Variety maintainance and breed of new cultivars
If you have a look at the registry-database of the AFS, you will be surprised how many named Fuchsia cvs are therein. Unfortunately, however, Europe's garden centers and special nurseries only offer a limitied selection of these for sale during the garden season. To grant the maintenance of a variety in an existing Fuchsia collection it is necessary to ensure at time that cuttings of a variety get well rooted.
Rooting cuttings
is a vegetative
propagation technique,
which guarantees
the gardener and plant freak the maintenance of a named variety. It is
easilydone and promises also for the beginner success. Cuttings taken
in the
spring or in
August from the mother plants root due to the optimum
environmental conditions fairly rapidly.
We want in this
context refer to the fact that there are many different methods of rooting
cuttings available. The latest hit in this sector, which
is
also has proven with other plant species, is aeroponics - a technique
that does not have a need of a special rooting medium. If you want to
know more about these techniques, I would
like to refer to the e-book Fuchsias, in which the different methods
are descriped step by step.
Plant breeders and enthusiasts who are more involved onto the fuchsia culture also try to get new plants by sowing.
Note: Many of the fuchsias wild species (such as F. Boliviana ....) are also very easy grown from seeds. Seeds of wild species are always on the internet for sale.
Fuchsia seeds
themselves are very fine
and
should be sown only on the surface of the substrate or gently pressed
into it. If
you sow seeds of your own plants or seeds you have purchased, you
should
sow them very soon. Fuchsia seeds are, unfortunately, in comparison to
other
plant short-lived. A cool storage in the fridge at
4°C is advisable.
picture
>> light hungry seedlings of F. boliviana