Taking fuchsia, tulips outside

Question: I brought my fuchsia into my fourseason porch for the winter. It still has leaves but I am a month or so away from putting it back outside. What do I need to do to get it ready to start blooming again? It has nice leaves and the branches have grown over the winter. Do I need to cut them back?

Answer: Nice job overwintering your fuchsia. Because it is actively growing, you should continue to water thoroughly as needed. Trim back any long leggy branches or shorten existing branches if you need to control the size or want to encourage thicker growth. Make the cuts above a leaf or node, a bump on the stem where growth occurs. Use a dilute solution of flowering houseplant fertilizer to encourage continued growth and eventually flowering.

Q: My sons bought me tulips for Easter. The bulbs are set in a glass vase with stones and water. Now that they are done flowering, what should I do until I can plant them outside in the garden?

A: I usually continue growing my forced bulbs as long as possible after the flowers fade. This allows the plants to create and store energy in the bulb for upcoming seasons. Move the tulips to a bright location. Keep water in the pebbles just below the bottom of the bulb. If the foliage begins to yellow and dry, stop watering, remove the bulbs from the container and store in a cool, dry location.

You can plant the tulips in the garden as soon as the danger of frost has passed. Or store the dormant bulbs in a cool, dry place for the summer for planting in the fall.

As the leaves emerge next spring, fertilize the bulbs with a low-nitrogen fertilizer. You may not have flowers until the second spring. And be aware that many tulip varieties only produce flowers the first few seasons of their life in our gardens. But the fun of gardening is giving new experiences a try and seeing what happens.