Fuchsia plant: cultivation, care and exposure

There fuchsia is a perennial outdoor plant of American export, it has about 100 variants of the flower, as it takes on shape and color according to the place where it is grown. This plant has a shrub in the shape of several saplings, with deciduous leaves, from which splendid pendulous flowers (like the shape of a goblet) are born, composed of a corolla of overlapping petals and inside the long colorful stamens. The most famous variety has the colors of the same name: fuchsia, otherwise we also have colors such as purple, orange, pink or cream, always based on the place of plantation.

The name “fuchsia” comes from a dedication to the German botanist Leonhart Fuchspraised by a French troubadour and priest Charles Plumiersent by the Sun King (Louis XIV) on a mission to America. While sailing to the other continent, it was discovered that, in addition to the beauty of this plant, it was used by Maori women as a coloring make-up for the face. In the language of flowers, Fuchsia has a meaning of elegance and refinement, the pendants of the flowers give grace and delicacy. The original name is Fuchsiaand belongs to the family of onagraceae. As already mentioned there are many species, many in America, New Zealand and even along the Caribbean islands.

Fuchsia variety

Fuchsia is used to one high humidityIts ideal habitat is in rainforests. It prefers to grow on river slopes, along forest edges, but this does not mean that it also adapts to hotter places and drier soils. The crops are mostly on the terrace, balcony and in pots rather than exposed in unsheltered land. The beauty of the fuchsia plant must be cultivated with dedication, given the fragility of the splendid flower. In winter it is advisable to shelter the plants indoors, in summer it can be exposed to mild temperatures, but not with direct rays on the flowers. There are different types of fuchsia that bear the name of the soil or habitat to which they belong:

• Fuchsia procumbens, typical of New Zealand, with the particularity of growth in suspension, unlike the others, fuchsia procumbens is born suspended in a cascade. Present in many cultivations in Italy, given the shrubby and hanging beauty;
• Fuchsia triphyllatypical of Haiti in the Caribbean Sea, the smallest of the fuchsias, suitable for cultivation in pots, more delicate and produces small orange flowers;
• Fuchsia exorticatatypical of New Zealand and different from the others because it has warmer flower colors, such as orange, yellow or even lime green;
• Fuchsia corymbifloratypical of Peru with colored stems and which produces longer than normal flowers (generally measuring 7-8 cm, in the corymbiflora variant they can exceed 10 centimeters);
• Fuchsia fulgenstypical of Mexico and is the best known because it has the homonymous color of the flowers, the many varieties and hybrids of Fuchsia existing today derive from the fulgens type;
• Fuchsia magellanicatypical of South America, more rustic shrub with flowering that goes from July to October, flower colors ranging from purple to violet;
• Fuchsia cordifoliatypical of Mexico, grows with many bushes that give life to white flowers with a red corolla, it blooms like all the others mostly in summer.

Cultivation, flowering and useful advice

Fuchsia it blooms more in the warm months, from June to the beginning of October, but easily adapts to the environment where it is grown. Depending on the species it belongs to, we will have cluster flowers, single flowers and different flower colors. Cultivation can take place in pots or even outdoors, it was born as a tropical plant and is therefore suitable for humid climates. It is often born spontaneously even in the woods, near rivers and lakes, the leaves protect and filter the sun’s rays making the splendid flowers grow. For potted crops, we recommend pots of 20 cm in diameter onwards, given the need for width and drainage. Fuchsia must be fertilized with a lot of potassium to favor flowering, the liquid or granular fertilizer is excellent. It adapts in nature with cultivations in soils soaked in leaves, natural compost, organic materials and rustic soils. The plant has a particularity to beautify terraces and balconies, you can put it in small landscaping pots. Being a plant semi-climbingyou can work the growth of the branches to create beautiful floral compositions on grates and walls: be careful, however fragility of branches and flowersavoid places with strong wind exposure.

Pruning and watering

Fuchsia is a very manageable plant as it does not suffer from extreme overshooting. As soil you have to use a mixed loam of peat, sand and garden earth, avoiding calcareous compounds: it is good for humid environments, but does not require stagnation; constant irrigation and well-drained soils are fine. Appreciate a calcium-rich, well-drained compost and a good watering during the summer promotes the growth of beautiful flowers. A good one is recommended fertilization every 15 daysalways in the period between May and September. The fuchsia can be multiplied by cuttings and by sowing, the first in the months of March, the second better in the summer. Such a plant it does not require large prunings, it will be enough to pay attention to how you want to grow it, if in a climbing way or that tends upwards for compositions with pyramidal bushes or with the desired shapes. Well disinfected shears can be used and remember that fuchsia produces flowers on the new wood of the shrubs, therefore pruning must only concern the old wood.

Care and exposure

Fuchsia has many characteristics and peculiarities, including a love of morning light, therefore we recommend exposure to well-lit windows (especially between the early hours of the morning and noon). In summer it can be left on the terrace, in winter it will be necessary to protect it in a greenhouse or shelter. The temperatures appreciated by the fuchsia must oscillate between 25 and 30 °C. It is a luxuriant plant and undoubtedly shrubby, but it is also very delicate and fragile, therefore it requires a lot of care. In addition to constant irrigation and normal pruning, we need to defend our plant from possible attacks by aphids. It is also an excellent target for red spider mites, therefore it is necessary to take precautions with biological insecticides and pesticides, which do not damage the plantation, but which keep away and neutralize the infesting animal. Red spider mites love humid environments and balcony plants, they are similar to mites and sometimes their invasion could be lethal for fuchsias. Like other plants, the fuchsia flower is also appreciated in herbal medicine; in addition to tinctures for cosmetics, the extract can be used to appease states of anxiety or for additions to rose water-based perfumes.