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Is my Fuchsia dead?

cammy0102cammy0102 Posts: 49
in Problem solving
Hi ladies and gents, I'm after some advice. This Fuchsia was looking healthy last year but the winter frosts might have killed it. I took skin off some of the branches and they were all brown even on stems close to the groundl. However when I made a cut of on one of branches I could see it was green in the middle (with a brown bit right in the middle). Is the plant dead? Thanks.
See the pictures below:

Posts

  • robairdmacraignilrobairdmacraignil Posts: 782
    Fuchsia can re-sprout from the base even if the top part is completely killed off. The hardy variety I have is only starting to get fresh growth now so I'd be inclined to just leave your one for another few weeks before deciding what to do with it. Some varieties are more tender than others.
    Happy gardening!
    https://www.youtube.com/user/sustainableveg/videos
  • cammy0102cammy0102 Posts: 49
    edited March 2023
    Thanks robairdmacraignil. If all the branches are dead all the way to the base and if new growth happens from the base, will it take years for it to get to a decent height? How tall can it grow in a year? Because we don't really want that spot to look empty for years.
    I guess this is a general gardening question. If it's an established plant and branches die back, if there's new growth, do they grow faster than a new plant?
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited March 2023
    My ultra hardy magellanica alba looked similar, but from the base it is already resprouting.

    No pic as already pruned right back.

    My magellanica ?versicolour (? because scrumped) and it's more boring bronzy-red leafed reversion, have never been so hardy.

    I expect them to reach 1m in a season, though without training that might be more outwards rather than upwards.

    Do they grow faster than a new plant?  Yes they have all the vigour of an established root.  I guess that if you limited the number of shoots, those you retained would grow taller.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • BiljeBilje Posts: 811
    I have fuchsia  Hawkshead which I cut back hard every year down to  6 inches 15 cm, in a year it will put on new growth to 3 feet 100cm. I’m in NEEngland so not mild haha.  Obviously it depends on your variety. 
  • cammy0102cammy0102 Posts: 49
    edited March 2023
    Thanks for the replies. I'll leave it for a few more weeks and see what happens. Sadly I don't the which variety of Fuschsia it is. It was in the garden when we bought the house (West London) couple of years ago. From what I remember it had red flowers.

    Do those branches look dead? When you remove the skin, it's brown but there's green in the middle (as you can see from the pictures) so I'm not sure whethey are dead or alive.
  • cammy0102cammy0102 Posts: 49
    edited March 2023
    Looking at those pictures (1st one in particular), do those branches look dead? When you remove a bit tof the top layer, it's brown undernearth but there is a green bit in the middle. 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    @cammy0102. This is the time to cut them right back anyway, so all the dead twiggy stuff can come off,  just done ours,  you’ll soon see then if it’s dead,  it will start to shoot our soon if it’s still alive. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I always cut my fuchsia ricartonii down to the ground every year and it grows back between 3 and 4 ft tall, but growth is quite a bit later than now.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Same here, Liz,   very slow to get going this year.  They didn’t like that cold spell. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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