FUCHSIA. 



201 



FUCHSIAS, HARDY. 



plant is better adapted for the purpose. 

 Nothing can be more graceful either in 

 form or flower than noble plants of the 

 fuchsia. They have a grace and beauty 

 peculiar to themselves ; and their price is 

 sufficiently low, and their culture easy and 

 simple enough, to bring them within the 

 reach of all. Plants that have been at 

 rest during the winter may be started in 

 January, and large early-flowering speci- 

 mens produced by cutting down the old 

 plants and shaking the roots out of the old 

 soil as soon as they have broken, repotting 

 them in a good, rich compost, with sufficient 

 drainage. Strike cuttings for bedding 

 plants as soon as the shoots are long 

 enough. 



Propagation. Cuttings should be in- 

 serted in pots filled either with loam and 

 leaf mould, or peat and silver sand, in 

 equal parts, to within an inch and a half 

 of the top. Place over this three-quarters 

 of an inch of silver sand, and level the 

 surface to make it firm ; then insert the 

 cuttings about I inch long is the proper 

 length and plunge the pots in a bottom 

 heat of 60, either in a pit or propagating 

 house ; if the latter, cover them with a bell- 

 glass. In three weeks they may be potted 

 into 3-inch pots, and replunged in the same 

 bed, keeping them at a temperature of 

 from 50 to 60. As soon as the roots 

 reach the sides of the pots, the plants 

 should be shifted into fresh pots, until 

 they receive their final shift into 6, 9, or 

 12-inch pots, towards the end of June. 

 The size of the pot must be regulated by 

 the period when they are wanted to bloom. 

 If in July, a 6 or 9-inch pot will suffice ; 

 if in September or October, a 12-inch will 

 not be too large. 



Stopping and training. During the 

 period of growth, the plants will require 

 stopping at least six ti.nes, care being 

 taken never to stop the shoots immediately 

 preceding or directly after the operation 



of shifting into larger pots. If the 

 pyramidal form of growth, which is the 

 best of all forms for the fuchsia, is 

 adopted, the plants, from the first, must 

 be trained to a single , stem, and all the 

 side shoots stopped, to make the pyramid 

 thick and perfect. If the bush form is 

 wanted, the whole of the shoots should 

 then be stopped at every third joint, until 

 branches enough are secured to form the 

 bush, and then be trained into the desired 

 shape. 



Temperature, &c. A regular, moist, 

 genial temperature must be maintained 

 during the entire period of growth, never 

 exceeding 60 by fire heat. During bright 

 sunshine, the glass should be slightly 

 shaded with tiffany or other material ; 

 the delicate leaves are easily injured, and 

 the plant should never receive the slightest 

 check by being allowed to flag. 



Soil and Watering. Fuchsias, while 

 having their preferences, will grow in 

 almost any soil. Garden loam and leaf 

 mould, in equal proportions, with some 

 broken charcoal and sand, do very well. 

 Feeding them with manure water is pre- 

 ferable to mixing manure with the soil. 

 After they are well rooted, they should 

 never be watered with clear water. A 

 carefully - shaded conservatory, guarded 

 against the ingress of bees, is the best 

 place for them when in blossom. In such 

 a situation they will continue in bloom for 

 three months, if the seeds are constantly 

 picked off. 



Fuchsias, Hardy. 



These make the best show when planted 

 together in beds upon a lawn, the colours 

 being judiciously blended. Those fuchsias 

 which trail upon the ground should be 

 jrown with a wire hoop, supported by 

 three legs underneath them, so that their 

 branches may be made to bend over the 

 hoop. Several of the more hardy sorts 



