flower. From the tubular corolla, delicate petals unfold in a fluffy skirt, like a dancer’s tutu, and the long stamens resemble slender legs in pointe shoes.

The rich species diversity of fuchsia served as the beginning for hundreds of new varieties and hybrids. In indoor floriculture, mainly hybrid forms are cultivated. According to the type of growth they are classified as:

bush - with smooth, upward-stretching shoots;
ampelous - with flexible thin cascading stems;
hanging-bush - to form a bush, their long stems are tied to a support.

The most popular varieties of bush fuchsias for floor containers are:

Armbrough Campbell - quickly takes root and is easy to care for. Blooms in winter with large double flowers with narrow red sepals and soft pink petals;
Alisson Bell is famous for its spectacular semi-double purple-red blooms;
Anabel has large double flowers of white color, the variety is also presented in an ampel form;
Henriette Ernst blooms with a light lilac skirt against a background of scarlet sepals;
The waist has bright orange flowers.

No less in demand among lovers of indoor plants are ampelous varieties of fuchsias, the shoots of which curl beautifully and gracefully hang from hanging baskets and flowerpots. Among them:

Hollis Beauty - a variety with double flowers of a white-pinkish hue;
Prince of Peace blooms simple flowers with sepals white and a red skirt;
Blue Angel is also famous for its beautiful contrasting lilac-purple blooms framed by white sepals;
Imperial Crown has elongated scarlet flowers collected in racemes.

Caring for a plant at home

Fuchsia loves frequent spraying

Fuchsia is native to South America and New Zealand, and in its natural habitat it develops at high air humidity. Therefore, caring for fuchsia at home involves frequent spraying. The perennial also needs replanting and pruning. The plant is demanding of lighting and does not like to be turned or moved to a new place during flowering.

Fuchsia transplant

If the plant is not cramped in the pot, you do not need to replant it immediately after purchase. When the roots are visible, it is better to place the fuchsia in a larger container. For this, it is preferable to choose a light container. Its walls reflect light better and protect the flower from overheating.

Subsequently, fuchsia is replanted every year. For this procedure, the flower must first be prepared:

carry out preventive and stimulating pruning - shoots are shortened by a third, old, dry and too elongated ones are removed completely;
inspect the rhizome for diseases and rot, cut off the affected areas to healthy tissue;
the drainage layer must be at least 1/5 of the height of the pot.

The plant is watered and sprayed abundantly. Fertilizers are applied no earlier than three weeks after transplantation.

Soil composition and soil fertilizers

The soil for fuchsia is preferably loose

Fuchsias are undemanding in terms of soil composition; they are suitable for universal soil mixtures for indoor plants. It is desirable that the soil is loose and contains sand, peat, and ash. If you prepare the nutrient substrate yourself, you can use the following ingredients:

leaf soil, peat, sand (in ratios 3:2:1);
turf soil, humus, peat, compost (2:1:1:1).

During development and flowering, minerals are added to the soil once a week. complex fertilizers. For this they use “Kemir”, “Effecton”, “Pokon for geraniums”. They begin to feed in March, and by summer the need for them increases. In the fall, fertilizing is reduced, and in winter it is stopped completely.

Perennial fuchsia needs pruning

Pruning fuchsia is not only done before replanting. This is a mandatory care measure that ensures the plant proper development and abundant flowering. The first pinching is done after the cuttings have rooted. Subsequently, regular pruning is carried out in the spring, before flowering begins. During the summer, cut off the longest shoots that will bloom in the fall.

To form a beautiful crown, trim side shoots over every 2-4 pairs of leaves. By pruning, bush fuchsias are given a standard shape. To do this, the central shoot is fixed to a support, and the side branches are removed.

Watering and lighting

Fuchsia prefers moderate watering. From March to October, you need to ensure that the soil in the pot is moist, but do not allow water to stagnate. After each watering, after 15 minutes you need to drain the remaining water from the pan. In autumn, it is enough to moisten the soil 1-2 times a month. In the cold season, watering is stopped completely.

At the same time, the flower develops better in conditions of high air humidity. Therefore, it is useful to spray the leaves. It is good to place a container of water next to the pot.

The plant does not tolerate heat and prefers diffused light. At the same time, it does not develop well in the shade. The best place it will have a balcony and windows on the west or east side, where it will be illuminated by the morning or evening sun.

Optimal temperature

For normal development and abundant flowering, fuchsia needs a certain temperature regime. She will feel best at +20...+22°C during the daytime and +16...+18°C at night. Higher temperatures are fraught not only with a lack of flowering, but also with the dropping of leaves. On hot summer days, it is recommended to spray fuchsia with settled cool water.

Cold also has a bad effect on the condition of the flower. To avoid overcooling of the roots of a fuchsia overwintering on a window, place foam or a wooden plank on the bottom of the pot.

Fuchsia – perennial, and with proper care will please you for a long time blooming view. But if desired, it can be propagated. One bush can give birth to many young plants. After all, fuchsia is propagated not only by shifts, but also by cuttings, as well as leaves.

Propagation by seeds

Propagation of fuchsia by seeds is a rather complex and time-consuming method, but incredibly interesting.

Growing fuchsia from seeds at home is long and difficult, but extremely interesting process. The grower's first priority will be to obtain viable seeds. Therefore, it is important to carefully monitor that the flower mother plant did not self-pollinate. For this:

The anthers are removed from the newly opened flower;
pollen from the father's plant is applied to the stigma of the pistil;
After pollination, the flower is isolated by placing a fabric or paper bag over it.

The fruit ripens in a few weeks. The seeds extracted from it are dried for several days. Sowing is carried out in shallow bowls on top of a moist substrate; there is no need to bury the seeds in the soil.

Containers with seeds are placed in a greenhouse and left in a well-lit, warm place. Shoots appear in 10-15 days. After 1.5 months, the seedlings dive. From this moment, the young seedlings begin to harden, taking them out of the greenhouse into fresh air. In the first days, 15 minutes is enough, later this time is increased. After another 2 months, they are transplanted into separate pots.

Features of cuttings and rooting of fuchsia

Propagating fuchsia by cuttings is a fairly simple method, suitable for novice gardeners

Reproduction by cuttings is carried out in early spring or autumn. The summer months are not the best time, as fuchsia will not take root well in the heat. Cuttings are carried out according to the following scheme:

young ones are cut perpendicularly apical cuttings 7-10 cm long under the lower bud;
remove the lower leaves, leaving no more than 3 pairs on the cutting;
immerse the lower tip of the cutting in damp sand or water.

Young roots appear in 2-3 weeks. After this, the plant can be planted in pots with a nutrient substrate. Composition of the soil mixture: sand, humus, leaf and turf soil in a ratio of 1:1:1:1.

Vegetative propagation by leaves is also possible. For this:

the leaf is cut off with a piece of shoot;
the cut site is dropped into a nutrient substrate;
the soil is moistened and covered with film to create greenhouse conditions.

When planting material takes root, the covering material is removed.

Plant wintering conditions

Wintering in a warm place with short daylight hours leads to excessive elongation of shoots. The plant loses its attractiveness decorative look, sheds leaves. To prevent this, it is recommended to arrange additional artificial lighting or move the fuchsia to a cool room - a balcony, a basement. If the choice was made in favor of the second option, watering is reduced to a minimum and fertilizing is stopped completely. In spring, the plant is gradually accustomed to increasing air temperatures.

If your fuchsia is affected by insect pests. You can use the drugs "Angara" and "Actellik"

A healthy plant has rich, healthy leaf color. If they dry out or have spots on them, this is a sure sign of a painful fuchsia condition:

powdery spots indicate the presence powdery mildew. Excessive humidity can provoke it. To combat the disease, fuchsia is treated with the drugs “Fundazol” and “Topaz”;
Yellowing and dryness of the leaves indicates chlorosis. The reason may lie in excessive watering during the cold season. When the veins turn yellow, this is a signal of magnesium deficiency. Watering with a weak solution of manganese will help;
dry brown spots at the bottom of the leaf indicate a dangerous infectious disease. Diseased leaves with rust are removed, and the plant is sprayed with vigorous liquid 3 times a day with an interval of 10 days;
leaves become limp due to lack of nutrients or sunlight.

Why does fuchsia not bloom?

The main reason for the lack of flowering in fuchsia may be too much watering of the plant.

Sometimes a seemingly healthy plant stops blooming. There may be several reasons, and most often they are: improper care. Flaws due to which buds do not appear may be the following:

wintering in too warm conditions;
lack of nutrients;
too much watering;
inappropriate pot size;
lack of light during active growth.

In order for fuchsia to bloom, you will have to work on the mistakes you have made. During a warm winter, radical pruning of shoots is carried out in the spring. The flower is replanted if the roots are too crowded or too spacious. They should not look out of the pot, but fuchsia will not bloom until the root system has entwined the entire earthen ball.

In conclusion, we will share some tricks for caring for fuchsia that will add to the experience of novice gardeners:

for growing fuchsia, it is better to choose ceramic pots - they heat up less in the heat;
in the hot summer, flowers are moved from the window to the back of the room;
In hot weather, it is useful to place ice near the pot.

Watch also video tips on fuchsia from florist Irina Gaetska.

Many gardeners call the indoor fuchsia flower “Japanese lantern” and willingly grow it at home. In nature, the plant is an evergreen shrub that grows in Central, South America and New Zealand. Grown in culture hybrid varieties functions in the form of a low tree, shrub or hanging plant. The plant won the hearts of flower growers with its long flowering, elegant appearance and ease of care. But you can admire the beautiful blooms only if you know how to care for indoor fuchsia. We will talk about this and other nuances of growing a flower in detail in our article.

Fuchsia – description, photo

Indoor fuchsia is a plant with flowing shoots, bright green oval leaves and delicate flowers of a wide variety of colors. The flowers have an unusual structure - they have a tubular corolla, delicate petals and long stamens. When the petals open, the flowers look like bell flowers or dancing ballerinas in a fluffy skirt. The buds can have a wide variety of colors. Their petals can be white, blue, orange, lilac, pink, violet, and even bicolor or tricolor.

Depending on the variety, fuchsia flowers form and bloom in different time of the year. Some species decorate apartments in winter with their blooms.

Types of fuchsias

At home, hybrid varieties are grown in the form of a bush or hanging plant.

Popular bush hybrids:

Talia is a plant with bright orange flowers.
Henriette Ernst - the variety is distinguished by light lilac petals and scarlet sepals.
Anabel is a bush or ampelous hybrid with double, large, white buds.
Alissol Bell is a plant with spectacular semi-double buds of red-violet color.
Armbrough Campbell - this variety is distinguished by double flowers that bloom in winter, which consist of soft pink petals and red narrow sepals.

Ampel varieties:

How to care for fuchsia in a pot?

Since in nature the flower grows in a humid climate, caring for fuchsia at home involves regular watering and frequent spraying. In addition, the plant loves good lighting and requires some care in winter.

Lighting. The plant prefers diffused light, so it is recommended to grow it on western and eastern windowsills. Heat and direct sunlight will be destructive for him. In summer, the flower can be taken out open balcony or into the garden, choosing a place for it that is illuminated by the morning sun's rays.

Air temperature. When growing a delicate plant at home, it must be provided with an air temperature within +20 degrees. In winter, the room should be even cooler. It is best if the air temperature is not higher than +15 degrees. At higher temperatures, leaves and buds may fall off, causing the bush to lose its decorative appearance.

Air humidity. In summer, the bushes are sprayed with water from a spray bottle to increase air humidity and refresh the leaves. If fuchsia is grown in winter in a warm room with working radiators, the air humidity around the flower must be increased. This can be done by regular spraying or by placing the pot on a flat container with expanded clay or moss. They need to be moistened as they dry.

Watering. The plant requires moderate watering. During the growing season from spring to autumn, it is necessary to ensure that the soil is moist, but not wet. Watering is carried out after drying the top layer of the substrate, for which water at room temperature that has been standing for at least a day is used. When caring for fuchsia at home in winter, reduce watering and water no more than once or twice a month. But this is the case if the plant is grown in a cool room in winter. IN warm room it should be watered in the same way as in summer. After watering, the drained water must be drained from the pan.

Pruning fuchsia. At home, the shoots of the bush should be pruned regularly to obtain abundant and beautiful flowering. The first time the branches are pinched after the cuttings have rooted. When caring for an already overgrown indoor plant, shoots are pruned in autumn and winter. At the beginning of October, you need to carefully examine the faded shoots, find dormant buds in the axils, step back two centimeters upward from them and cut off the branch. In January, the plant is finally formed. To get a beautiful crown, the side branches are cut above the second or fourth pair of leaves.

Fertilizer. From March to October, a flowering plant needs fertilizing, which can be used as a complex mineral fertilizers. To get beautiful and abundant flowering of fuchsia, you need to make sure that the fertilizer contains as little nitrogen as possible. Otherwise, foliage will grow abundantly on the bush, and you may not wait for flowering. In winter, fuchsias do not need to be fed.

Fuchsia transplant

Caring for fuchsia at home also includes replanting, which is carried out in the spring. This should be done every year using the transshipment method. The substrate can be bought in a store or prepared yourself by taking one share of compost, peat, humus and adding two shares of turf soil to them. The mixture for planting fuchsia may consist of other components:

sand – 1 share;
peat soil - 2 shares;
leaf substrate - 3 shares.

Fuchsia is transplanted as follows:

Dry and old shoots are pruned, and the remaining ones are shortened by one-third of the length.
Drainage is poured into the bottom of the new pot, which should occupy 1/5 of the container.
The drainage is filled with nutritious soil.
The flower is pulled out of the pot along with the soil, and carefully placed on the poured soil in a new pot.
The roots around and above are covered with soil and then watered.
If there were any problems when growing fuchsia, then during replanting it is recommended to inspect the roots, cut off rotten and damaged ones to healthy tissue, and sprinkle the cut areas with crushed coal.

Caring for fuchsia in winter at home

The shrub will bloom only if it is given a period of rest in winter. Therefore, in the fall, feeding is stopped, watering is gradually reduced and the plant is placed in a closed loggia, veranda or other room with an air temperature within +10...+15 degrees. Before the dormant period, you must remember to prune and treat the flower against pests. After growing fuchsia in winter in such conditions, the plant will quickly grow in the spring and bloom beautifully and profusely.

Wintering in a warm room will affect not only flowering, but also the appearance of the plant. The shoots will stretch out, the leaves will fall off, and there will be no proper flowering in the summer.

coarse washed sand – 1 share;
peat – 2 shares;
turf substrate - 3 shares.

The soil should be nutritious and light. Before use, it is frozen on the balcony or in freezer. If this is not possible, then water the soil with boiling water.

Sow seeds in wide, shallow containers with drainage holes. The bottom of the container is first filled with drainage, then with soil, which is watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. The seeds are evenly distributed over the soil surface and sprayed with water from a spray bottle. There is no need to embed them in the soil. For better seed germination, the containers are covered with film on top and placed in a warm, bright place. You need to make sure that they are not exposed to direct sunlight.

When caring for crops, the soil is kept moist, but not wet. The film is removed for a while every day so that the soil is ventilated and does not turn sour.

In about fifteen to twenty days, shoots will appear. They are gradually accustomed to home conditions, removing the shelter every day. Water the seedlings carefully using a spray bottle or pipette.

When two true leaves appear on the seedlings, they are planted disposable cups volume of 100 or 200 ml. They should be watered sparingly after they dry out. upper layer substrate. Every two weeks, young plants are fed with complex fertilizers.

When the cups for the bushes become small, they are transplanted into pots two centimeters larger than the old container.

Fuchsia grown at home from seeds will begin to bloom in two years.

For propagation, cuttings can be taken after pruning the bush or simply cut off a cutting from the plant at any time of the year. Young shoots are used for cuttings. The cuttings should be between 10-20 cm long. Their upper leaves are cut in half and the lower leaves are torn off.

The cuttings are placed in a vessel with water and covered with a transparent bag on top. As soon as the roots appear and grow a little, the cuttings are planted in the soil and covered with a transparent cap on top. When they start to grow, the cover can be removed.

Pests and diseases of fuchsia

Healthy plants should have healthy leaves without spots. If the leaves begin to fall off, dry out, or spots appear on them, you should inspect the plant. Such problems may indicate pests or fuchsia diseases that have settled.

Among the pests that can settle on the leaves of a flower are whiteflies, white fly larvae, spider mites. You can get rid of them with the help of Actellik, Angara or other insecticides.

Of the diseases, fuchsia most often affects:

Chlorosis is manifested by dryness and yellowing of foliage. The cause of the disease is a lack of manganese or frequent watering during the dormant period. The plant is watered with potassium permanganate and watering is reduced.
Powdery mildew appears in the form of powdery gray spots when the soil is too wet. Topaz or Fundazol will help cure the plant.
Rust is dangerous infectious diseases. It appears as brown dry spots on the underside of the leaf blades. The affected leaves need to be torn off, and the bush should be treated with Bordeaux mixture three times every ten days.

Fuchsia is affected by diseases mainly due to poor-quality soil and care errors. To " Japanese lantern" pleased with his beautiful and abundant flowering, carefully study and strictly follow all the rules for caring for fuchsia at home.

Luxurious, spectacular, bright fuchsia, without a shadow of exaggeration, can be called a real “precious decoration” of any home and garden. People first learned about this plant more than 300 years ago, and since that time several thousand varieties of fuchsia have been bred. various forms and shades that many amateur gardeners happily grow in their greenhouses and gardens.

Fuchsia in the garden and in the house

According to its biological description, fuchsia is a small, compact tree with flexible shoots of a reddish hue, medium-sized lancet-shaped leaves, green or red, and numerous flowers of various shades and types.

Fuchsia flowers consist of two parts: a bowl and a tubular corolla, under which there are bright, long stamens. Often the corolla and calyx of the flower have different shades. And in appearance, these inflorescences are very reminiscent of miniature dancers in elegant fluffy or flowing skirts.

The flowering period of this plant is very long. With proper care, it can last from early spring and almost until winter. This made fuchsia very attractive to gardeners. Over the three centuries, during which active selection of this flower was carried out, a huge number of plant varieties were bred. Among them there are fuchsias various types, including erect and ampelous, larger and more compact, as well as very spectacular varieties with flowering shoots collected in racemose inflorescences, etc. Fuchsia is an excellent decoration for windows, winter gardens and loggias. In addition, in the summer it can be placed on open terraces and in the garden. How Dahlias are grown can be understood by reading this

Description of varieties and their features

There is a wide variety of fuchsia species found in nature, the most famous of which are:

trifoliate. It is a medium-sized shrub with highly branched branches and small bright fiery red tassels-inflorescences. Blooms from May to September. It is afraid of frost, but is resistant to high temperatures;

Fuchsia trifoliata

shining or shiny. Grows up to 2 m. It has reddish shoots with large heart-shaped leaves. Flowers with a red calyx with yellow tips and a crimson corolla;

Fuchsia radiant

Splendence. Produces large fruits with a lemon flavor and a tart aroma of spices;

Fuchsia splendence

Bolivian. Differs in high growth. It has pleasant to the touch, velvety foliage and large inflorescences of white and red colors.

Fuchsia boliviana

For growing in room conditions Mostly, hybrid varieties are used, differing in their type of growth. These include:

bush fuchsias having smooth shoots growing in a vertical direction;
ampel-type varieties, the distinctive feature of which is flexible stems of small thickness, freely falling down;
ampel-bush type, with a long stem that requires tying to a support;
Quite often, fuchsias are grown in floor-type containers and other suitable containers.

The following are best suited for growing in containers:

Allison Bell. It has spectacular semi-double flowers of a purple-red hue.
Armbrough Campbell. Prized for its beautiful double-type inflorescences with bright red narrow sepals and soft pink petals that open in winter.
Waist. Distinctive feature varieties - bright orange color.
Anabel. It is presented in a hanging and bush form, has white flowers of a double type, large in size. But how to plant such a flower as Wisteria can be understood from this

No less popular among gardeners are fuchsias of ampelous shapes, the graceful, curly shoots of which are distinguished by their attractive appearance and decorative effect:

Prince of Peace– with simple flowers with white sepals surrounded by a red skirt;

Prince of Peace

Hollies Beauty– with double inflorescences of white and pink shade;

Hollies Beauty

Blue Angel– blooming with beautiful lilac-violet flowers with a white frame, etc.

Reproduction methods

When growing fuchsia for own home or garden, several basic methods of its propagation are used. These include:

Cuttings;
Reproduction using seed material;
Propagation using leaves.

Cuttings of fuchsias are most often carried out in February-March, less often - in the second half of August - September (this is how slow-growing varieties reproduce). For this purpose, cuttings with a length ranging from 5 to 7 cm are used, which are rooted in sand or water. Three weeks after the roots appear, they are moved to pots with a soil substrate consisting of rotted humus, leaf, turf soil and sand, taken in equal proportions.

To get beautiful, large plants with a lush crown, several seedlings should be placed in one container at a time. Young shoots will begin to bloom in the year of planting.

It is very convenient to germinate fuchsia cuttings in peat tablets, which can be purchased in specialized stores. In this case, they are slightly moistened with water, and after soaking, the cuttings are placed in their central part, making a small depression there. Tablets with cuttings should be covered and placed in a warm place (greenhouse). Rooting of plants planted in this way will occur in approximately 7-10 days. Then the cuttings along with the tablet can be planted in a suitable container with a prepared substrate for an adult plant.

To obtain fuchsia from seeds, artificial pollination is used to ripen them. Thus, mixing various varieties, you can get new hybrids with external signs, different from the source material. Seed material is obtained from fully ripened fruits of the plant, collected in dry, warm weather.
The collected seeds must be well dried to prevent them from rotting and maintain germination.

Foliar propagation of fuchsias is carried out according to the following method:

The stems, along with several full leaves, are torn from the mother plant and placed in soil of a loose consistency, buried no more than 1 cm.
They are covered with a glass or plastic lid.
Every day, remove the lid and spray the planted leaves from a spray bottle with boiled water, cooled to a warm state.
After the root shoots appear at the base of the stem, the plants are moved to small pots for further rooting.

Caring for fuchsia is quite simple, so almost anyone can grow this magnificent plant in their home. But in order for the “dancing flower” to delight you with its flowering for a long time when growing it at home, it is important to pay attention to the following points.

Temperature selection

During the period of growth and active flowering in the spring-summer period, the flower should be placed indoors (or on outdoors) With temperature conditions 18-25 degrees. The plant does not like heat very much, so if you keep it on a terrace or balcony, keep in mind that when the air temperature increases above these limits, the fuchsia may become capricious, stopping blooming and dropping its leaves. So in the summer, during the daytime, it is better to cover it from the sun. In winter, fuchsia can be placed in rooms with a temperature within 8-10 degrees.

Light

Fuchsias of all types prefer to “live” in conditions with good lighting. But too intense, blinding light is viewed negatively. Therefore, they will be very grateful to you if you place them on the windowsill of an east or west window in your apartment or light partial shade in the garden. During the daytime, it must be protected from heat and sun, but this flower will perceive its morning and evening rays very well.
After the start of flowering, the fuchsia is not moved to another place or rotated. This will lead to the fall of its flowers and blooming buds

Watering rules

When growing fuchsia, it is of great importance proper watering. In spring, summer and autumn (until October) it should be plentiful, in winter time– moderate. Starting from mid-autumn, the frequency and amount of watering is reduced to a minimum. When advancing negative temperatures fuchsias are watered 1-2 times a month.

Top dressing

For this purpose, balanced liquid fertilizers are used for flowering plants . From the end of March until the onset of autumn, fuchsia is fertilized once a week. In autumn, the amount of feeding is reduced to once every three weeks, and in winter the flower is not fed.

It is necessary to replant fuchsia as it grows, when the container in which it is located becomes too small for it.. This will be indicated by the appearance of roots from the drainage hole. To plant plants, use a soil mixture consisting of humus, peat, compost soil, taken in equal quantities, with the addition of washed coarse river sand.

For better growth and development, fuchsia is regularly pinched. The first time - after rooting, and then - every spring, before flowering.

Winter care and pruning

Some inexperienced gardeners are afraid to grow a “dancing ballerina” at home, because they do not know how to properly care for fuchsia in winter. First of all, at this time you need to make correct pruning plants. This procedure is performed twice a year:

In October, after the cessation of active growth and flowering, its faded shoots are cut off to a height of about 2 cm from the dormant buds located in the axils of the flower. This also removes seed pods and wilted flower stalks.
In January. At this time, the final formation of the flower crown occurs.

To prepare fuchsia for the dormant period in winter, the amount of watering and fertilizing is gradually reduced, after which the pot with the plant is moved to a room with moderate humidity and a temperature of 8 to 10 degrees. For this purpose it is convenient to use glass balcony, loggia or even cellar.

To create more comfortable conditions a flower pot can be placed in a box with sawdust or insulated with polystyrene foam.

Keep in mind: if you decide to leave fuchsia for “wintering” on a window in a room with a working central heating, don't expect from her good growth and spectacular flowering in spring and summer. In winter, she needs peace and coolness.

Video

You can learn about the intricacies of fuchsia care from this video

Pest and disease control measures

Despite its unpretentiousness and endurance, the “dancing flower” has its natural enemies and pests. These include:

Rust, manifested in the appearance of round brown spots at the bottom of the leaf blades. Diseased leaves must be removed to prevent damage to healthy shoots. After this, the plant is sprayed with Topaz.

fuchsia rust

Chlorosis. Leads to yellowing of leaves. Occurs as a result of excessive waterlogging and lack of magnesium and nitrogen.“Treated” by adding appropriate minerals and reducing the amount of watering.

Fuchsia chlorosis

Whitefly, which sucks nutritious juices from the leaves of the flower, causing them to turn yellow and fall off. In this case, the plants are washed with soap (if the leaves are still green) or treated with Actellik, Aktara, etc.

Whitefly infestation

Spider mite. Appears during dry and hot periods. It manifests itself in the form of a slight yellowness that appears on the surface of the leaves. At the same time, their back side covered with a yellow-white coating with small black and white dots. To combat the problem, the drugs “Fufanon”, “Fitoverm”, “Agravertin”, etc. are used.

Fuchsia - “dancing flower” - that’s what flower growers called it - a perennial, evergreen plant. In its homeland (Central and South America, New Zealand) it grows as a shrub and reaches a height of 2 meters. In nature, there are more than 100 species of this beautiful plant. There is brilliant fuchsia, hybrid, recumbent, thin, Bolivian, Magellan, graceful, sparkling. In our home environment, fuchsia grows mainly as a shrub with flexible branches or as a small tree. It all depends on the type of fuchsia and the approach to its formation. Caring for fuchsia is not very difficult, you just need to know the peculiarities of its cultivation, its requirements for soil, light, humidity and temperature. Today I will tell you how to ensure long-lasting flowering of fuchsia.

The peculiarity of fuchsia is that it blooms for a long time from July to October. Beautiful hats of flowers will be an excellent decoration for your home. The main thing is to ensure proper care for fuchsia.

Plant (transfer) fuchsia, like any other, better in spring when everything comes to life and there is active growth.

You can take any pot: thin plastic or ceramic - it doesn’t matter. However, for planting fuchsia, I prefer a light ceramic pot, since it is in it that fuchsia is not in danger of summer overheating, while dark plastic gets very hot. In addition, a ceramic pot is also a decoration for your home interior.

However, remember that the pot should not be “grown”, otherwise the fuchsia roots will not be able to immediately occupy the entire space of the pot, the soil will turn sour, and the plant will die. Choose a pot that is neither small nor large, so the plant will be comfortable. To begin with, you can plant it in a container with a diameter of 10 cm and a height of 10 cm.

Fuchsia must be replanted every year, by transshipment, renewing the nutrient soil. Fuchsia loves light, loose, nutritious soil. Dense garden soil is not suitable; it will suffocate the roots and kill the plant. Ideally, for growing fuchsia you need soil consisting of turf, peat and sand (in a ratio of 3:2:1), but ready-made potting soil for indoor plants based on vermicompost is also suitable.

When planting fuchsia at the bottom of the pot, be sure to put 2 layers of expanded clay, then even with abundant watering there will be no stagnation of water.

After replanting the plant, do not forget to prune it to stimulate the growth of side shoots on which new flowers will appear. Fuchsia blooms only on young, non-woody shoots.

Watering and moistening fuchsia

Fuchsia is a moisture-loving plant. It should be watered abundantly, but do not overwater the plant. In summer - daily, and in winter moderately (this will save the roots from rotting). In spring and summer, it is useful to spray fuchsias 2 times a day (morning and evening) with water at room temperature, and once a week it is good to add them to the water for spraying (zircon, epin, ethin-extra). Growth stimulants will provide fuchsia with additional energy for further growth. During the period of active leaf growth high humidity is simply necessary, but in autumn and winter – on the contrary, it is contraindicated.

Illumination and temperature for fuchsia

Fuchsia is a light-loving plant, but does not tolerate direct sun rays, they burn the leaves of the plant. Therefore, it is better to place fuchsia on the eastern or western windows of the apartment or on a well-lit part of the room, but not under the scorching rays of the sun.

Fuchsia does not tolerate heat well and can shed its leaves and flowers. The optimal temperature for it is 20 degrees in summer, and 10 degrees in winter, when the plant is at rest. In a city apartment it is difficult to provide such a temperature in winter, so the plant does not get proper rest, which affects its further flowering. This is where feeding fuchsia comes to the rescue.

Feeding fuchsia

Fuchsia is responsive to feeding liquid fertilizer for flowering indoor plants. In winter, one feeding per month is enough, in autumn - one feeding every three weeks, in summer - feeding every two weeks. During the flowering period, fuchsia requires active nutrition.

Fuchsia propagation

For me, the most acceptable way to propagate fuchsia is through cuttings. I take cuttings after transplanting and pruning the main plant in the spring (this usually happens in February or March). I place the prepared cuttings (shoots 5-10 centimeters long without lower leaves) in a vessel with water, sometimes adding growth stimulants (hethegoauxin, rootin).

After the formation of full-fledged roots, I replant them in suitable fertile soil (turf soil, peat and sand) in 10-centimeter pots. To form a lush bush, you can plant several petioles in one pot.

How to ensure active flowering of fuchsia

Fuchsia blooms on new, young shoots, so it must be formed correctly. To ensure full flowering of fuchsia from July to October, do not forget to regularly pinch the plant.

The first pruning is February (we leave only 3 buds on last year’s growths).

The second - after the third pair of leaves grows (we pinch all the shoots to get a fluffy bush).

The third - 2 weeks after the second (pinch again after three pairs of leaves). This pinching must be done no later than April so that the plant can form full-fledged flower stalks. Usually the plant blooms 6-8 weeks after the last pinching.

In the fall, after flowering has ended, you need to pinch the plant again, cut out diseased, weakened branches, if the winter is warm, and if the winter is cold (no more than 10 degrees), then the plant will need to be shortened by one third.

Do not turn the fuchsia while it is blooming, otherwise it may drop its flowers.
If fuchsia does not grow and set buds, then it does not have enough nutrition. It is necessary to replant the plant into a larger container from time to time.
If you want your fuchsia to bloom late autumn or in winter, you can slightly delay its flowering. To do this, keep the fuchsias in a dark place until June, and then take them out onto the balcony or loggia. Prune the plant several times throughout the summer.
Ensure that the plant overwinters at a temperature of no more than 10 degrees, and it will thank you with lush flowering.

Today you learned all the intricacies of caring for fuchsia. I hope that by following them, you will provide your plants with decent maintenance, and they will delight you with their lush flowering.

Fuchsia (Fuchsia)- a perennial plant, popular among gardeners due to its wide variety decorative varieties with bright and unusual colors. If you decide to decorate your home flower garden with a low (70-80 cm in height), very durable evergreen With beautiful flowers, then you will be interested in learning how to organize proper care for fuchsia at home and create the necessary conditions for growing. In the article you will find photos of popular indoor hybrids, as well as useful tips And important rules for caring for fuchsia at home.

The fuchsia flower is difficult to confuse with the flowers of other popular indoor plants. Appearance The flower somewhat resembles a bright Chinese lantern. Numerous “lanterns” hanging from fuchsia branches literally illuminate the surrounding space bright colors its amazing petals and sepals. The long corolla, stretching from under the bright sepals with graceful bends, looks impressive together with the elegant pistils and stamens peeking out from it. Flower petals, similar to intricately folded kanzashi made of satin ribbons, are distinguished by their diversity color range in different decorative varieties of fuchsia. The fuchsia flower is so beautiful that many needlewomen have chosen it as a visual object for making beautiful flowers from beads and wire.

These indoor plants with a long flowering period are often chosen by interior designers to create a cozy home phytodesign. Tree-like varieties of fuchsia look interesting in an ensemble with tuberous begonia, with lush flowering geranium (pelargonium), with an elegant phalaenopsis orchid. And shrub varieties with drooping stems, together with Persian cyclamen and homemade Saintpaulia violets, look harmonious against the background of Ficus Benjamin or Dracaena Marginata, which look like miniature topiary trees.

Most types of decorative fuchsias are unpretentious indoor plants, caring for which at home will not cause any particular difficulties even for novice gardeners. If you comply simple rules on growing these beautiful plants at home, then bright flowers fuchsias will delight you for many months during flowering (April-October)!

One of the most popular hybrid forms is ampelous fuchsia with cascading stems, a photo of which you will find at the end of the article. But at home, they also grow ampelous bushes, erect bushes, as well as hybrids with inflorescences in the form of brushes. Can be decorated home interior ampelous fuchsias, placed in elegant hanging baskets or wicker flowerpots. Such an element of phytodesign will look interesting in an ensemble with anthurium or spathiphyllum placed on the lower tier of the interior space.

Fuchsia ampelous is a shade-tolerant species and caring for any variety of this indoor plant at home is very simple. Two-tone fuchsias look especially elegant, with flowers hanging beautifully from hanging pots. Popular hanging varieties include Blue Angel with double flowers lilac color on white sepals, Hollies Beauty with bright light pink flowers, as well as the profusely blooming Imperial Crown with bright pink flowers collected in racemes.

If upright or drooping bushes are not suitable for decorating your interior, then you can grow a miniature bonsai tree from a profusely flowering (small-flowered and erect) fuchsia variety. Forming technique standard tree very similar to growing a bonsai from a domestic azalea or crassula (Money Tree). In order to make the trunk of a miniature tree thicker, several shoots can be woven together during the process of forming a bonsai. Professionals advise growing bonsai from cuttings in order to be able to give the fuchsia a suitable form of a standard tree. After 14-16 months, the plant will grow and you can form a bonsai using the Lingnan method, pinching and pruning in a timely manner.

Fuchsia color is very popular among fashion designers and designers. What is color? It is generally considered to be a rich violet-pink or magenta purple color. For example, this summer season color combinations such as fuchsia (top) with black or white (bottom), as well as fuchsia + light green tones will be popular.

♦ WHAT IS IMPORTANT!

Location and lighting.

The best option for placing fuchsia indoors is windows on the southwest or east side. You can place the plant on the south side, but it is advisable to place it on a table or stand next to the window. Fuchsia is a light-loving flower, but loves diffused light. In summer, protect the plant from direct sunlight by slightly shading the window with thin papyrus paper or film. During the flowering period, do not change the location of the flower or turn the pot, as all the buds will begin to fall off because of this.

Temperature regime.

During the dormant period, fuchsia feels good at temperatures from 16 to 20°C. Keep the plant away from drafts. During active growth and flowering, fuchsia prefers to be warm - it is advisable that room temperature was in the range of 19-26°C, but did not exceed 29°C, since the leaves may lose their tone and the flowers will begin to fall off.

Air humidity.

It is desirable that the air humidity level in the room ranges from 40 to 60%. Too dry air can cause leaves to yellow and wilt. In spring and summer, spray the plant with soft water 2-3 times a day, being careful not to get it on the flowers. During the hot summer, place a wide container of water next to the fuchsia.

Watering.

To water the plant, use soft, settled water. In winter, it is enough to water the fuchsia several times a month. During the growing season, watering should be regular, but do not allow water to stagnate around the root. Gently water the plant with soft water as soon as the top layer of the soil mixture is completely dry. Immediately pour out any excess water that drains from the pan.

Earth mixture and fertilizing.

You can make a substrate for planting fuchsia yourself by mixing leaf soil, turf soil, humus, peat and coarse sand in equal parts. Separately, make a drainage layer by pouring expanded clay onto the bottom of the pot.

Fertilizing should be applied during the period of active growth and flowering once every 2 weeks. It is advisable to use special complex fertilizers without a nitrogen component. No fertilizer is required in winter.

Transfer.

The fast-growing plant must be replanted every year in early spring. For replanting, prepare a pot with thick walls (preferably ceramic), since the roots are very delicate and can get very hot in an ordinary container. Pour a drainage layer into a new pot (3-4 cm larger in diameter), and then a little soil mixture. We place it next to the old pot and carefully transfer the fuchsia with the earthen lump using the transfer method, and then fill the sides of the pot with the earth mixture.

Trimming.

It is advisable to prune the plant 2 times a year. The first pruning is carried out after the period of flowering and active growth (for most types of fuchsia - at the end of October). First, you need to remove the faded branches located in the axils, which are located above the dormant buds at a distance of about a few centimeters. Then you can remove the flower stalks and seed pods. The second pruning is carried out in winter. Already in January, you can begin to trim off excess shoots, forming the crown of the plant. If you want to form a bonsai from fuchsia, then leave only one shoot or several that can be twisted together and they will act as a tree trunk. You also need to pinch the tops to form a lush bonsai crown (photo).

Reproduction.

Cuttings. The best way to propagate fuchsia for beginning gardeners. It is advisable to propagate the plant by cuttings in the spring, but this is not a prerequisite. Take a young cutting 12-20 cm long. Remove the leaves at the bottom of the shoot and cut the rest by about half. Place the cutting in a container with settled and preferably filtered water. Cover the top of the container with the trimmed plastic bottle or a thick translucent bag. The roots will appear after 4-9 days, after which immediately plant the cuttings in the prepared soil mixture.

Leaves. We cut off a healthy, well-developed leaf with a sharp knife along with a piece of stem and plant it in soft soil about 1 cm deep. Cover the container with a plastic lid and spray the substrate with warm boiled water daily, opening the lid. When small rosettes appear from the base of the stem, you can plant the fuchsia in a separate pot.

Seeds. This method is recommended for experienced flower growers and breeders. To begin with, we prevent the plant from self-pollinating - the anthers of the unblown flower are removed, and the stigma of the pistil introduces pollen from the father's plant. Now you need to carefully put a fabric cover on the flower, tying it with a thread a little lower. When the fruit is ripe, remove it with tweezers, cut it open and take out the seeds. After drying the seeds for several days, we sow them on moist soil in a container. Place the container with the seeds under good lighting. In a few weeks, shoots should appear. And after 1.5-2 months you can dive in and plant them more spaciously. You can plant the sprouts in pots 2-3 months after picking.

♦ ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR BEGINNING FLOWER GROWERS:

Question: What could be the reason for the flowering period of fuchsia to be too short?
Answer: If a houseplant blooms for only 1-2 weeks, then most likely the watering regime is not followed. Several Yet possible reasons: insufficient lighting, too heat or there is not enough feeding.

Question: Why did unsightly spots with a powdery consistency and small droplets in the form of dew appear on fuchsia leaves?
Answer: There is a high level of humidity in the room. First, spray the plant with a solution of foundation with water (proportion - 1:10), ventilate the room more often and try to reduce the humidity level.

Question: Why do fuchsia leaves turn yellow and brown spots appear?
Answer: Most likely, the cause of this problem lies in waterlogging of the soil. Usually yellow stripes and brownish spots appear on the foliage first. small size. During the dormant period, the plant generally needs to be watered rarely, simply not allowing the root ball to dry out.

Question: What should I do if my fuchsia leaves are falling off a lot?
Answer: The most common causes of leaf falling are too dry indoor air or lack of watering during the growing season. Spray the plant regularly and water it on time.

Question: Why did fuchsia suddenly begin to drop all its buds during the flowering period?
Answer: The most obvious reason is a change in location during the growing season. Try not to rearrange or move the pot during the fuchsia flowering period.

♦ COMMON DISEASES AND PESTS: