fuchsia hanging baskets

Question

I have two fuchsia hanging baskets that I got from Jersey Plants. They have established well and are large and bushy with lots and lots of buds on them. As soon as the buds start to open, however, they dry up and wilt. I can’t see any discoloration of the leaves and the soil is moist and I feed once a week. They are in the same position that they have always been and grown really well up until now. What am I doing wrong? I can’t see any bugs on the leaves and the leaves look healthy.

Answer 1

I would investigate three things — perhaps your plants are getting too much light, too much water, or too much fertilizer. This last is especially suspect, since flowering plants that have lots of green leaves but trouble with flowers often have too much nitrogen/ not enough phosphorous. I would never fertilize anything more than every other week, most flowering plants I would fertilize only once a month. I would use something like a 3-10-3, at 1/2 strength. This article has some more information for you: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/fuchsia/growing-fuchsia-flower.htm