Fuchsia strains are not hardy in our latitudes. What to do? Throwing it away and buying a new fuchsia next year would be a waste of money. The better option is wintering indoors. Simple modifications in care and a pruning set the course. The right winter quarters can be found quickly. This is how you overwinter a fuchsia trunk in an exemplary manner.

Noble and beautiful, but unfortunately not hardy: the fuchsia trunk

Set maintenance to winter mode

The best conditions for overwintering Fuchsia are reduced growth and a root ball that is moist to the core, beyond the risk of waterlogging. Two important changes in care prepare your fuchsia stem for the coming winter as early as late summer:

  • Do not fertilize fuchsias in tubs from the beginning of September
  • Water more sparingly from mid-October

With nutrient reserves to the max and wet feet, a fuchsia trunk should not move into the winter quarters.

Cut fuchsia stems before putting away

A pruning before putting away is the best way to prevent diseases and pests. The airier the crown, the better the ornamental tree masters the tricky winter time. Fungal infections, spider mites and aphids find fewer targets when branching and foliage are reduced to the absolute minimum. A cut in three stages has proven to be effective:

  • Thin out: Cut off dried, dead, broken branches at the base
  • clean up: remove withered flowers, dried and diseased leaves
  • To cut: Cut back all shoots by a third or half

If you are planning a bright hibernation, the pruning care is over. If you have planned a dark winter location for your fuchsias, the shoots will be completely defoliated.

Overwinter fuchsia stems dark/frost-free or light/temperate

Fuchsias show good-natured flexibility when choosing suitable rooms for wintering. The deciduous ornamental trees tolerate both dark and light conditions alike. The only requirement is that the temperatures match the lighting conditions. The following options are available:

Overwinter fuchsia stems in a dark and frost-free place

Darkness does not bother a fuchsia if it is cool and frost-free in the room. A windowless room with temperatures between 3° and 5° Celsius is home to fuchsia stems and other deciduous flowers during the cold season. A basement, garage or pantry is just as suitable as a shady attic.

Overwinter fuchsia stems in a bright and temperate place

Is a bright winter garden, a greenhouse flooded with light or a glazed terrace available for fuchsias? Then the thermometer can climb up to 10° Celsius. Shading is obligatory, because direct sunlight torpedoes efforts to ensure safe hibernation.

Regular airing and watering when it is dry are a horticultural obligatory program in every winter quarters, regardless of the light and temperature conditions.

tips

From the end of February there is a lot of activity in the winter quarters of fuchsia trunks. A second topiary trims the annual shoots to two pairs of leaves so that the crown sprout compactly. Then repot the balcony plants in fresh substrate. In connection with the move to a bright location with 15° to 16° Celsius, the fuchsia strain is perfectly prepared for a flowering season.

Category:

Indoor plants