Fuchsias are a popular choice for summer bedding displays, thanks to their habit of spilling attractively from tubs and hanging baskets, as well as their distinctive flowers in shades of pink, purple, red and white.

But fuchsias aren’t just an attractive and useful addition to the summer garden, they are also one of the easiest to propagate. Cuttings taken from fresh growth will root within a couple of weeks and once big enough to be pinched out in order to create shrubby plants their tips can also be rooted.

At the end of the season plants can be cut back, stripped of their leaves and then stored over winter in boxes lined with newspaper before being started into growth the following spring by moving them to a warm, bright location and starting to feed and water them again.

The fresh growth that appears soon after this makes ideal cutting material.

Scottish Gardener:

TOP TIP

Try growing your own ginger using a piece of root from the supermarket. Cut into 2.5cm sections and leave to dry for several days before  planting 5cm deep in a large pot. Place in a greenhouse or conservatory, water regularly and feed every two weeks in summer with liquid plant food. Harvest once the stems die down in autumn.

Scottish Gardener:

WHAT TO DO NOW...

  • Grow more Oriental poppies by removing a section of root, cutting this into short pieces and laying these horizontally on a seed tray. Cover lightly, keep moist and wait for new shoots to appear.
  • Make more tomato plants by removing side shoots when they are around 15cm long and potting these up in individual pots of damp compost, where they will quickly root.
  • Help retain moisture in hanging baskets by cutting toilet roll tubes into small pieces and mixing these with the compost, where they will soak up water and release it slowly.
  • Keep sowing leaves and pea shoots for a continuous supply of fresh salads during the summer.
  • Plant nasturtiums around the vegetable plot to act as decoys for cabbage white butterflies and remove any leaves where eggs have been laid.
  • Water potatoes growing in pots regularly to prevent them from drying out.
  • Divide large clumps of daylily, replanting the sections in sunny positions in well-drained soil.
  • Cover bedding plants with fleece at night to prevent them from being killed by late frosts.
  • Sow dwarf beans in modules under cover, ready for planting out in early June. Pick when young and tender.
  • Remove the last remnants of overwintered kale and purple sprouting broccoli and add to the compost heap.
  • Stake peas and beans if growing them in exposed areas.
  • Prune shrubs that flowered early in the year and continue to tie in stems of climbing and rambling roses.
  • Large phormiums can be divided by cutting through the roots with a sharp knife. Replant in free-draining soil.