Hi Wayne,
You say they are in a partially covered area, which is good to keep off the sun, but are they getting enough air circulation? The reason I ask this, if they are not, this could be your problem.

Yes trim them back a bit, this will hopefully encourage new growth.

Have you been dead-heading them. That is removing dead blooms, if not the plant will put it's energy into producing fruits/seed and not produce new flowers - Kath:)

Kath, Thanks for the reply. Yes, there is plenty of air circulation around the plants. The covered deck is open on three sides and the hanging plants are spaced about 3-4' apart. In fact, I was wondering if they were getting too much wind. Our weather this Spring has been unseasonably cool, wet and windy. The poor blooms barely get a chance to open and they are ruined by the wind and rain.

I have kept up with the deadheading and have not let seedpods develop. Can't wait until later to experiment with that.

My smaller fuchsias in 4" pots sitting out on the deck rather crowded in flats look wonderful and some are starting to bud. All of these will be making a transition to the Washington Coast as we are moving next Saturday.

Regarding the 4" pots, those plants are in need of potting on. The rootball from a 4" square pot almost fills a 6" round pot completely leaving no room for additional soil at the bottom and little on the sides. Would it be proper to go on up to an 8" round pot?

Thanks again,
Wayne

Hi Wayne,
Yes indeed, could well have been the cold, wet and windy weather that has delayed the flowering of your plants.

Yes again :) it won't hurt to put the plants from the 4" square pots straight into 8" round pots at this time of year (growing season). It is normal to only pot-up 1 or 2 inches extra at a time in the cooler seasons eg during the winter in a greenhouse, as fuchsias in pots don't like a lot of wet soil around their roots when they are growing slowly, but at this time of year it won't hurt them, especially as you say that there would hardly be enough room for any extra soil in the 6" round pots. - Kath:)

Hi Kath,

Thanks so much for all the very helpful information. I have read the FAQS and the message archives where there is so much shared knowledge. I'm looking forward to being able to grow some beautiful fuchsias.

Wayne

Hi

Sorry I have come in late on this thread but I have been sunning myself on my jols (vacation).

I have found that whenever I have needed to 'pot up' a plant from a square pot into a round pot a good way is to mould the square rootball into a cylindrical shape with my hands (make sure the rootball is moist though). Them by using the 'pot-in-pot' method of potting up something like a 4" square can be put into a 6" pot.

The 'pot-in-pot' method in this case would entail a 5" pot being placed inside a 6" and the space between the pots filled with soil (compost). The plant from the square pot that has been 'rounded' by hand would simply be dropped into the space vacated by the inner pot, a sharp tap on the bench and the plant won't even realise that it has been moved.

It sounds complicated but is quite easy, I have included a link which should help.

Tight

Here is a link that might be useful: Potting on