what to put in pot?
 

Have a half dead spring flowering Pieris in a pot where we sit
in summer. Thinks, whats the point of an early flowering shrub
where we cant see it from house and where late frosts ruin it?
Right, out it goes. First thought was a nice big fuschia, a quick
google didnt help much and our favourite nursery had big non
hardy bushes or dwarf hardy ones. So am I missing something? Can
I get a largeish hardy fuschia to grow in a pot in south London?
If so anyone know a good variety?
--
Mike Reid
UK Walking "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap
Photos "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 08:02:47 +0100, The Reids wrote:

Have a half dead spring flowering Pieris in a pot where we sit
in summer. Thinks, whats the point of an early flowering shrub
where we cant see it from house and where late frosts ruin it?
Right, out it goes. First thought was a nice big fuschia, a quick
google didnt help much and our favourite nursery had big non
hardy bushes or dwarf hardy ones. So am I missing something? Can
I get a largeish hardy fuschia to grow in a pot in south London?
If so anyone know a good variety?

The F. magellenica (sp?) can grow to about 4' or more. I've seen photos of
some as a hedge in Sweden.
They're only moderately hardy (for my conditions) - they'll unlikely stand
a couple of weeks of -19C in a pot (don't ask).

You can grow them from seed actually, they're quite easy. If you do it this
summer/autumn/winter in a greenhouse or indoors you can have some for next
spring. South London shouldn't be too much of a problem with being too
cold.

--
Tim C.

Following up to Tim Challenger

They're only moderately hardy (for my conditions) - they'll unlikely stand
a couple of weeks of -19C in a pot (don't ask).

that's one thing that worries me, often non hardy fuchsias last
for years here, but in the ground, not a pot.
--
Mike Reid
UK Walking "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap
Photos "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

The F. magellenica (sp?) can grow to about 4' or more. I've seen photos of
some as a hedge in Sweden.
They're only moderately hardy (for my conditions) - they'll unlikely stand
a couple of weeks of -19C in a pot (don't ask).

You can grow them from seed actually, they're quite easy. If you do it this
summer/autumn/winter in a greenhouse or indoors you can have some for next
spring. South London shouldn't be too much of a problem with being too
cold.

that's one thing that worries me, often non hardy fuchsias last
for years here, but in the ground, not a pot.

You never know until you try. The young plants that survived last winter
were in pots in the garage and it went down to about -6C for a number of
weeks on end. The posts weren't insulated or anything. They died back, of
course but vigorous new growth appeared in the spring. They're about 2'6"
tall now.
The ones that died were outside, where it went down to -19C.

--
Tim C.

The message
from The Reids contains these words:

Have a half dead spring flowering Pieris in a pot where we sit
in summer. Thinks, whats the point of an early flowering shrub
where we cant see it from house and where late frosts ruin it?
Right, out it goes. First thought was a nice big fuschia, a quick
google didnt help much and our favourite nursery had big non
hardy bushes or dwarf hardy ones. So am I missing something? Can
I get a largeish hardy fuschia to grow in a pot in south London?
If so anyone know a good variety?

Mrs Popple and Tom Thumb are hardy ones and will both grow to 4 or 5
ft, flower thickly for months, ( large flowers iin red and purple; TT
is slightly lighter tham MP). They're terribly easy to propagate from
cuttings so start looking over your neighbourhood walls to see who you
could cadge a bit from. Usually for sale cheap in B and Q etc during
summer. However, leafless fuchsia twigs don't look great in winter and
spring.

Janet.

In message 1120461693.d69a2c4c91cfbb485612e7244e02a4e8@teran ews, Tim
Challenger writes

The F. magellenica (sp?) can grow to about 4' or more. I've seen photos
of some as a hedge in Sweden. They're only moderately hardy (for my
conditions) - they'll unlikely stand a couple of weeks of -19C in a pot
(don't ask).

Fuchsia magellanica (or something similar) can reach considerably more
than 4' - the ones next door are markedly taller than I am.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

"Mrs Popple and Tom Thumb are hardy ones and will both grow to 4 or 5
ft."

Tom Thumb is usually described as a dwarf fuchsia, growing to no more
than 2 feet tall.

The message .com
from "Ornata" contains these words:

It's usual to include the author's post attribution of anything you
quote so that other people reading the thread, or part of the thread,
can keep up with who said what. If your newsreader doesn't do it
automatically, you could use cut and paste.

The message
from Janet Baraclough contains these words:

"Mrs Popple and Tom Thumb are hardy ones and will both grow to 4 or 5
ft."

Tom Thumb is usually described as a dwarf fuchsia, growing to no more
than 2 feet tall.

Maybe in a pot, or a cold area.

Its roots are hardy in open ground, but in colder areas the top growth
is not, and will be killed back to ground level every year by hard
frosts. Maybe that holds it in check. However, in mild-winter areas such
as London, where the OP is, or the western seaboard, the few deg frost
in winter are not enough to kill any of the top growth. It just carries
on growing the next year.

I've just measured a Tom Thumb which in summer 03, was a 1ft
broken-off stick poked into the soil and not pruned or fed since. It's
1.5 metres tall and the same across, and covered in flowers.

Janet (Isle of Arran).

On Mon, 4 Jul 2005 21:06:33 +0100, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:

In message 1120461693.d69a2c4c91cfbb485612e7244e02a4e8@teran ews, Tim
Challenger writes

The F. magellenica (sp?) can grow to about 4' or more. I've seen photos
of some as a hedge in Sweden. They're only moderately hardy (for my
conditions) - they'll unlikely stand a couple of weeks of -19C in a pot
(don't ask).

Fuchsia magellanica (or something similar) can reach considerably more
than 4' - the ones next door are markedly taller than I am.

Eek! Actually I'd be happy if mine did that, but I think they'll die back
every winter and have to start from scratch each year.
--
Tim C.