Good morning all
I planed some fuchsias out 2 weeks ago, hey were 'rescued' youg plants from B&Q. I had given them some tlc before planting out. Then I went off on hols, convinced hat we would have loads of rain - cos that's been the norm here in |Cornwall for weeks. I came back to find them flowering furiously, but with not a leaf between them. Is this their swansong and shuld I dig them up, or is there hope?
:'(
The most likely candidate for the loss of leaves is rust. If you look at the undersides of the dropped leaves, if the surface is bright orange, then that is your problem.
It is a soil-borne fungal infection.
If that is what you have, all is not lost. Remove all the affected leaves, and ideally burn. Spray the plants, and the surrounding soil with a fungicide.
Next year they should be OK.
valmarg
If the roots are good and the plants are still alive the leaves will regrow within a couple of weeks.
Try scraping a bit of bark off with your finger nail. If its green underneath then the plants is alive and growing.
The shock of moving and different aspect can cause leaf drop.