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Is it "springy" enough now to cut my giant fuchsia back?

ManderMander Posts: 349
I've got a fuchsia that became enormous last year and I'd like to cut it back a little. Googling suggests that I wait until spring to do so but I've woken up with the urge to tidy up the garden. Is it spring enough yet to cut it back?

Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    Where I live I would be looking to cut back in early April if necessary back to a few inches.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    Maybe I'd better leave it for a few more weeks then. It's probably colder up here than Nottinghamshire!
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I cut mine down as soon as I see new shoots,  right down to the bottom set of leaf buds.
    already done here. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • owd potterowd potter Posts: 979
    same as Lyn 
    Did mine about 3 weeks ago (Staffordshire)
    Just another day at the plant...
  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    No signs of life on mine yet so perhaps I'd better give it more time. 
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    Yes that is a good idea .Because it is an old plant you may have some areas of dieback.
    When you have pruned it give it some feed.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I prune the hardy fuchsias when I can see where the new growth is coming from, anything from right back to the ground to just trimming off the dead tips of the branches depending on how much space I want it to fill. I did most of them last weekend.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I've just done mine. It was leafing up. Gave it a pretty hard prune. If some of it dies off, I can live with that.😊
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    A new thread on global warming has just been posted .
    I think hardy fuchsia pruning is a good example of a garden job that is done earlier now than it use to be. March pruning years ago risked damaging newly emerging shoots.

    I have never grown hardy fuchsia but I have cut back for others so there is always a necessity to be cautious. We are facing a situation where we need to garden by instinct rather than what a book suggests. A gardening forum is a good place to see what others are doing right now and then make a decision. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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