FUCHSIAS IN BASKETS & HANGING POTS

What better way can they be of looking at fuchsia's? A basket or hanging pot dripping with flowers has to be a sight to behold. The modern trend in gardening these days seem to be patio or container gardening, with wall baskets and pots hanging from every possible place. People want maximum impact from their gardens and what can fulfil this better than a trailing fuchsia? They are easy to grow, are readily available and will flower non stop throughout the summer. Another advantage of hanging containers is that they can be moved easily from site to site, for a change of colour maybe.

'Sylvia Barker' in a 14" basket If you have some form of protection you can start your baskets or hanging pots off early in the year. This will give you a head start and will produce a magnificent display for the summer. For maximum impact , and certainly if you intend to show, you should only plant up with 1 variety in each container.

I start by growing an 8" solid hanging pot the first year, potting this on to a 12 " wire basket the second year and then into a 16" wire basket the third year. The basket at the end of the third year is fairly big and an absolute mass of flowers.

I start by growing my cuttings on (either bought from a nursery or produced myself) as I would for all my plants up to pot size 2½". About the middle of March I place them into an 8" hanging pot, usually 4 plants, 3 around the outside and one in the middle. Space them out so that there is one plant between each pot hanger and not directly behind them. Place the strongest or bushiest plant in the middle. The alternative is to grow your cuttings on into 3½" pots and then place 3 into your hanging pot. The only thing I would say with this method is that all 3 plants must be of the same vigor and the same size. If not the pot tends to have a better side to it later in the year rather than be even all-round. Most of the commercially available hanging pots have saucers attached to them. I remove them to allow excess water to drain away. It is very easy to over water a hanging container. If you lose one plant you have ruined the whole overall effect and whilst this may not matter so much in your garden, it does for showing purposes.

Compost is the same as I use for all my fuchsia's (see last page). When the pot is planted up lightly water each plant in and then hang it up in my greenhouse as close to the apex as possible (this is the warmest and brightest place). I am then very careful how I water them. I have found that the best way is to use a lemonade bottle with one of the watering cap adaptors fitted on. This allows me to water each individual plant very precisely in the pot at least for a few weeks until they have got themselves really established. Continue to stop your plants as you would normally, except that we stop more for shape in a hanging container. To ensure that you have flowers from the very top of the container down we need to build up the center much more. You do this by stopping the center of the plant much harder than the sides. This makes it much more dense in the middle and prevents the container from opening up and leaving an empty space. I stop the center of the container at every pair of leaves, further down the sides I stop at every 2 pairs and the very ends at every 3 pairs. This also gives the pendulous effect and covers the container when viewed at eye level. I always find that a good thin sharp pair of scissors is invaluable for this as it enables you to get right into the plant, without damaging any of the outermost growth.

At the end of the first year and flowering is over (September) I cut back my plants. I use a sharp pair of secaters and cut to an inverted basket shape. Cut the outer branches back to almost level with the pot and then work upwards to the top aiming for that nice dome shape. Remove all leaves and then place pot on its side in the shade and allow to come straight back into growth. Continue to grow through the winter in the same pot. Early February take the plant out and tease off some of the old compost. Place then into a 12" wire basket and grow on again as per the first year. For lining the basket I use the bag that my compost comes in, and turned inside out so that the black polythene is the outside of the basket. I purchased a commercial lining made of fibre and use that as a template, its certainly easier. The commercially available linings are also good and I have nothing against the fibrous ones but they cost money and the compost bags are free. I make drainage holes in the plastic lining but only around the sides and not at the bottom. One of the problems with baskets in the summer are drying out quickly, don't forget you have a lot of plant in a relatively small amount of compost. They will need watering much more frequently than other plants, and I often have to water 3 or 4 times a day. I have tried 'swell gel' but it was not very successful for me as it just pushed out the compost when it got wet and swelled, perhaps it was me, but I will stick to more conventional ways. If a basket really dries out just dunk the entire thing into a large container of water until all the air bubbles have escaped.

There are some magnificent cultivars available for hanging containers from the really floriferous singles like Waveney Gem or Janice Ann to the really large and flowery doubles like Devonshire Dumpling or Swingtime. Personally I think that a basket of big doubles is a real eye catcher, although they may not be as floriferous as some of the singles they more than make up for it in the sheer spectacle and beauty. You will find that you are drawn back to them time after time and will give you many hours of delight.