Try a peat-free compost for fuchsias

I've had good results from SylvaGrow, which is based on fine bark, wood fibre and coir

Like many enthusiastic growers and exhibitors, I've always used composts based on 100 per cent moss peat for growing my plants, mixed with some extra drainage consisting of Perlite and Cornish grit. However, with all the ongoing concerns about peat extraction, I've been searching for peat-free alternatives. My early experiences were not good, with the consistency of the composts being very variable from bag to bag. A few years ago I noticed that the brand Melcourt SylvaGrow had come out very well in the consumer magazine Which? tests, and was being used widely by the RHS.

I decided to give this compost a try two years ago. The compost is based mainly on fine bark, wood fibre and coir and has quite a different appearance to what I was used to using. I started mixing it with the same proportions of Perlite and Cornish grit I use with the peat-based compost. I potted pairs of cuttings of the same variety at

the same time and looking identical, with one in my normal mix and one in the SylvaGrow mix. This was early in the year at the end of the winter. I noticed the plants were growing equally well in both composts and, if anything, the plants in the SylvaGrow were doing slightly better.

I believe this is because the compost is more free-draining, so the plants are very wet for shorter periods of time and, therefore, grow quicker. I continued the trials throughout the year, potting on the pairs at the same time to the next-sized pot. This continued outside through a long period of hot, dry weather. I was expecting the plants in the SylvaGrow to dry out more quickly as the compost didn't seem to hold as much water, but this wasn't the case. Most of the pairs of plants grew on at a similar pace and flowered at much the same time.

Crosshead

When I cut the plants back and put them away for the winter, the rootball of the plants grown in SylvaGrow seemed to be more intact, while in the peat-based compost they tend to rot away and die a bit more and need potting back into fresh compost. This was especially apparent with the plants I used at the Malvern Autumn Show, which were cut back in late September with little time to come back into growth before the winter.

I also noticed fewer problems with vine

weevil grubs with, if any, just one or two in the SylvaGrow pots, while often several in the peat compost pots, which if not caught in time, destroy the roots entirely.

During the last year and this year, I've grown some plants which were good enough to be used for exhibition. I've also been testing SylvaGrow on some varieties which have a tendency to suffer in hot weather when too wet in peat compost, such as ‘Countess of Aberdeen’. As it drains so well, I'm testing using it at 100 per cent with no additional Perlite or grit. I'm also starting to grow some standards and other trained shapes in the compost.

So far I've found SylvaGrow to be very good and as I use it with more plants,

I'll get more of an idea of its consistency from bag to bag and year to year.

I’m trying growing standards in SylvaGrow

Cu ings grown in my compost mix (top) and SylvaGrow (bo om) – it's hard to tell any difference

Plants grown in peat-free SylvaGrow (left) looking just as good as those grown in my compost mix (right)

I am a retired Industrial Chemist and have had an interest in horticulture for many years and fuchsias specifically for more than 30 years. I have a collection of over 250 different fuchsias and I am fascinated by the range of flower shapes, sizes and colours. I am the current Secretary and webmaster of the British Fuchsia Society.

‘Posset Sparkler’ thriving in SylvaGrow Healthy, bushy growth on ‘Ann Reid’ in SylvaGrow