ON THE FUCHSIA.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1933, 5 May 1880, Page 3

ON THE FUCHSIA.

[“ North British .Agriculturist.”] Tha fuchsia delights in very liberal culture, not only as regards the pabulum supplied to its roots, but also in regard to the management of the atmosphere. Supposing the cultivator to be in possession of old flowering plants—that is, plants of last year’s propagation or older, which have been kept during the winter, is may be under the greenhouse stage, or in any other cool place, stinted for water, but not kept dust dry let them be brought out and placed in a temperature of 55 degrees at night, with a rise of 10 degs. during the day, giving them a thorough soaking of water to moisten the ball through and through. Thus treated, they will soon break their buds and rapidly push shoots. If it is only intended that these old plants should furnish as many cnttings as may be required for stock and be then destroyed, they should not be shaken out, but be encouraged with liquid manure to make healthy, vigorous growth briskly. On the other hand, if the old plants are to be grown again into flowering specimens, let them be shaken out and repotted as soon as tha shoots have advanced to about an inch in length. This shaking out should be done very thoroughly—so thoroughly that the plants may be potted in the same or smaller sized pots, in a compost almost wholly now, for very little of the old soil should be allowed to remain attached to the roots. The compost should be ooncentratodly rich, the bulk being formed of rich loam roughly broken up, so as not to break up the fibre too fine. To two parts of this loam add one part old cow manure, well matured and dried, so that it will rub through the fingers without clogging them, and one part rough partially decomposed leaf mould, from which all sticks and woody fruits, such as beech-nuts, have been carefully picked in the process of turning over. Add a spadeful of roughish bone meal and two spadesful of sharp sand to every bushel of this compost, and turn and mix altogether in such a way as to incorporate them thoroughly, when it will he ready for use. Use clean pots only in repotting. If they are not new, let them at least be washed clean. Drain them well. This is an important point, for although the fuchsia requires very liberal allowances of water during the growing season, it is very impatient of stagnation. After being repotted, the plants will be returned to their place. A moist atmosphere must be maintained for them, and for a few days, till they have begun to strike root into the now soil, let them bo shaded from bright sunlight. They must be sparingly watered till they are observed to bo making some progress in growth; but they may be moistened twice or thrice daily with the syringe, to keep the foliage plump and healthy. As they advance in growth, the supply of water must be increased ; and when they have filled the pots with roots, they should bo shifted into others a size or two sizes larger, using the same compost as that detailed above. When the plants have filled these second pots with roots, it must be considered whether they will attain the desired dimensions in such pots. And here it must be observed, that although the fuchsia will take almost any practicable allowance of pot room, it may bo grown to almost any size in comparatively small pots. If the compost is as rich as it ought to be, and yet porous and freely permeable to water, gigantic specimens may be grown to perfection in small pots. It is no unusual thing to see plants seven or more feet high, with proportionate width, perfect pyramids, in fact, laden with the richest profusion of flowers, yet growing in ten or twelve-inch pots. Such perfection in such small pots can only be attained by means of patient care and much judicious and skilful application of practical experience in the matter of watering. Such bulk of foliage and flowers cannot bo developed but by means of frequent and skilfully adapted applications of stimulating liquids to the soil. But for the inexperienced amateur, or for such cultivators as cannot give the requisite time and attention to plants of large growth like these, it is better that they should take the more safe method of allowing plenty of pot room tor their plants, taking especial care that the pots are well drained. Cuttings of the fuchsia are, as even the most inexperienced window-gardener knows well, easily rooted with very ordinary facilities for propagation. Cuttings are rooted ir many a cottage window throughout the land with no batter facilities than the surface ol the parent pot; a slip being taken from th< plant, in many a ease, and having a cracked oi sound tumbler, as the case may be, inverter over it, and in the crude ill-conditioned soi in which the parent plant grows, quicklj roots and establishes itself. And these simph means meet all the requirements of the win flow gardener, supplying suflloient for his owr stock, and to gratify his neighbourly and generous instincts of presenting to, or ex changing with, his friends. But these are not the kind of conditions we have in view, although we do not despise them, but rather rejoice that the humble craft and patient care of the cottage window-gardener throughout the land can produce such excellent results. But for the majority of the readers of the Agriculturist,” something superior will be rightly considered within their reach. A one-light frame, at least, that can be converted into a hot-bed at will, may be looked upon as perfectly practicable and within reach. With a well-managed hot-bed frame, excellent work may bo done. In fact, if well attended to, there is nothing better in the whole range of modern appliances for propagating purposes. The cuttings should be taken while they are quite young andgrowthy. To leave them till they become partially matured is certain to result in failure. Starting with a fresh young cutting, the tissues of which are soft and prone to grow, there is not the least likelihood of failure if chocks be avoided ; and this is the most important point to bear in mind in fuchsia growing. Once the growth of the plant is checked, little more good may be done during the current season with it.