PREPARING FUCHSIA HANGING BASKETS AND PELARGONIUM CUTTINGS

Although spring is my favourite time of year because we have months ahead before winter arrives again, it is not my favourite time of year as far as gardening is concerned.  There is so much, too much, to do, and so little time in which to do it.  You have to make hay while the sun shines.  I was sitting on my swing yesterday, enjoying some of our rare sunshine, sipping coffee and contemplating reading a book when I remembered that I needed to sort out the hanging baskets of fuchsias.  Last year four baskets adorned the back wall of my home and they were magnificent.  When late autumn came, I cut back the plants and put them into the mini-greenhouse to overwinter.  Fuchsias go dormant but when spring came they didn't all show signs of life.  So, yesterday, I split up the baskets and took out those fuchsias which were obviously dead (a snip of the secateurs will soon tell you if there is green life hiding inside the brown stems.  Several of the plants have already produced healthy green leaves.  I am hoping that I will have another fine display this year without the need to buy more. 





Southgate and Swingtime trailing fuchsias in hanging basket

When I planted the fuchsias last year, I bought relatively small plants and put six to a basket but now the plants are bigger and I am happy with just four to a basket.  The weather is far too mercurial at the moment to hang the baskets out so they will remain in the mini-greenhouse, with the vent open during good weather, for now. 



I took cuttings off the red pelargoniums that I overwintered on my east facing window.  The mother plants are lovely and healthy and will soon grow again where I have taken cuttings from them.  I took twelve cuttings and put four to a pot.  So far, so good.  The cuttings look healthy with no sign of wilting or rotting.  If and when the compost gets a bit dry, I will water them from the bottom so as to try and avoid rottings of the stems.  It is such a satisfying thing, propagating pelargoniums because they grow so easily and you get something for nothing.  Here's how I take pelargonium cuttings.

Red pelargoniums grown in a container