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Water your plants early in the day taking care not to splash water around needlessly.
Treat fuchsias are individuals. Check daily but water only those plants that really need it. Adding more water to already saturated compost, kills. Roots need air to breathe too and the compost should therefore be allowed to nearly dry out between waterings. Take into account that the apparent dryness of the top inch of compost does not always give an accurate guidance, the remaining compost below that could still be adequately moist. So, lift your pots to asses the situation, the weight will tell the tale!
If not already done, re-awaken your still dormant plants by spraying daily with tepid water to soften the stems to encourage new growth. Once plenty of new shoots are apparent, the old framework can be pruned. Complete the repotting if not already done, taking great care not to damage the newly developing white roots While doing this keep a watchful eye out for vine weevil grubs. Once there is sufficient growth on your plants take some cuttings. These early cuttings take readily in a heated propagator. However, don't mollycoddle them, wean off the heat and grow on at a mean temperature to produce stronger, sturdier plants.
The young, soft cuttings and new juicy shoots, are a much favoured tasty snack for pests, so do check your plants over thoroughly and regularly for any signs of aphid attack. Just squash them between finger and thumb or fumigate or spray if necessary!
The sunny days we are blessed with at this time of the year (yes we are that lucky here in Scarborough!) means we have to be alert to ensure that no strong sunshine reaches trays of cuttings or emerging seedlings because they will shrivel up in no time at all. Bright sunshine can also scorch the new growth on recently re-awakened fuchsias. Check daily, several times if possible. Apply temporary light shading with netting, but remember to remove it when overcast and at night. As time goes on and sunshine gets stronger a thin coat of permanent shading can be applied.
If you have taken some early cuttings, or bought some in, pot these on as soon as the roots fill the pots. Potting on a little at a time gives the plantlets a continuous boost of nutrient in the fresh compost and keeps the growth going nicely. Also start your training programme - remembering to always pinch for shape, rather than rigorously going for stopping at one or two pairs of leaves as usually recommended.
Spring can be a tricky time as far as the weather is concerned. The sunshine can be very strong and raise day time temperatures dramatically, especially in a small greenhouse, even to such an extent that damping down the staging can already be necessary as plants are less stressed in a humid atmosphere. However in contrast we also often experience the keenest frosts of the winter around this time. So, having brought out your plants from their winter dormancy keep a good eye on the weather forecast and take protective measures when frosty so you do not loose your plants now. (Aren't I lucky that my son is a weather forecaster who understands damaging spring frosts are and dutifully rings his mum to tip her off!) CD
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