Pruning Hardy Fuchsia Bushes.

[Naturenut]

I live in Orkney and have quite a few large and ungainly fuchsia shrubs around the egde of the garden. I would love to cut them back but would like advice about when to do it, for up here, also by how much. We have gales at the moment and watching them being whipped about is making me wish it had been done already but we only moved in at the end of August. Thanks in advance

[rustylady]

Best time to prune them is when new growth starts. You can cut them back quite hard, as once they start growing in the Spring they grow quite fast. Link here for you Hardy Fuchsias

[Naturenut]

Pruning.

Here is a photo of the bushes so you can see their size. The info said to prune them very hard back, almost to the ground....I take it not with these!

[veggiechicken]

I have a couple of very large hardy fuchsia too. I leave them be until I see signs of budding, then cut out the dead branches/tips and take out the oldest branches down to ground level. About a third goes every year.This is just the way I do it and I'm no expert

[Naturenut]

Pruning.

There's only one way to find out and if it works for you then I'll give it a go. A while to wait yet but I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks to all for the info, cheers

[Aberdeenplotter]

fuchsias are very forgiving so just go for it.

[Two_Sheds]

We have gales at the moment and watching them being whipped about is making me wish it had been done already

They're doing a good job, breaking the wind for you. Plant more of them, as a shelter belt for more tender plants.

The info said to prune them very hard back, almost to the ground....I take it not with these!

Why do you think "not" ? *puzzled*

[Naturenut]

Thanks everybody for the help........Two Sheds we are going to plant bird food shrubs in the garden but some of the fuchsias are stopping us seeing the best views from the cottage so we wanted to prune them down. They are so big we didn't know if they should be pruned right down low or not but we'll give it a try when we think it's the right time up here.

[Two_Sheds]

Prune them right down low. You need to look at the bush, and decide where you want your flowers to appear: the new flowering shoots will appear from where you cut.

So, if you cut to the ground, new shoots will flower at (and I'm guesstimating here) about 2ft high (that's based on the hardy one in my garden).

If you only cut 6 inches off the top of your bushes, the new shoots will grow from there, ie too high for your view.

[Two_Sheds]

we'll give it a try when we think it's the right time up here.

Pruning Your Fuchsias

Might help you decide.

If you cut too early, and we get a warm spell which starts new growth ... a subsequent cold spell will kill the new growth.

[Naturenut]

Thank you Two Sheds, good info. We're not too bad for frosts up here and i guess round about wnd of March will be okay. Need to get them cut back before the birds start nest building in them so will give it a go........hope the shredder can cope! Cheers Claire.

[Peppermint]

Naturenut, our Fuchsias were in entirely the wrong place (very close to the dining room window and growing so fast they were blocking the light). We actually dug them out this time last year and relocated them. It knocked them back but they still sent up lots of shoots last summer. I'm hoping they pick up this year and get a lot bigger.

A colleague in Kirkwall has a long hedge of them - absolutely huge. These are cut back severely, every so often, and they simply grow back to the same height (taller than the bungalow). Her gardener friend says 'treat 'em mean'.

[Naturenut]

Well I can certainly do that Peppermint! So many times back south I'd butcher the buddleias right low and they'd always survive and thrive.......perhaps I can get away with that on these too. We will see!

[Two_Sheds]

We're not too bad for frosts up here and i guess round about wnd of March will be okay.

It's not just frost that will damage new growth, it's very cold winds too

We actually dug them out ...and relocated them. It knocked them back

Presumably you cut back most of the topgrowth before you dug them up? That would definitely help them recover quicker

[Naturenut]

Yes Two Sheds, cold winds will do it too but having long, long branches being whipped about in the winds damages them also as has happened. They are in a sorry state.