Last Earth: You might want to do a little more studying and asking questions before placing an order like this. Here's why: 1. The inexpensive trees sold by C&O Nursery are on a standard rootstock that will grow out a tree anywhere from 25-35 feet tall. I think it was you that wanted to plant 3 or 4 trees to a hole. That sure would be a non-starter with trees like this. Trees on dwarfing rootstocks such as Gisela 5 or 6 are always $30 each or more, but well worth it. I wouldn't plant anything else. 2. Standard trees like this would take 5 years or more before they even begin to bloom -- sparsely. Then another couple of years before they begin to set fruit, assuming you could get them to pollinate, which is also tough. Fruit on West coast varieties like Bing and Ranier, assuming it would set, would be subject to cracking before ripe in your humid, Jersey climate. Sweetheart might make it, but a safer bet would be Lapins, which is also capable of self-pollination. 3. Sweet cherry trees in the East are for experienced fruit growers, who know how to prune and care for trees, including spraying when required. I have the impression that you are a beginning grower, so you would have a lot to learn. Sweet cherry trees are very prone to diseases like bacterial canker. 4. If you want to try to grow sweet cherries in Jersey, you would be better off with something like Lapins on a dwarfing rootstock than 3 trees you cannot grow, even though that single tree might be more expensive. Far from cause for disappointment, it is a stroke of luck for you that C&O was out of stock. It saved you from wasting your money. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Most azalea and rhododendron gardeners cringe when they see one that has been trimmed with hedge shears, but in Japan where the best gardeners in the world hand manicure all plants, it is fairly common to see "hedges" of evergreen azaleas. In fact they rather like the look you get when you prune after the flower buds have started developing so you get the green leaves with the isolated flowers rather than the look popular in the US where the plant is a mass of color. These people who treat every plant as if it was a hand crafted work of art such as a bonsai like hand sheared azaleas. Here is a link that might be useful: Japanese Journal of Gardening - pruning

Your exposure sounds about right. Your climate is not ideal but hopefully you are close enough to the Atlantic to buffer temperatures. The vast majority of Fuchsias like mildly cool, humid weather year-round. Hot, humid weather is bad because it breeds diseases that kill them, hot dry weather turns them crisp and dead. Generally, they get sluggish in hot weather; their chemistry is optimized for cool temps. Most of them can stand mild frosts BUT a few can't, and growing in hanging baskets their roots are exposed and if their roots freeze, that kills them. Ideal places are like coastal Oregon and northern California, Madiera, Ireland, west coast of Great Britain, Atlantic coast of France and Spain, much of New Zealand, south-central Chile (where some are native), Tasmania, etc. 1. Watering Fuchsias are NOT particularly fussy about OVER watering. Just make sure that their soil stays reasonably aerated. Because they are in hanging baskets they are unlikely to have standing water at their roots (unless you have one of those types with a saucer under it--which is bad), which would suffocate them. In hot weather you might have to water them DAILY. I would water over misting. They like humidity, but the problem is that fungal spores stick to wet leaves. Misting works better in drier climates like that of California. 2. Fertilizing (chem. breakdown) FEED ME, SEYMOUR! Fuchsias are heavy feeders. They are not picky about brand or type, but liquid fertilizers work well with Fuchsias so that's probably the most common thing to do. Miracle grow works fine for Fuchsias. Besides, in hot weather you'll have to water frequently so you have to fertilize frequently to avoid leaching out all the fertilizer, OR you can use time-release pelleted fertilizers. The usual warning about nitrogen making growth at the expense of blooms doesn't seem to apply to Fuchsias--they bloom on new wood and they NEED some new growth to bloom. A "balanced" all-purpose type is usually OK BUT if they get chlorotic, check if you need fertilizer for acid-loving plants. That's usually only necessary in parts of the country with strongly alkaline water. 3. Dead-heading/'New Arrival Pruning" As for new arrival pruning, I suggest waiting until you can see how the Fuchsia is responding to its new environment, and see how vigorous your particular type is. Highly-bred (overbred) Fuchsias are sometimes lacking in vigor; if yours is one of them go easy on it and only pinch it when it needs it. Wild Fuchsias and some hybrids are rampantly vigorous, and if that is so you can safely prune them fairly severely without worrying. Fuchsias have amazing regenerative abilities and can regrow vigorously from seemingly badly damaged wood. The "pods" are actually berries and by the way they are edible although usually bland (I happen to have the one exception, F. boliviana, which produces mildly sweet and somewhat palatable berries). When ripe they are soft, juicy, and dark reddish-purple. If you get hummingbirds (that would be "Ruby Throated" in your part of the world) then you might actually get berries. Most of the time yours probably won't be pollinated and will fall off on their own. Darker and shiny--hmm, maybe something IS pollinating them! If you do get berries, you can snip them off if you like. Exactly where isn't too critical--you could snip the stem that connects the berry to the branch (ie, just past the berry, before it connects to the branch), but leave the branch alone. The stem that connects the berry to the branch doesn't do anything else and is expendable.

New link: https://plumtreetrading.blogspot.com/2017/01/hibiscus-pruning-standards-plaited.html Old one is dead due to rebranding.