The British Fuchsia Society

April Showers ....no different in May!

Sadly Fuchsia Gall mite has hit the headlines in a number of national papers after the RHS have listed the pests that were most asked about in 2011. It is still thankfully only found in pockets along the South Coast and has not as yet spread north. See below for more information - Follow this link for some photos of Fuchsia Gall Mite https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=167016081323&v=wall
We are in the process of producing a new leaflet and up to date information - watch this space for details of how to get a copy.

Hopefully by now you will have fuchsias growing well and new cuttings rooted and on their way!

Now we should look at the next stage which is pinching out and potting on -

Firstly potting on!

Once your cutting has rooted then it can be given its first pot on and after that stage it will need potting on perhaps another once or twice in its first year. Here are a few guidelines and tips

o The first pot on should be done when the cutting is well rooted – look for new growth on the cutting that is always a good sign
o Try and disturb the roots as little as possible – minimal disturbance ensures that the plant does not really stop growing
o Choose a good quality compost – fuchsias are pretty amenable to all sorts of composts that are available
o Try not to jump the plant into too big a pot initially – it will come as a bit of a shock to a little cutting, bigger plants that are well established can take a bigger jump. Accepted practice is to go up one inch at a time.
o Older plants with woody stems can be planted lower in the next pot to create a better effect for the summer. If need be carefully remove some of the roots at the base – do not do this with young plants!

And that is really all there is to it!

Secondly lets look at pinching out or stopping as it is often called -

What are we aiming for when we grow fuchsias, mainly lots of flowers, so I guess that we could just leave the plant to grow as it wants to - so generally we would get a long thin straggly plant or we can take control, by pinching out our fuchsias.

So what is pinching out? If you want to grow a fuchsia that has a bushy growth, then you are going to need pinch or remove the growing tip at a fairly early stage. Let the rooted cutting grow to 3 pairs of leaves or about 2” tall before removing the very tip of the plant. Remove the very smallest bit at the top; however if you want to use the bit that you take off as a cutting then you may want to let the plant grow slightly taller so that you can safely take off a larger tip. Remove the tip growth with a sharp pair of scissors with fine tips. I must admit that I use my fingers nails, but this will not be practical for every one. Make certain that the cut is just above the next set of leaves, as a piece of stem left behind will rot away and can cause problems.

Removing the tip stimulates the side shoots into growth, so that instead of having one main stem, the side shoots will take precedence. You have started to grow a bushy plant! Then let those side shoots grow until they have two or three pairs of leaves, and then remove their growing tips! And so on etc. etc! Having pinched out several times you will have a nice bushy plant with lots of growth. Remember that each time you remove a growing tip that you are going to at least double the numbers of main shoots. Each plant will be different in its growth –with a slow growing plant or a very short jointed one you may want to leave longer between pinches. A fast growing and rampant plant may need to be pinched out more often.

Pinching out does several things - firstly it creates a bushy plant, secondly it gives you control of the plants growth and finally, and perhaps most importantly it gives you a degree of control of when the plant will flower! As a general rule - single flowered fuchsias will flower after about 60 days, doubles about 80 days and triphyllas about 100 days. The word “about” is vital, as we can never guarantee when the plant will flower but it does give us a rough guideline!

Don't forget if you have any fuchsia related questions - please use our help and advice page - we have a team of experts ready to help - whatever the fuchsia query!

Fuchsia Gall Mite.

During the later parts of 2011 there have been a lot more cases of Fuchsia Gall mite recorded and so we all need to be far more vigilant than previously. They are still in the South and West and close to the coast – however this might not always be the case. So please keep an eye on your plants and those of your neighbours.

We are tracking where and when cases are found - please can you contact carol@thebfs.org.uk with the post codes of any places where it is found.

Here are some articles taken from our latest publication

Unfortunately Fuchsia Gall Mite (F.G.M.) is here to stay and as fuchsia growers we must learn to live with it and manage the problem as best as we can, but most importantly we must not panic. If we do panic the only outcome we will achieve is to put everyone off from growing fuchsias and we do not want that to happen.

Since its arrival in to the UK it has been restricted to the south coast from Kent to Cornwall with the odd outbreak just a short distance in land. It has not spread to all parts of the UK and no commercial nursery has reported any sightings of it. It has in the past been found in several individual gardens, but this year it has been found on established plants growing in the hedge rows.

Unfortunately the easiest way for this to spread is by seeing a fuchsia hanging over a garden wall or even growing wild in the hedges like it does in parts of Devon and Cornwall and think “I haven’t got one like that”, and you nip a piece off and put it in your bag to take home. It is thought that this was the main way in which Fuchsia Gall Mite first came into the UK from either the Channel Islands or from France (Brittany) by holiday makers on their way home.

No one has any answers on how we can stop the spread of this disease other than to cut out the damaged growing tips below the damage and burn it. Some say you should put it in a black bin liner tie the top and leave it in the sun to cook before burning or disposing of it safely.

As we understand it FERA (defra) still wish to be told of any new sites/sightings, but they are no longer visiting sites to take samples. If you think you have any on your fuchsias PLEASE DO NOT cut it off and take it to your local fuchsia nursery, but do put it in a sealed bag and send it to the RHS Plant Lab at Wisley or contact your nearest BFS Representative for advice.

As many of you know this disease/problem has been in the USA for many years and they have learnt to work/live with it. They have not found any chemical that will stop it, they simply cut it out and let the plant reshoot and hope it’s clear of the pest.

The following slightly amended article written by Rodney Berquist form the USA puts in to perspective how we must learn to live with and manage F.G.M. It is well worth reading.

My new Fuchsia Gall Mite Perspective By Rodney Bergquist – USA

Micro pruning works: In our yard, micro pruning is quick, easy and works well as a basic gall mite control method. I always say that if you cut off the visual plant damage today, and I visit your home tomorrow, I will immediately be drawn to your beautiful fuchsia flowers. Our landscape fuchsia’s, one of which is ‘Cardinal’, is at least 10 feet tall and F. magallencia is over six foot tall, both have been a part of our landscape for over 40 years. Both fuchsias have had gall mite plant damage several times during the last 10 years. However you will not normally see the plant damage they caused in our yard. Why is that? It’s because we understand the need to check our fuchsias often and snip off the bad areas, during the initial stage of growth, maybe two or three times a year, so it will not be a distraction to anyone visiting our yard.
Personally, I now realize and accept the fact that the gall mites are not going away, for a lot of reasons, one being they belong to Mother Nature and Mother Nature normally has a 10% survival rate built in to most things. Another reason would be we all seem to have different degrees of concern or interest in putting forth the effort required to control them. Last but not least, we have very little control over hummingbirds, our neighbor’s fuchsias, and fuchsias grown in the wild or our desire to bring home new fuchsias. For some people it’s much easier to just grow fuchsias as annuals and that fine. With all things being considered, I still want to be a fuchsia grower and have my favorite fuchsias as part of my collection.
For the good of our society and the future of our fuchsia’s in the United Kingdom (America), we need to teach growers how to identify F.G.M. plant damage in its early stages of growth. We need to focus on micro pruning off the visual negative and turning it into a visual positive. Do not wait until the baby gall mites which are feeding on the leaf or bud mature and move on to other branches causing more plant damage. It really makes no sense to let them multiply. We need to regain control over of our fuchsia hobby and get excited again about sharing our fuchsias with others. In today’s fuchsia culture, especially in California, it is unrealistic to believe, that you can be a fuchsia grower and not perform the required plant maintenance.

The information from FERA is as follows -
Fuchsia Gall mite remains a notifiable pest at the present time, should its status change, all relevant parties will be informed. – so if in doubt contact 01904 46 2213 or the local office of DERA. The plant health inspectorate do not have the time or resources to visit every domestic outbreak site, however they still have a duty to ensure eradication on sites that are supplying Fuchsias on a commercial basis e.g. nurseries (but as yet this has not happened)

If the outbreak is in a private garden, we still like to monitor and confirm what is going on through the public sending in samples for confirmation. This data is important as it will ultimately help to dictate future policy with regard to this organism.

Once confirmed that it is Fuchsia Gall mite, the recommendation is to physically remove as much of the infested material as possible, which should be burnt, and to then spray what remains with an appropriate Pesticide/Acaricide.

Don’t forget if you have any questions on fuchsias – please ask us and we will do our best to help – we have a great team who will answer your emails.

Carol

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