There are approximately one hundred species of plants of the genus Fuchsia (Fuchsia L.) of the Cyprinidae family. These plants are widespread in Central and South America, can be found in some places on the islands of Tahiti and New Zealand. The plant was named after the German botanist Fuchs.
Beautifully flowering fuchsia is a popular houseplant that is grown as an ampel plant or as a sham tree. Fuchsia is rather unpretentious. It should only be taken into account that it needs a cool wintering and, after flowering, sheds its leaves.
Rules of care of a plant
Lighting. Indoor plants of fuchsia tolerate bright diffuse light, and sun rays in the evening and in the morning. The plant can be placed near the western and eastern windows. If it is located at the windows of the southern exposure, then it is necessary to darken from the bright sun. When placed on the north side, the plant is stretched more intensively and blooms less. It should be taken into account that the flowering fuchsia can not be moved to another place and rotated, in order to avoid the fall of buds and flowers. When placing a fuchsia plant outdoors in the summer, it is necessary to gradually accustom it to new lighting so that there are no sunburn.
Temperature regime. During the period of active growth, the temperature of the plant should be about 18-25 ° C. Fuchsia feels great in the fresh air, but it must be protected from direct rays and a draft. In winter, the place for fuchsia should be light and cool, with an ambient temperature of 5-10 ° C. Fuchsia tolerates wintering and at room temperature, but at the same time it can lose almost all the foliage, and the shoots will stretch out considerably. The plant does not tolerate stagnation of air, but when ventilating the room it is necessary to protect it from drafts.
Watering. During the period from spring to October, abundant watering of the plant is provided with permanent warm water. The earth coma must be constantly moistened. For abundant summer flowering, by the end of the vegetative period, watering is reduced, and from October practically stop. In winter, a rare watering is performed in a cool room, and if the plant is kept in a warm room, then the watering is somewhat increased.
During the vegetation, fuchsia should be sprayed with standing water, and in the hot period, air humidification is performed twice a day. In the autumn, sprayings are reduced, and in the winter, the moistening stops altogether.
Top dressing. During the vegetative period, to activate growth from the beginning of spring to autumn, the plant is fertilized, applying mineral fertilizers once every 15-20 days. In winter, the plant does not need fertilizing.
Flowering and appearance. Since the end of spring, with proper watering and top dressing, these houseplants are gorgeous until late autumn. Fuchsia fruity succulent berries. During the flowering of fuchsia, it is necessary to trim the wilted flowers to cause the formation of new buds. The flowering period can be extended even before winter due to exposure to fuchsia indoors before the beginning of summer, and then the plant is placed on the loggia and in the front garden. During the summer period, repeated circumcision is performed.
If the winter period in the room did not observe the temperature regime, then the plant drops the leaves and stretches. With the advent of spring, intensive cutting of bare stems is performed, in order to further increase the growth of new shoots, giving a greater number of colors. Cropped stems can be used for further propagation as cuttings.
In order to increase the number of flowers and improve the appearance of plants, the plant must be systematically cut or pricked. To improve the growth of shoots in young branches twine the end of the stem, after three pairs of leaves grow. This is done every time when growing on the side shoot three pairs of leaves.
With the onset of spring, before the beginning of vegetation, fuchsia is shortened by roots and planted in a nutritious composition. When transplanting, long shoots are cut off by a third or half. Ampelnye plants are not cut, tk. their decorative beauty lies precisely in the length of the shoots. The soil for planting fuchsia can be taken ready, for example a slightly acidic (pH 5.8-6) flower mixture. It is also possible to use a nutrient mixture consisting of two parts of peat, three parts of deciduous land, and one part of sand or three parts of clayey sod, two parts of greenhouse earth and one part of sand and a little bit of peat. At the bottom of the pot, good drainage should be provided, at least 1/5 of the height of the container for disembarkation.
The newly planted plants are placed in a place with good lighting, abundantly watered and sprayed.
For rapid growth and flowering in summer, fuchsia can be re-transplanted into a nutrient substrate.
Reproduction. Fuchsia is a plant for the propagation of which seeds and cuttings are used.
By cuttings (5-7 cm long), fuchsia is propagated from February to March, in part from August to September. Roots appear on cuttings quickly, for 20-25 days, in water, loose soil or sand at room temperature. Cuttings with overgrown roots are planted in soil consisting of humus, sand, leaf and sod land (all taken in one piece). The pot must be up to 9 cm in diameter. To obtain further lush vegetation, several cuttings with roots are planted in each pot. The newly planted plants begin to bloom in the same year. In summer, in order to increase the splendor of the branches, the tips should be plucked several times. Grades with slow growth cut in August.
Seeds for reproduction are obtained after artificial pollination. With cross artificial pollination of plants with different colors, new hybrids can be obtained and color diversity of pets can be expanded.
Possible difficulties
For fuchsia in the period of vegetation and flowering, it is necessary to constantly ventilate the room.
When wintering plants in a warm room and strong watering, and if in the summer they do not provide fertilizing and little watering, or plants receive little light, the flowering period is greatly reduced.
In winter, fuchsia discards all or part of the foliage. At full loss of foliage, the plant should be kept away from bright light. If buds appear in winter, they should be cut off.
Leaves may fall in case of lack of light, watering or influx of warm dry air.
If there is an overabundance of warm air, abundant or insufficient watering and low illumination, then buds may fall.
Due to the overabundance of moisture in the soil in winter, brown spots with yellow edges may appear on the leaves.
You can not change the location of fuchsia during flowering and bud formation, and also plant the plant in a draft, all this can cause the fall of flowers and buds.
Fuchsia can become infected with a whitefly and a spider mite.