January/February, naturally a time to make resolutions, is the ideal time, with the past season still relatively fresh in our minds, to look back, analyse, and be brave enough to face up to our mistakes. It would be great if we could say that we didn't make any, but then again, the man who never made any mistakes never did anything!
Make a list of shortcomings now, explore the remedies open to you and you'll reap the benefits later on this year when you could be looking back on this as a very worthwhile exercise indeed. How about keeping a diary?? Recording problems as you encounter them will help you no end to prevent doing it all over again another year. I know how you like to think you'll remember, but you just won't - until you've fallen into the same trap again! Make the resolution now to keep your greenhouse, or growing area, spotlessly clean at all times, space your plants out properly and inspect them frequently - any trouble spotted early-on is much easier to deal with than once it has taken a real hold.
Well, those are a few suggestions to get you well on the way. However, THE major 'mistake' made by practically all fuchsia enthusiasts at some stage, is growing far too many!!!
It is so easy to take just a few more cuttings in Spring, when the temptation is there with the abundance of material available, and then they ALL root of course. However, small rooted cuttings quickly grow into large plants, needing space to grow well and our time to look after them properly. After every 'stopping session' things look fine, daylight and airflow between all the plants on the greenhouse bench, but in two to three weeks it will be a different story again, with the fuchsias once again crowding into each other as the new growth develops. In the Summer it doesn't matter so much, as you can then 'select' some to go outdoors (chuck out!!) to give the remaining plants the necessary room. In early Spring however, with fuchsias growing so rapidly and it still being too risky to put any out permanently, you will have a major problem on your hands if you have fallen into the trap (again!) of growing too many. Overcrowding will unfortunately lead to plants becoming misshapen through lack of light and it is also far more difficult to turn them regularly to obtain the even growth required for a balanced shape. Even if you do not want to grow for the show, it is still good practise to grow your plants as if you were, to realise their full potential.
There are valuable lessons to be learned from the mistakes fellow fuchsia enthusiasts have made, definitely far less painful too. I've been there! I do know the heartaches it brings later on in the season, so please take note! I am certainly not belittling keen growers, who, especially when first starting out, collect as many different cultivars as possible. Though after a while when you've got to know your new introductions, aim to be more selective. You'll know by then you'll have only room for x amount at the height of the season, so when buying in some new ones, discard a similar number of your older cultivars, the ones that never seemed to do really well for you anyway. (Our growing conditions vary so much, some varieties are much more suited to your conditions and treatment(!) than others - do experiment).. This is what I do now, being more ruthless, discarding any that aren't up to scratch (you should see the size of our compost heap!). You will enjoy it much more in the long run, finding it more rewarding when everything is kept under control, which will also enable you to actually stand back sometimes, admire and enjoy your fuchsias, instead of it all being, at times, a continual chore of jobs that need doing!
Spring time, just around the corner, is an excellent time for acquiring some young plants. New introductions are appearing in the specialist nurserymen's catalogues which seem well worth trying and some of our old favourites which didn't make it through the winter will need replacing. (I now don't fret too much about losses in the winter for I do like to buy some new one annually - got to keep in with the likes of Mike Oxtoby after all!). Yes, you really must buy in a few, just a few new ones. It spurs you on, gets the adrenaline going again! But, this year, may I urge you to be more selective. Don't be tempted to buy all you see (leave some for me!). In the end it is quality that counts not quantity. To grow plants you can be proud of you'll need to allocate sufficient space and time for each of them. (Mind you, buying yet another greenhouse and getting my husband to share the jobs, spring to mind as a much more sensible solution surely!!).
Have you ever thought about going for a collection. Just concentrating on certain types only (as well as your show plants!). You could try building up a collection of species, varieties by a certain hybridist, exotic doubles or hybrids from a certain county or country. The triphyllas make an excellent collection also. You could go for pastel shades (watch the watering) or plants with variegated foliage. It is just a thought of course, well worth considering, (even though we don't always practise what we preach - hence Mike Oxtoby will find me a really large box, and somehow I will manage to fill it, again!).
In a perfect world we would have sufficient space and time to grow all the many varieties we admire (and to perfection too!), but alas, reality means we often overburden ourselves and take the enjoyment out of it by growing too many. We shouldn't loose track - we should help ourselves to continue to enjoy fuchsia growing this season by being selective! Anyway, no need for me to harp on any longer. No offence if you don't take any notice whatsoever and just carry on doing what your own thing - cramming them in as usual!
As long as you do enjoy it, that is all that really matters! CD 1997