Propagating fuchsias: cuttings, sowing & Co.

Fuchsias are popular summer bloomers. We show how you can easily propagate your beloved fuchsias for the next season.

Fuchsias (Fuchsia) enchant their viewers with their filigree flowers and quickly arouse the desire for more. Fortunately, there are many ways to increase the number of exotic permanent bloomers in the garden or in your room. Regardless of whether by sowing, cuttings, runners or dividing, we will show you how to successfully propagate your fuchsias.

Many roads lead to Rome. It is the same with the propagation of fuchsias. Because the exotic flowering plants can be wonderfully propagated not just one, but four methods. No matter how you want to propagate your fuchsias - with a few of our tips, propagation is guaranteed to work for the next gardening season.

Propagate fuchsias by sowing

The sowing of fuchsias is possible, but requires a little dexterity. Because the germination capacity of the seeds is very limited in time. In addition, young seedlings in particular are prone to fungal infections. It is therefore important to maintain a clean environment and to provide the seedlings with the right amount of water.

Harvest or buy fuchsia seeds?

Whether the seeds are bought for propagation or harvested depends on what you expect from the seedlings. If you don't have any fuchsias yet or if you want to grow a certain variety, buying new seeds is usually unavoidable. However, if you buy seeds, you can expect that very few of the seeds will actually germinate. If you want to save some money, improve the ability to germinate and be surprised at the end of the sowing, you can easily harvest fuchsia seeds yourself. The faded inflorescences of your fuchsia are simply not cleaned out for this. After flowering, seed fruits develop from the flowers. In them are the much sought-after seeds. The appearance of the seeds can vary greatly depending on the type and variety. There are fuchsias with greenish to almost black, with elongated, round, small or almost plum-sized seeds. However, this makes no difference when it comes to harvesting:

• Only fully ripe (juicy, soft, swollen) seed fruits are harvested
• Cut open the seed fruit with a sharp knife
• Carefully remove the seeds from the fruit with a toothpick or similar
• Completely remove the rest of the pulp from the seeds
• Dry the seeds on paper towels or other absorbent paper

Alternatively, the whole fruit can be crushed and the seeds rinsed with water and dried. After that, the seeds should be sown directly.

Note: Germable seeds can be distinguished from non-germinable seeds by placing the seeds in water. The "good" seeds sink, the "bad" ones swim up and can be removed.

Sowing fuchsias: when and how?

It is advisable to sow the seeds immediately after harvest, as fuchsia seeds lose their ability to germinate very quickly. Sowing fuchsias proceeds as follows:

• Clean seed tray with high quality potting soil like our peat-free Plantura organic herb & seed compost to fill
• Water the potting soil from below until the soil is well soaked
• Sow seeds
• Spread a thin layer of soil over the seeds (dark germs)
• Moisten the soil with a water sprayer
• Cover the seed tray with a foil hood or something similar
• Temperature: 12 - 16 ° C
• After germination (3 - 4 weeks), remove the foil cover once a day for ventilation and acclimatization
• Prick out into small pots from the second pair of leaves
• Cover the potty with a foil hood

After about 3 weeks, enough roots will have formed for repotting into a larger pot. The seedlings need it to be nice and warm (around 20 ° C) and light in order to grow big and strong. However, avoid direct sunlight. The young plants also come under a nice, warm foil cover, which is removed once a day to get the plants used to the outside temperatures. The period of time without the foil hood is increased every day until the hood can finally be removed completely.

Note: Young seedlings are prone to fungal diseases. Therefore, from time to time you can spray the seedlings with a fungicide to prevent infection. Another precautionary measure is to sterilize the seed tray and potting soil used for about two hours at 200 ° C in the oven.

Propagate fuchsias by cuttings

Propagating your fuchsias using head cuttings has two advantages over sowing: On the one hand, the chances of success are greater and the whole thing is methodologically simpler. On the other hand, you can guarantee that you can reproduce your fuchsias correctly, because the cuttings always carry the same genetic information as the mother plant.

When to cut fuchsia cuttings

Cuttings are cut when the fuchsia has to go under the knife anyway. Use the cut in spring or autumn to cut cuttings for propagation. If the cuttings are cut in spring, however, they will take root more quickly.

How to cut fuchsia cuttings?

First a suitable shoot is selected. The cuttings are obtained from healthy shoots that are not yet lignified - but the selected shoots shouldn't be too young and soft either. In addition, at least two pairs of leaves should already have been formed. Once a suitable shoot has been found, it is time to cut the cuttings:

• Use a clean, sharp knife
• Cut off the shoot below the last pair of leaves
• Fill the growing pot with growing soil
• Remove the lower leaves; the two upper pairs of leaves are left to stand
• Put the cutting halfway in the potting soil
• Put the foil hood or plastic bag over the pot
• Location: bright and warm (approx. 20 ° C)
• Keep soil light but always moist

The small nursery pots should always have a water drain so that the cuttings are not too damp. The foil hood ensures sufficient humidity. It takes about two to three weeks for enough roots to form for a slightly larger pot. It can now also be repotted in pots with normal potting soil. If the pot has become too small, it is moved back into a larger one. The propagation of the cuttings was successful as soon as new pairs of leaves develop on the cuttings. The cuttings can be planted from mid-May. Shorten the shoots a little beforehand, this promotes a nicely branched growth.

Propagate fuchsias: lowering or dividing

Another method of propagating fuchsias is that of the sinker. However, this only works with planted fuchsias or potted fuchsias that are directly on the ground. For this purpose, a shoot is carefully bent down to the ground without it breaking. Fix the shoot so that one eye touches the ground. With a little luck, new roots will sprout from this eye. If these are large enough, the shoot is cut off from the mother plant. Then the sinker can move into its own pot and is cared for like young plants that have emerged from seeds or cuttings. A final method is to divide large plants. When multiplying fuchsias by division, do the following:

• Fuchsia is being dug up
• Remove soil from the root ball and remove diseased, injured and dead roots
• Carefully divide the root ball vertically into two parts with a spade
• Plant fuchsias in the desired location or in new pots

Fuchsias tend to develop considerable roots, which can become a hindrance when dividing. Because the roots should not be damaged if possible, so that the further growth of the plant is not too much impaired.

Fuchsias: care after propagation

If the reproduction has worked, you can proudly call yourself master or mistress of a whole arsenal of young fuchsias. But even if the propagation in itself is a great achievement, there is still a lot to do afterwards so that the small plants grow into blooming fuchsias. So that your fuchsias also show their colorful flower dress, you will find everything here Fuchsia care after propagation.