Thanks for the link - I've seen that, and I've googled the name, but still can't find answers to my questions: The leaves are growing and they are coming in white. What does this mean? It appears to be deciduous - should it be pruned every winter, or allowed to grow into a shrub? Is this a matter of preference? I know it can be pruned, but *must* it be pruned?

Hi I donÂt grow Boliviana Alba, but I do grow Bolivian var pubescens (as identified by Jack Lamb) which I find grows very eratically. I have a cutting that I took early season and this has made about 6" growth, while the one I took mid season is about 18" and has already been stopped and potted on for next yearÂÂ. strange plant. The Bolivian var pubescens that I grow throws masses of blooms, I think that you have to persevere and try a variety of locations, I found that mine flowered well in dappled shade with minimum attention. The last Âstop on these is approximately 14 weeks so they need pinching early in the season for best results. TightÂ.

Hi Atash, I'm no expert, just a fly by the seat of my pants gardener. I have found Boliviana very easy from seed but you want to take cuttings so, if it were me I'd be taking some tip cuttings one to two inches long or as short as you can take them. Boliviana has pretty big leaves so I'd cut at least half of each leaf off. The shorter the cutting the easier they root, at least for me. I have some cuttings rooting right now in plain old chicken grit which is kept moist. This time of year I do use a bit of no.1 rooting hormone. These are all under florescent lights, with a clear plastic dome over them. A heating mat would probably make them root faster. If you are only rooting one or two... I've rooted them in 2" pots of soil-less mix, the pots I have enclosed in a clear plastic container and placed in good light, window sill in my case. Others could probably tell you better ways to root Fuchsias, especially cuttings from Fuchsias that have been planted out, I've heard they can be a little stubborn. The seed you sent me has started to germinate :o), Regia has 7 up, Magellenica is slow only one up so far. Patience is the name of the game. A......

There's a great deal of variability with the hardiness of 'hardy' fuchsias but I've found most to be fully root hardy once established. But that pertains to inground planting situations - containerized hardy fuchsias will be vulnerable to the same extremes of cold as any other containerized tree or shrub and depending on the specific selection and the size of the container and its location, they may very well have experienced root damage due to cold. Hardy fuchsias are quite late to leaf out. Often one doesn't see any signs of life until well into April or May. I'd recommend not doing anything major in the way of pruning or repotting until that time. As for treating as herbaceous perennials, I'd consider them more in the category of caryopteris, perovskia or romneya or other woody based deciduous subshrubs/perennials. Wait until you see new growth emerging, then remove any obviously dead wood and trim back to a permanent woody framework. The ultimate size of this framework will depend on specific variety.