Avoid Stretching Young Plants

After nurturing the fuchsia cuttings all through the winter, I am left with compact plants. Now, as temperatures start to rise, especially when the days are dull, there is a risk of losing all this work. Etiolation (stretching towards the light, producing thin, leggy growth) usually occurs overnight. And once it occurs there is no way back. For this reason, many serious growers keep their plants outside.

But things are not so easy with young tender plants - these need to be first hardened off (acclimatised). This half-tray propagator, complete with a ventilated lid, is a way of protecting up to 9 cuttings in 2 inch (51mm) pots against the chilly winds. It allows cuttings to get maximum light at minimum temps.

However, care must be taken to keep the propagator out of the sun to keep temperatures as low as possible and avoid scorching the young leaves. A sunless spot might look like shade to us, but it's paradise to a fuchsia, especially on a bright, cloudless day.