Gardening : Skip Fuchsia Pampering: Plant ‘Em and Enjoy ‘Em
“Plant them in the ground and enjoy them,” Bill Rietkerk says.
He’s the president of the National Fuchsia Society and a champion exhibitor who doesn’t pamper his fuchsias. Too many people make hard work out of fuchsias, surrounding them in a mystique that belies their rugged nature and versatility.
Rietkerk and other fuchsia fanciers will exhibit their prize plants, share their expertise and sell special fuchsias this weekend at the NFS Fuchsia Show at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge. At this show, visitors will discover some of the latest fuchsia hybrids and rare varieties as well as many old favorites rarely available at nurseries.
Once known as “ladies’ eardrops” and popular in Victorian gardens, fuchsias range from tiny single red and purple blossoms to large, tetraploid specimens in hues of violet, coral, cream and mauve.
Rietkerk and his wife, Agnes, also a prize-winning grower, prefer the less-demanding varieties with smaller blooms and rugged constitutions. Their back yard in Artesia is filled with more than 1,000 fuchsias in pots, some of which are being shaped into standards (trees) or trained along wires into rings of living blooms.
Baskets, Trees, Planters
Fuchsias hang from baskets, drip from trees, shoot up from planters on the pavement and spill out from a small corner nursery. Overhead, plastic surah cloth and an aging walnut tree provide the filtered light that fuchsias love.
The proportions of Rietkerk’s collection and his own personal philosophy preclude pampering. The fuchsias in pots are watered only once every two days; any that don’t make it are lost. Those in the ground require less water. Most of his plants are fed with organic pellets (such as GroPower) and a slow-release fertilizer (such as Osmocote) in the late fall or early spring when they are pruned.
For show plants, he adds liquid doses of a diluted fertilizer (such as Miracle Gro). To control pests, notably whitefly, spider mite and fuchsia mite, he sprays every two weeks with a mixture of Volck oil (1 tablespoon) and Cooke’s garden insect spray with thiodan (1 tablespoon per gallon).
Newly purchased plants can be a little temperamental. Fuchsias have to become acclimated to new surroundings. Instead of immediately planting a new specimen, leave it in its pot and set it where it will be grown. Observe it for a week. Let it become accustomed to your microclimate, then plant it in a slightly larger container using a light mix (commercial potting soil plus lots of perlite).
To plant in the ground, use 1-gallon-size fuchsias. Prepare the soil so that it drains well. Add fertilizer and stake the new bush. Some successful varieties in the ground are Cardinal, Rocket, Mrs. J. D. Fredericks, Glendale, Nonpareil and Voodoo.
Two reasons for the continuing popularity of fuchsias are their long blooming period and short propagation period. If you take cuttings now, you can have plants in bloom next Christmas. In fact, it’s always a good idea to take one or two cuttings of a new plant as a safety measure. Select a strong branch, preferably without blooms, cut off a 3-inch portion from the tip, remove all leaves except two or three at the tip and insert in moist perlite.
Some growers put a plastic bag over the pot to prevent drying out but Rietkerk doesn’t bother--and he has hundreds of cuttings that attest to his method. In five or six weeks, cuttings are usually ready for potting.
Probably no flowering plant benefits more from pinching than does the fuchsia. Pinching out the growing tip forces two, sometimes more branches to emerge, and because fuchsias bloom on new growth only, many branches are required to produce profuse blooms. Some of the Rietkerks’ show plants have more than a hundred growing tips, the result of considerable pinching.
Show Competition
The Rietkerks and many other fuchsia enthusiasts will compete for prizes at the NFS show this weekend. You can see, in addition to specimen plants, hundreds of labeled fuchsia flowers at the bloom display. If you’re very lucky, you may get to meet America’s leading fuchsia hybridizer, Annabelle Stubbs, from Oceanside, who has three new introductions this year: Orchid Flame, Pink Parasol and Mary Ellen Guffey.
The NFS fuchsia show at Descanso opens to the public at 10 a.m. today, with sales of plants from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today and Sunday. The gardens are located at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge.
For gardeners in the southern area, the South Coast NFS branch will present its fuchsia show and sale today and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the South Coast Botanic Gardens, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes.
If you can’t get away this weekend, on June 17-18 the NFS will stage a fuchsia show and sale at the Los Angeles State and County Arboretum in Arcadia.
Admission to all county gardens is $3 for adults, $1.50 for seniors and students with ID and 75 cents for children ages 5-12. To join the National Fuchsia Society, send $12 to 15103 McRae St., Norwalk, Calif. 90650.
