Pruning Large Hardy Fuschia Bush - HELP!

jobeattie13407 · 15 February

Hi everyone, There is a vey large, very old, hardy fuschia bush in my front garden and I'm not sure how far down to prune this as the bottom has a very thick trunk. I have lived here 20yrs and it was just as large when we moved in; the old man next door used to come into our garden and hack away at the top of it from our side of the divide in the summer months but sadly he passed away a few years back. I have tried my best to keep it in shape but large parts of the trunk have now died off leaving my neighbour's side of the bush quite empty looking during the summer which is a shame as that side of the plant is the south facing side whereas my side is the north. The front garden is SE facing.
Every year there is an abundance of the deep pink and purple flowers with very small dark green leaves. We want to keep it large and bushy as a dividing hedge, so to speak, but I fear it is too top heavy and needs a hard prune. The base trunks are so thick that I fear it may not recover if I cut off the top 60cm which will leave just rather thick trunk and stems.
Any advice will be much appreciated.

Also, there is a large unwanted tree/shrub that has decided to take root in amongst the roots of the fuschia, it is extremely difficult dig up and shoots of it grow to over 8' tall every year. It has large dark green leaves and a very strong smell, I think it has had small white flowers in the past. It wasn't planted and we would like to get rid of it (sadly) as it is appearing to battle with the fuschia for space. Any ideas how we can get rid of it? The base stem is set right in between the two large base trunks of the fuschia on the right hand side.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/tu/36x3hml01bat.jpg

Lizzie27 · 15 February

@jobeattie13407, personally I would be inclined to get rid of it altogether, it looks way past its best and very straggly. I would dig it out, removing the stray imposter and improve the soil with bagged manure and then replant with a new hardy fuchsia which come in many colours so you could choose the one you prefer. They grow quite fast so would soon form the desired barrier between the properties.

It's hardly ever worth hanging on to very old, overgrown and neglected shrubs like that, unless of course it's for sentimental reasons.

Obelixx · 15 February

You can prune hardy fuchsias back hard and they'll regrow, especially if you encourage them with some slow release feriliser and/or a good mulch.

While you're there, cut down the stems of the offending interloper as low as you can and prune off any new stems it sends out afterwrads. Thus deprived of its ability to make leaves and feed itself it should weaken and die but you'll need to be vigilant.

jobeattie13407 · 21 February

Thanks for the feedback. I'm reluctant to kill anything off especially something that was here before me, and it does look lovely (from my side) when in full bloom - it compliments the Dublin Rose that has taken so well and practically covers the front of the entire house (over 400 roses on it last year - counted when dead heading, that was a task and a half).

So, you reckon it would be fine to chop right back down to the thick base trunk and new shoots would grow from this?
I am a little nervous to do this especially as we have so many birds coming to feed in it, but it is getting straggly as you say.
There are currently lots of small green leaf buds all over the top half but none on the large trunks. Where should I prune down to? Most info says to the first two leaf buds but these are all top half of the bush ???

Dovefromabove · 21 February

Is @Lyn about? She grows hardy fuchsias … hopefully she’ll see this and be as now to reassure you.

punkdoc · 21 February

I have some similarly large Fuchsias and I am very brutal when cutting them back, I have never had a problem.

JennyJ · 21 February

I agree, you can cut it back as hard as you like, and it'll soon make new shoots that will flower later this year (it looks and sounds like F. magellanica or one of the close hybrids, they are tougher than some of the larger-flowered hardy fuchsias).

thevictorian · 21 February

You won't see buds in the thick trunks because the growth there has already caused the upper branches. If you cut them back to these thick branches, they will soon grow buds and new growth. It is best to do any prunning when it isn't really cold and it can cause delayed flowering.

We have the wild magellanica type that is 30 odd years old and it still performs lovely and tolerates heavy prunning if needed.

ViewAhead · 21 February

I would use a saw to get neatly through the thick trunk. You could cut down to a few inches off the ground and it should sprout freshly from there. I've never lost a fuchsia through pruning hard. They may look like a dead stump for a bit, but don't despair and give up on them.

Rubytoo · 22 February

They also grow fairly readily from cuttings, so if you wish to keep it you could try that too, to replace before taking out old giant trunks, if you feel that attached.
This way you still have the same plant or at least fresh offspring.

They will literally grow in water to start them off if you are not good at cuttings.
Although they also do grow fairly easily in a pot of gritty compost too.

As already mentioned they grow well from the base roots again, so you could also cut the biggest old trunks and look out for new stems on the roots sometimes you can get pieces ready rooted that way.

So you could tackle digging out the offending smelly white flowered plant...wonder what it is...

As an aside.
There is a Weigela here that came with the house, I feel I could never remove it, it "belongs".
But a few years ago I took cuttings, and now have a nice largish specimen in a pot to replace the old one which has got very bulky despite pruning. And was way too closely planted to a fence originally.

Pruning Large Hardy Fuschia Bush - HELP!

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