If you would like to have more fuchsias, you don't have to buy them in a garden store. You can also easily propagate fuchsias from cuttings.
The fuchsia is one of the few balcony flowers that bloom profusely in the shade. A good reason to get more out of your fuchsia. Even a single plant provides enough cuttings to ensure a great bloom on the north balcony next year. For example, the propagation of cuttings is always successful and requires little effort.
Two good times for cuttings
You can take cuttings from the fuchsia in spring and autumn. The difference: Spring cuttings are still soft and take root particularly quickly. Autumn cuttings are already slightly lignified and take root particularly reliably. The two variants are also called "soft" and "hard" cuttings.
How to propagate fuchsias from cuttings
Step 1 - get cuttings
➜ cut soft cuttings in spring:
To do this, cut off shoots with at least two or three pairs of leaves between two leaf nodes. If the cutting already has buds or flowers, carefully break them out. Now shorten it again below the leaf node. There should still be about two to five millimeters of stem under the leaf node. This second cut must be made with a very sharp knife without squeezing the cut. Don't touch after that, it's all about having a totally fresh and clean interface. The roots grow from the eyes of the leaf nodes. Therefore, the lowest leaf node must be free of injury. So that the rooting works well, the leaf node should always be covered with soil.
➜ Gain hard cuttings in autumn:
Slightly woody shoots are best. However, they are not cut off, but torn off diagonally downwards below a leaf node. Along with the cutting, you tear off a tongue of bark from the mother plant, so make sure that a piece of the bark comes off the stem when you tear it off. Woody, hard autumn cuttings obtained in this way are also called cracklings. If that doesn't work, you canIf necessary, cut the cuttings with a knife.
Tip for both types of cuttings:
In order to stimulate root formation, as little evaporation as possible should take place via the remaining leaves. You can help by removing the lower leaves on the cuttings and cutting off the upper ones in half.
Step 2 - plant cuttings in potting soil
Now place the cuttings in potting soil that contains as few nutrients as possible. Always keep the soil slightly moist afterwards. A glass plate or foil over the pot is also beneficial. Be sure to air the cover regularly to prevent mold from forming.
The jar is best placed in a bright, non-sunny place at a temperature of 18 to 20 degrees. Roots will then form after about three to four weeks.
Step 3 - transfer plants
If the shoot tip looks very bulging and the cutting starts to grow, this is a sure sign that roots have formed. Place the new plants in larger pots. Plants from spring cuttings can move outdoors immediately, but please get used to the fresh air slowly. Small fuchsias from autumn cuttings, on the other hand, are best overwintered indoors. Reading tip: Overwintering fuchsias: Important information on location and nutrient supply.