Why are the leaves of my fuchsia distorted and pink?
Sharon Ayling, by email
Stefan says: You say you had the same problem late last season and that you can't find any greenfly or blackfly. This isn't surprising because your plant is affected by a much smaller pest called the fuchsia gall mite, a minute creature barely a quarter of a millimetre long and invisible to the naked eye.
It's a relatively new problem as far as British gardens are concerned. It was first found here in 2007 and is now spreading widely. Like aphids, the gall mite is a sap-sucking pest and causes first the shoot tips, then the leaves and eventually the entire plant to become distorted, as you have discovered.
The problem is compounded because the mite produces several generations each year, although it's possible that cold winters can kill it and reduce populations overall. Unfortunately, last winter was fairly mild, and in any event fuchsias being over-wintered in the protection of a greenhouse will harbour the creatures.
You do not say which fuchsia you have but relatively few varieties and species seem to have much tolerance or resistance and it can certainly affect even the hardiest, Fuchsia magellanica, which grows outdoors in many gardens.
Sadly, there's little that can be done to control the problem, not least because mites in general are barely affected by most insecticides. If you spot the pest damage on the shoot tips in the early stages cutting these off may limit its spread. However, by the time the plant is attacked as severely as yours, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do. It's curtains and unless you destroy it, the pest will spread to any other fuchsias in the vicinity.
It seems odd that such a tiny pest that cannot fly, should have spread so widely but it seems they're blown by the wind and can also be carried on the bodies of pollinating insects that visit fuchsia plants.