A Fuchsia Question
the American Fuchsia Society
Sat, 15 July 2000
Web Master, Al Sydnor received the following inquiry and transferred the question to an AFS member in New York City. The problem is a common one, and Theo’s answer to it might be helpful to many others.
You helped me once before, Al, so I am hoping you can help again. I live on Long Island and I have three hanging fuchsias in a basically shady area that gets a fair amount of morning sun. The rest of the day the plants get bright light. I feed them Miracle Gro every week and they get watered every other day if not every day. Every day when I it is particularly hot. I also deadhead them and remove the berries regularly.
Here's the problem: They went from spectacular performance to half dead. About half the branches just seemed to die back after wilting somewhat. I see no visible cause…insects, etc. I cut out all the dead stuff and left branches that seemed to have some life in them. The good news is that those branches are putting out new growth and all the healthy branches have new flower buds on them. Shall I just stick to my cultivation regiment and let Mother Nature do her thing?
Thanks for any light you might be able to shed on the problem.
Joe Darrigo
<MiddleCoun@aol.com>
Joe
,
Al Sydnor forwarded your questions to me since I am the American Fuchsia Society member closest to you and your conditions
.
You seem to be treating your fuchsias OK and they seem to be well situated so I am not sure where the problem might be exactly. I suspect it has something to do with root damage, though. I have a few questions for you.
How strong is the fertilizer mix you are giving your plants? Chemical feeds like Miracle-Gro can burn roots if the mix is too strong. Fuchsias are heavy feeders but they like their meals frequently but weak
.
I know it is hard to inspect the soil itself in these baskets, but have you noticed any insects or grubs in there? Grubs will eat roots, eventually causing tops to collapse
.
One thing I have noted with these spectacular commercial baskets is that they suffer somewhat when it gets hot. Again, it is probably connected to a root problem. I suspect that it is the way they are raised with chemicals and hormones to speed growth. In a small plastic basket, the top can out-pace the capacity of the roots to support all that lush growth and the plant half collapses in the heat to adjust itself. How big is the basket vs. top growth?
What is the soil like? Does it stay water logged? Plastic pots often retain too much moisture causing roots to rot. Fuchsias like to stay evenly moist but not wet so a loose, free-draining medium is essential. Are the drainage holes perhaps clogged? Does the pot look like it is the type that has a "reservoir" inside its base? Perhaps, that stays too full when you water causing the soil to stay too wet. I find that I often need to tilt such a pot a little to remove excess water that collects there.
Or does the medium dry out rapidly? That can stress a plant, too. And too much sun on the sides of the plastic (even in the morning) could cause the root ball to heat up and cook the tender white roots, especially those along the inside of the pot.
One other thing, do you mist the leaves frequently? Fuchsias appreciate the cooling effect especially when it is hot and dry.
Theo Margelony
published by the American Fuchsia Society