Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[littleminnie]

Bought a fuchsia bush last year, a tallish one about 2 foot. It's a perennial.
According to the label you are supposed to cut it back late Autumn.
I didn't  .      It isn't showing any signs of life.  Question is, do I cut it back now or leave it?

[Dorothy]

I never cut mine back in the autumn because it's cold here & the stems give more protection against the frost.  It's fine to cut them back in the spring.  If you want to check if it's still alive or not, try scraping a bit of bark away (just a tiny bit) and seeing if it is green underneath. 

[Kate50]

I never cut back a perennial till new shoots are showing

[Joyce]

I've cut mine back Autumn or Spring & it still comes back to life. Mine is still not showing much sign of growth yet, but it will soon, I hope! 

[littleminnie]

Ok thank you. There's hope for it yet. 

[Hurdity]

Depends where you live and if you want it to grow into a bush.

I live in SW England so it's very mild. We have the common fuschia in the hedge in the front garden and I just cut it back like any other hedge ie not to the ground. I also have various fuschias in my pots against the cottage wall and they normally survive from one year to the next. I cut them back a bit just to tidy them up but they usually sprout again. Sometimes they are quite late in sprouting and it depends where you kept it and how many frosts it had to endure!

Hurdity x

[bramble]

Have you kept it outside or inside?
B

[CLKD]

Oh there are so many  !  Those hardy ones that remain outdoors will take a while to get going, those indoor varieties should be showing signs of new growth from the root ball or along the dead-looking stems.

Give it a light feed and a water, stand back and watch.

[Joyce]

Must check mine when it's dry to see what's happening.  Got an azalea which needs some TLC as rabbits are chomping on one of them. Rabbits aren't meant to like them, that's why I planted it. Grrr.

[littleminnie]

It's outside Bramble. It doesn't need watering thanks to the rain, but I will feed it. It's in a pot.
We must have the right soil for Azaleas because they seem to thrive.

[CLKD]

Because they like acid soil as do rhododendrons and camellias.

[Taz2]

Has it been out all winter littleminnie?

Taz x

[Dorothy]

Must check mine when it's dry to see what's happening.  Got an azalea which needs some TLC as rabbits are chomping on one of them. Rabbits aren't meant to like them, that's why I planted it. Grrr.

There is only one problem with those nice lists of 'plants that are not attractive to rabbits'.

Rabbits can't read.

Lost track of the number of plants from these lists that have been treated as a four-course banquet by the local bunnies 

[littleminnie]

Taz - yes it's been out all winter. It looks very dead.

[Hurdity]

As I said earlier - it depends how many frosts it had to endure as to whether it's OK or not and whether it was a hardy variety. To be called perennial as an outdoor plant it should be but even so some plants as I'm sure you know even if usually hardy - succumb to prolonged or severe frosts. As I also said - just because it looks very dead now doesn't necessarily mean it is - and depending on the variety because some are often late in sprouting!

So - did you protect it from frost and was it a hardy type?

Hurdity x