TRIPHYLLAS

Over the last few years triphylla type fuchsia's have become much more popular. Whereas at one stage triphylla classes would have been one of the smallest groups in a show, they are now one of the largest. This upsurge in interest is due to growers like Paul Heavens and Mike Oxtoby who found better ways of producing such fine specimen show plants, and to hybridisers like Carl Bonstedt, Herman de Graaff and our own Eddy Goulding.

Triphylla cultural techniques are very similar to those of non triphyllas with a few exceptions and are as a consequence fairly easy to grow, but to make a specimen show plant there are a few items to note.

Two big advantages of triphyllas are that they are much more tolerant of direct sunlight, and many will be quite happy to spend time in full sun with little or no protection; and they are also much less susceptible to that dreadful disease RUST. This is a great boon to all of us who like to use these wonderful plants in tubs and bedding schemes

Unfortunately triphyllas are not as hardy as other fuchsias and need winter protection to get them through to the spring. A temperate of 40deg will be needed at all times. They are also more susceptible to white fly, so as they say you win some and you lose some.

Until fairly recently BFS rules stated that to show triphyllas in a show they had to be of terminal flowering only (Thalia, Insulinde, Coralle, Gartenmeister Bonstedt etc), but now that rule has been relaxed to allow any triphylla with typical triphylla flowers to be exhibited. This has opened the door to lots of other plants and I am sure we shall see much more variety on the show bench from now on. There are also now classes for triphyllas in smaller pots so there really is much more scope for experimenting with plants.

Suggestions for growing Triphyllas

Cuttings: Take cuttings larger than normal, i.e. growing tip + 3 sets of leaves. Carefully cut off the lower two sets of leaves taking care not to damage the embryo shoots in their axils and plant up to the top pair of remaining leaves.
Take cuttings in early/mid spring when plants are really starting to grow and the days are getting longer. Aim to grow your plants over 2 seasons using the fist season only to shape the plant.
Allow cutting to grow three sets of leaves before stopping and then stop at every 2 pairs of leaves.
In earlier stages of development I stand my plants on saucers and water only from the bottom. More plants are lost early on because of over watering from the top. Allow plants to take up what water they need for 10 mins and then discard the rest.
When potting on place plants as low as possible in the new pot and add the new compost to the top. We are aiming to encourage the plant to send up as many shoots as possible from below soil level. Instead of a fuchsia grow on a single stem we are aiming for multiple stems. Triphyllas are rarely free branching and can be prone to a yellowing and dropping of the leaves, so we employ drop potting to try and make the plants lower and bushier.
On occasions it is necessary to get the plant even lower in the pot and then we resort to the bread knife. Lay the plant on its side and cut cleanly across the base and remove about a quarter of the root ball. This 'root pruning' sounds drastic but it really stimulates the plant into making fresh new roots.
Plants should be cut back to about 3 or 4 inches at the beginning of September, laid on their sides in a shady spot and allowed to come back into growth as soon as possible. Using a fine rose water the old wood to keep it soft and encourage new growth. Once the plant has an even covering of new growth stand them upright again. Plants need to be kept in good light throughout the winter and a temperature of 40 - 42 min must be maintained. Lightly water and feed occasionally with a high nitrogen feed.
Triphyllas take longer to come into flower than most non triphyllas and need about 14 weeks from the last stop, so if you are growing for shows this means about April. This is why we need to get the plants back into growth so quick as we need to get at least 1 stop in before Christmas.

There are many triphylla types on the market now so if you have never really grown them have a go. You will be pleasantly surprised. They are easy to grow and will reward you with flowers all summer long.