Why aren't they

[lor]

Could anybody perhaps tell me why my hanging fuscha gets blossoms but they never open. They dry out & die. It's not that I don't water it, I do. Some of the leaves dry up too. I spray it too...not alot.

[braingonebad]

Originally Posted by lor

Could anybody perhaps tell me why my hanging fuscha gets blossoms but they never open. They dry out & die. It's not that I don't water it, I do. Some of the leaves dry up too. I spray it too...not alot.

It may have some disease or pest, and they can be impossible to see, some of them are so tiny.

I'd try mixing 2 TBS vinegar with 1 cup of luke warm water and washing the whole thing with that. Roots and all. Replant in fresh potting soil.

That should either wash off or kill most parasites and many bacteria that could be harming the plant. Then give it some fertilizer - that'll help build it back up.

You could buy Neem and treat it, if you have other plants. But that stuff is not cheap, so I would tell you to replace your fuscia instead of spending that much to treat just the one plant.

Neem is awesome though. It's made of the seeds from chinaberry trees, and it's mostly harmless to beneficial insects like bees. I spray late in th day when the bees are not around, and the spray has time to dry before they come back out.

One spray took care of leaf miners in my columbines. We even saved the filbert and sandcherry trees from total ruin due to Japanes beetles with two applications. And the spray smells like oranges.

[JD]

Is your plant indoors or outdoors? It's usually a dryness problem when it's indoors. However, it's distressed wherever it is. Overwatering will do the same thing, but not as quickly.

Make sure the soil isn't dry and hard.

Has the root ball outgrown the pot?

How fresh is the soil mixture you have, it could be that there are no more nutrients in it and might need fertilization.

Sometimes, just for buds not opening, a gentle push up from the base will help it along.

You can always google "fuchsia" for more information.

good wishes!

[tovaxin_lab_rat]

Originally Posted by lor

Could anybody perhaps tell me why my hanging fuscha gets blossoms but they never open. They dry out & die. It's not that I don't water it, I do. Some of the leaves dry up too. I spray it too...not alot.

Fuschia's tend to be heat, water, and environmental tempermental. They don't like afternoon sun, they don't like to be too wet, and they are don't a windy location. Any one of these can be causing them not to open. In addition, they need a good fertilizer to bloom.

If they are in a hanging basket and you are watering, and not putting a balanced fertilizer in the water each time you water, all the nutrients are leaching out.

Cut back the plant, get some Osmocote, which is time released fertilizer, and then each time you water, add a fertilizer to the water and make sure the plants are not getting afternoon sun.

Fuschia's do well in a shady area with filtered sun.

If you read the gardening thread, I provided a link to someone else who had asked about fuschias.

Good luck, Lor, fuschias are beautiful, but can be very tempermental.