Hi SusanH,
It is easy to propagate fuchsia cuttings in water without any rooting aids. Just put your trimmed cutting(s) into water, I use small pill bottles for mine but you can also use small jars filled with water and the tops covered with aluminium foil. Pierce the aluminium foil with a skewer and insert the cutting so that the bottom half to one inch is in water and then wait.

This method produces cuttings with brittle roots which are easily damaged, be careful when transferring water rooted cuttings to their pots.
Have you tried FAQs?
Ron

Hi Susan (with so many names ;-)

You may find www.fuchsialand.co.uk/cuttings.htm useful. If you click the picture, it shows drawings of three types of cutting. Spring cutting will usually root in a couple of weeks in water. Just trim with a sharp blade and follow Ron's advice. You will soon have dozens of plants!

Good Luck
IanS

No wonder I've not had too much luck with my hormone powder and potting mix (about half of mine just don't make it), I didn't realize it was so easy as putting the cutting in water, I figured fuschias were too finicky for that. Apparently not.

I love the gartenmeister fuschias - and I hope the ones I've just planted make it through - this type seems very hardy and resistant to bugs, and I hope to propogate lots of these!

hotpink.
I get very mixed results when I use a 'potting mix', and fuchsias don't need hormone powder. It seems to keep the base of the cutting too damp, and encourages rot. Try a couple of tip cuttings in water, and see how they get on. The method rarely fails. Just take care when planting into your potting mix, as the roots are delicate and the plant takes a few days to adjust.
Good luck. IanS.

We used to do this when we were kids. Like anything you start this way, in water, you need to have a leaf node in the water. Without the leaf. Just make your cut an inch or so beneath a leaf and take the leaf off and make sure you add water when it evaporates so that node is always in water. Jeanette

It worked when I was a kid but!!!

Thanks Ian and Jeanette for the input. I tried rooting the fuschia in water....... and it did work..... like a charm! I was trying to be too perfectionistic I guess with the hormone powder. I always do root my ivy and lamium in water, but I thought fuschia had too soft a stem, and I thought it may rot before it rooted.

So now I have to try my gartenmeisters that way and I'll be happy.

Well done, hotpink. Four weeks, that's about right. There will be no stopping you now! For cuttings that are woody, you have to use a different method.
IanS

Wonderful to learn of this water propagation method; i've always used wet vermiculite in the shade, & been lucky to get 1 out of 4 that way. Water makes sense. Thanks.
Buying a pretty fullsize plant as early as possible, and then making cuttings for pots hung from tree limbs has long been my habit. Those little hummingbirds around the fuschia are so delightful! Overwintering never's been a success, & haven't had luck putting fuchsia in the ground, so far.
New to this site today, so glad to discover these knowledgeable forums.

Hi Joana,

And welcome. Glad you've found GardenWeb. There's lots of good information from lots of good people.
I've just read your members page and see you have trouble with Japanese Knotweed, the curse of Cornwall. Any answer to that problem?
IanS