Fuchsia wintering: home care

Fuchsia is one of the most beautiful plants for the home, with flowers of an original shape and color, blooming for a long time all summer. Numerous varieties and hybrids of fuchsia differ in flower size and color, in terms of flowering. Some varieties bloom in early spring, others only in summer and bloom until late autumn. At the end of flowering, fuchsia begins a dormant period, the plant prepares for winter rest. Wintering fuchsia at home has a number of features.

Without a full-fledged winter rest, fuchsia will not be able to bloom in the next season, therefore, careful preparation of the plant for the dormant period is necessary.

For this you need:

• from the beginning of the autumn season gradually reduce the amount of watering;
• stop feeding, this stimulates a decrease in the activity of biological processes in the plant, promotes the discharge of foliage and buds;
• reduce the intensity of lighting, for this, move the flower pot from the window to a table or shelf, where the light falls only when it is reflected from the walls and ceiling;
• late autumn prune shoots 2/3 of the length, remove weak and thickening shoots, faded peduncles and fallen leaves, while not forgetting to disinfect the tool (pruner, garden shears) before pruning;
• carefully examine the plant and treat shoots with approved insecticides or a biological product "Rapsol" so that pests do not attack the weakened plant during wintering;
• the room temperature should not be higher than + 15 ° (insulated balcony, basement, other room), at temperatures above this level, fuchsia will not stop growing, will not prepare for winter rest and will be weakened in spring, which will certainly affect the decorative properties of flowers.

There is no doubt that the beautiful fragrant appearance of flowers directly depends on the care of them. Storage and proper care of fuchsia during the wintering period depends on where the flower is grown. This can be an open ground in the garden or a flowerpot in the room. In our latitudes, fuchsia is traditionally grown as a houseplant, but there are also winter-hardy garden varieties.

In order for fuchsia to successfully recover after winter dormancy, it is necessary to properly organize the wintering of the plant. This can be done in different ways depending on the specific capabilities of the grower.

For the winter, a flower from a bright warm room need to be cleaned in a dark and cool place with a temperature within + 5 ... + 15 °... A basement, a heated garage, a cellar, which have ventilation to exclude high humidity, will do. Good ventilation is essential. In a poorly ventilated room, where humidity will inevitably increase, fungal diseases cannot be avoided.

Illumination for fuchsia during the dormant period is optional, the plants continue to "breathe" the same way as in the light, the flower can easily overwinter in the dark. It is necessary to check the condition of the plants from time to time, remove fallen leaves and dried shoots, 1-2 times a month, moderately water the soil in pots, since fuchsia does not like to winter in dry soil.

Don't worry about falling leaves, that's okay. - all the same, after wintering, most of the shoots are removed, and by spring young fresh twigs grow.

The method of wintering fuchsia in dark, cool rooms is preferred by many flower growers, as it provides plants with a full rest and restoration of energy resources for the new active season, greatly simplifies care in winter and frees up space on the windowsills.

Not all indoor flower lovers have rooms where they can place plants for winter storage during a dormant period. For many, these are ordinary rooms in an apartment. If fuchsia hibernates at home, it must be remembered that special attention should be paid to the flower during this period. Fuchsia is more sensitive to grooming during rest.than during growth and flowering, it does not tolerate both excessively humid and dry air.

It is good if the apartment has an insulated balcony or loggia... Here there is a good opportunity to create an optimal temperature and humidity for the flower without compromising the comfortable living of family members, which cannot be said about wintering on the windowsill.

If there is neither a loggia nor a balcony, then flower growers keep fuchsias on the windowsills. With the correct organization of wintering conditions in accordance with the recommendations of specialists, the flower will successfully overwinter at home.

We will tell you how to do it.

• Floral place the pot almost close to the window glassaway from heating appliances.
• Provide constant ventilation of the room, for this you will have to keep the double-glazed windows always open at the minimum ventilation mode and cover only on days of very cold weather.
• When sprouting shoots appear, do not hesitate to remove them and try to further lower the temperature on the windowsill, for this you will have to periodically open the window a little more.
• Insulate the pot with foamto avoid root rot due to a constantly open window.
• Additionally keep the pots away from warm air from the side of the room with some kind of heat-insulating material, for example, cardboard, plastic wrap.
• In winter, fuchsia needs much less watering than during the growth and flowering period, but it is necessary to properly water the flower, avoiding excessive soil moisture or drying out... The frequency of watering is determined by the condition of the soil. An important condition is that the lower the temperature and less illumination, the less water is needed for irrigation. In the settled water, you can occasionally add potassium permanganate to a weak pink solution.
• On the shortest winter days (December, January), when there is very little natural light, plants should be illuminated with ordinary electric or fluorescent lamps, turn on the light for several hours daily so that the plant does not stretch. It should be remembered that the turned on bulbs heat up, it is imperative to take this point into account when placing the backlight.
• Spray periodically fuchsia with settled water without chlorine.
• Place wide containers of water near the windowso that the air does not dry out during the heating season. Now there are modern devices for humidifying the air in apartments.

In order for fuchsia to successfully enter the active phase in the new season, it must be properly “woken up” at the end of wintering. This should be done gradually, without sharp fluctuations in the conditions of detention. The best time for the awakening of fuchsia is the end of February - the beginning of March.

Let's note the main points of this process.

1. Move the flowerpot to a warm, well-lit place without direct sunlight... In this case, it is necessary to try, if possible, to change the temperature not abruptly, but gradually increase it by small temperature marks.
2. Start progressive watering, gradually increasing its volume. The best time to water is when the sun goes down.
3. Conduct top dressing complex mineral fertilizers or specially developed for fuchsia tukas (sold in garden centers).
4. After storage in a dark room, the plant is already pruned before wintering, only remnants of dry shoots and leaves are removed in spring.
5. If fuchsia wintered in an apartment, thin weak shoots must be cut, incorrectly directed, old branches, and cut off young ones by 1/3.
6. Place a filled water tank next to the flower, so that the plant is evenly saturated with moisture from the inside and outside, so microcracks do not appear on the branches.

After about a month, new buds and flower buds appear on young shoots.

Basic recommendations for organizing the correct wintering of fuchsias:

• the room should be dry, cool and fresh, but not warm and humid in any way - this is detrimental to plants;
• both waterlogged and dry air are unacceptable;
• you cannot leave "sleeping" fuchsias without proper care - they require constant attention;
• constant ventilation and an influx of fresh air is an indispensable condition for a successful wintering;
• unconditional adherence to cultivation techniques and care rules.

When following the recommendations of specialists in the cultivation of fuchsia, the florist will never have to ask the question - why exotic flowers do not appear on the plant? This perennial seasonal plant of the fireweed family, with proper agricultural technology and competent care (taking into account the change of seasons), can live for more than 50 years and from year to year please the owners with long fragrant flowering.

About wintering fuchsia on the windowsill, see below.