Morning Light: The Fetchland Gardening Wire

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rf_fozzy Jun 2023 10:18pm, 7 Jun 2023 20,195 posts	0 rf_fozzy Fuschias all survived, but I've lost a yellow/orange azelea that was quite expensive and loads of geraniums
Eynsham Red Jun 2023 8:14am, 8 Jun 2023 9,720 posts	0 Eynsham Red Our fuchsias are doing well.
Fragile Do Not Bend Jun 2023 9:05am, 8 Jun 2023 11,226 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend Most of the stems of mine died off but they are growing new ones from the base. First time that’s happened since we moved here.
rf_fozzy Jun 2023 11:19am, 8 Jun 2023 20,199 posts	0 rf_fozzy Apparently (according to my mother), Monty Don, recommends cutting them down a sizeable chunk at the end of the year to stimulate growth from the base...
Fragile Do Not Bend Jun 2023 12:02pm, 8 Jun 2023 11,227 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend I prune them at the end of the year and usually new growth comes both from the base and the old pruned stems, but only from the base this year. Not a problem, it was just unusual.
Eynsham Red Jun 2023 12:26pm, 8 Jun 2023 9,721 posts	0 Eynsham Red We tend to leave the old stems until the new growth has started and then cut them back. Somewhere in the dim and distant past we were told that the old stems help provide a degree of frost protection to the base of the plant.
Ocelot Spleens Jun 2023 1:21pm, 8 Jun 2023 37,417 posts	0 Ocelot Spleens My Fuscia is still there, my cuttings failed. I have tried both, cutting back before frosts and leaving, they both work. If you dig up a Hardy Fuscia it will have a massive tap route, so perhaps a pit won't work so well. My onions are looking great with all this sun and my first Courgettes got eaten last night!
Columba Jun 2023 7:10pm, 10 Jun 2023 22,223 posts	0 Columba My fuchsia has survived, with new growth from the base. The old stems died; they always have, and I didn't know they might not. Though I should have remembered that in mild parts of the country you can see whole fuchsia hedges that presumably don't die back in the winter.
Cerrertonia Jun 2023 8:24pm, 10 Jun 2023 19,048 posts	0 Cerrertonia Yes, the isle of man has Fuchsia magellanica growing wild everywhere - no frosts presumably.
jacdaw Jun 2023 10:39pm, 10 Jun 2023 3,927 posts	0 jacdaw F. magellanica is considered an invasive alien in Ireland, and I think, western Scotland. (And in lots of other parts of the world).