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Help with fuchsias please
Victoria Sponge
Posts: 3,502
I have two half hardy fuchsias that have struggled all year due to some malformation of the growing tip which looks like a mixture of mildew and rust to me. They have grown quite a lot but only produced a handful of flowers between them.
Does anyone know what it is and how I can prevent it happening next year? They are in the ground, part shade, west facing. I fed them once over summer.
Thank you
Wearside, England.
0
Posts
The simplest solution is to cut off these tips the minute you see them, cutting back into clean, sound growth. Make sure you clean your secateurs afterwards.
If they re-appear next year, do the same. Yes, it'll lose flowers, but no more than you are already losing.
The same happened to my hardy fuchsia - the one at the front of the house (north-facing) but not the two at the rear (south-facing) which were originally cuttings from the first!
Alina is quite right - cut of all affected shoots and dispose of them (but not on the compost heap) and you will probably find that it will recover in due course. Mine (at the front of the house) was pretty badly affected at the start of the season, but with prompt and drastic action, is now flowering profusely.
Hope that helps.
Thanks Alina and Shrinking Violet
That seems pretty obvious now you mention it- I should have cut the affected bits off. I suppose I thought they would just push past it or it was just a temporary thing caused by wind or insects.
I'll pay more attention next year and snip the damaged stuff off now.
Thanks for your replies
Berkley - I was trying to remember an article that I read some time ago (I think it was the gardening section of the Saturday Telegraph - Helen Yemm's column). I didn't post about it because my memory is pretty hazy, but I think it's an insect larva that causes the damage to the shoots of the fuchsia. I suppose a systemic insecticide might be effective, but the advice I recall was to cut out all affected shoots as soon as possible. Having done it, I can attest to its success.
I think it is an insect specific to fuchsia, and that it is a recent problem - but I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong. I'm sure there are better informed posters out there with better memories than mine!
I just put my really difficult thinking cap on and the memory banks are saying "fuchsia gall mite". I could be wrong - but I have a feeling that's the problem. May be worth a bit of research to see if there's a chemical cure if that's what you'd prefer. Personally, I always try to deal with a problem without spraying etc - only use the stuff if all else fails!
Yes, I've just looked it up SV...I found the article but I cant put on a link.
I think mine looks more like capsid damage- I've seen those fellows around but not on the fuchsias...little blighters