pruning a fuschia

[fungiphile]

we have a fuschia that is normally pruned hard back in spring,
but having to do some repair work on the wall against which its growing,
( if its cut back, i can place a large tub over it to protect  while the work is done)
i was hoping it could it be safely pruned back now to allow the work to be done,

any thoughts on this please ?

[Rosefriend]

Nov 27, 2015 17:50:26 GMT fungiphile said:

we have a fuschia that is normally pruned hard back in spring,
but having to do some repair work on the wall against which its growing,
( if its cut back, i can place a large tub over it to protect  while the work is done)
i was hoping it could it be safely pruned back now to allow the work to be done,

any thoughts on this please ?

I would say Yes, no problem. Here in Germany my winter hard Fuchsia freezes back to the ground each year and reappears in Spring.
Plants do tend to react differently here so perhaps owdboggy,Ladygardener,Jilly,Barbara et al could help for the UK..

[owdboggy]

We normally leave ours until Spring when they are cut back to the ground. However, as your plant is against a wall, it will get some protection from it, so it should be ok. I assume it is an H3 Fuchsia?

[fungiphile]

i've absolutely no idea of the type, species of which Fushia it is

heres a pic of it from about 3 weeks ago,

[andy]

I'd cut it back now with no problems. Maybe cover the crown with a deep layer of compost for the winter just to give it some protection.

[Ladygardener]

I have a neighbour who cuts his well back in early winter fungiphile, I cut mine back late winter or early springtime but I'd agree with everyone here, it should be fine to cut it back but I would'nt cut it to the ground. I'd leave 30 or 40cm above ground and give it a mulch, then you can cut it back properly in late winter/early springtime. I don't know what part of the country you are in but at least this would give it some protection if we get a bad winter.

[Barbara]

I often cut mine back to the ground if I'm working in the bed it's in, just because the stalks/stems are quite sharp, I've never had a problem no matter how cold it gets, up it pops next spring, I've also got some in pots in the coldest part of the garden and they are always fine too.

[fungiphile]

thanks everyone

i will go ahead and cut it back now,
the wall repair is urgent so i think its worth the risk of cutting it back now rather than leave it untill the spring,