How to Care for Fuschia Blooms

Overview

Fuchsia is one of the many houseplants that originated in South America. There are more than 100 varieties of fuchsia in many sizes and several different colors and color combinations. In areas with warm winters, hardy fuchsia varieties can grow to be shrub-like. Fuchsias are lovely in hanging baskets, and they are equally magnificent on plant stands. With some simple basic care, you can keep your fuchsia loaded with lovely blooms. Proper water, fertilizer and pinching back are the keys to healthy fuchsia flowers.

Care for Fuchsia Blooms

Step 1

Give your fuchsia enough water to keep the soil moist but not soggy. Check potted fuchsias daily, especially if they are outdoors. If you allow the soil to dry out, it will interrupt flower production and can injure or kill the plant. Even one day of dry soil can cause the blooms to drop. Cool mist on a hot day may revive a fuchsia that is wilting from a heat wave.

Step 2

Fertilize fuchsia plants with a diluted organic fertilizer that is balanced. According to Pennsylvania horticulturist George Weigel, it is a good idea to use a weak fertilizer solution regularly and often instead of stronger, less-frequent feedings. A 5-5-5 fertilizer is suitable for general feeding. Fertilizer with a slightly higher ratio of phosphorus (the middle number) will help fuchsias produce blooms. This would be best used during the peak spring and summer flowering seasons.

Step 3

Pinch back your fuchsia early in the spring, leaving two to three leaf nodes on each branch. Leaf nodes are the small bumps along the otherwise smooth stems. Each pinch will grow two branches. Continue pinching branches until the fuchsia plant is a small mound with many short branches and leaf nodes.

Step 4

Allow the plant to develop new growing tips from the nodes; each tip will produce a flower. Fuchsia plants set blooms only on the new tips. While all of your spring pinching nipped off a few flower tips, the end result is dozens of additional flower tips and a lovely, full fuchsia plant.