Multiply 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 the viewer with their filigree flowers and quickly awaken the desire for more. Fortunately, there are many ways to increase the number of exotic perpetual bloomers in the garden or in the room to the desired level. Whether by sowing, cuttings, runners or parts, 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 only with one, but with four methods. No matter how you want to propagate your fuchsias - with a few of our tips, propagation for the next garden season is guaranteed to work.

Propagating fuchsias by seed

Sowing fuchsias is possible, but requires a little finesse. Because the germination capacity of the seeds is very limited in time. In addition, especially young seedlings tend to fungal infections. It is therefore important to ensure a clean environment and 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, it is usually necessary to buy new seeds. However, if you buy seeds, you can expect that very few of the seeds will actually germinate. If you want to save some money, have better germination and be surprised at the outcome of the sowing, you can easily harvest fuchsia seeds yourself. The faded inflorescences of your fuchsia are simply not cleaned up. After flowering, seed fruits develop from the flowers. They contain the much sought-after seeds. The appearance of the seeds can vary greatly depending on the species and variety. There are fuchsias with greenish to almost black seeds, with oblong, round, small or almost plum-sized seeds. When harvesting, however, this makes no difference:

• Only fully mature (juicy, soft, swollen) seed fruits are harvested
• Cut open the seeds with a sharp knife
• Carefully remove the seeds from the fruit with a toothpick or something similar
• Completely remove the remaining pulp from the seeds
• Dry 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.

Notice: Viable seeds can be distinguished from non-viable ones by placing the seeds in water. The "good" seeds sink to the bottom, the "bad" ones float to the top and can be removed.

Sow fuchsias: when and how?

It is advisable to sow the seeds immediately after harvesting, as fuchsia seeds lose their ability to germinate very quickly. The sowing of fuchsias proceeds as follows:

• Clean sowing tray with high-quality potting soil such as our peat-free Plantura Organic Herb & Seed Soil to fill
• Water the potting soil from below until the soil is well saturated
• sow seeds
• Spread a thin layer of soil over the seed (dark germ)
• Moisten the soil with a water spray
• Cover the seed tray with a foil hood or something similar
• Temperature: 12-16ºC
• From germination (3 - 4 weeks) remove the foil hood once a day for ventilation and acclimatization
• Transplant into small pots from the second pair of leaves
• Cover pot with foil hood

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

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

Propagate fuchsias by cuttings

Propagating your fuchsias using cuttings offers two advantages compared to sowing seeds: on the one hand, the chances of success are greater and the whole thing is methodologically simpler. On the other hand, you are guaranteed to be able to propagate your fuchsias true to the variety, because the cuttings always carry the same genetic information as the mother plant.

When to cut fuchsia cuttings?

Cuttings are then cut when the fuchsia has to go under the knife anyway. Therefore, use the cut in spring or autumn to cut cuttings for propagation. However, if the cuttings are cut in the spring, they will root faster.

How to cut fuchsia cuttings?

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

• Use a clean and sharp knife
• Cut off the shoot below the last pair of leaves
• Fill the growing pot with growing soil
• Remove the lower leaves, leaving the top two pairs of leaves
• Stick the cutting halfway into the potting soil
• Put a foil hood or plastic bag over the pot
• Location: Bright and warm (approx. 20°C)
• Keep soil light but always moist

The small growing pots should always have a water drain so that the cuttings are not too damp. The film 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 cuttings was successful as soon as new pairs of leaves developed on the cuttings. The cuttings can be planted out from mid-May. Shorten the shoots a little beforehand, this promotes a nicely branched growth.

Propagating fuchsias: lowering or dividing

Another way to propagate fuchsias is to use sinkers. However, this only works with fuchsias that have been planted out or potted fuchsias that are standing directly on the ground. For this purpose, a shoot is carefully bent down to the ground without breaking it. Fix the shoot so that one eye touches the ground. With a bit of luck, new roots will sprout from this eye. If these are large enough, the shoot is cut off from the mother plant. After that, 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 dividing large plants. When propagating fuchsias by division, proceed as follows:

• Fuchsia is dug up
• Remove soil from root balls 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 a considerable root system that 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 impaired too much.

Fuchsias: care after propagation

If the propagation 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 floriferous fuchsias. Here you will find everything you need to ensure that your fuchsias show off their colorful blossoms Fuchsia care after propagation.