Fuschias all seem to be dying after planting

MisterBoy

A week ago I bought 14 small fuschia plants of about 7 different varieties from my local garden centre. All about 1 foot high - single stalk with plenty of healthy looking leaves and a few even had flowers.
I planted them 24 hours later in good, moist soil, they had decent roots but not pot-bound, and watered them.
Within a couple of days, they all looked like they'd been planted in mid-summer, in a desert - leaves dried up or wilting or with scorch marks all over them. I've been watering them diligently and a few look ok but I reckon about 1/4 look good, 1/3 look dead and the rest somewhere inbetween.
It has not been hot or windy here the past week and the change from when I bought fine, healthy looking plants is dramatic.

Can anyone advise me what might be the problem? I wasn't aware they needed much in the way of special attention - are they particularly delicate at this age and how should I have planted them? 

Dovefromabove

What types of fuchsia?  Were they hardy ones or bedding types?  If the latter they should’ve been kept in a greenhouse or conservatory until the end of May.  They’ll have come straight from a greenhouse ... possibly a heated one. 
Also it sounds to me as if they may have been overwatered. Young plants don’t need a lot of water ... let the surface of the compost dry out a bit before watering. 
If you post some pics we may have more suggestions. 😊 

Lyn

Fuchsias at a ft tall with only one stalk won’t be any good, chop them down to buds about 4” from the base.

Dovefromabove

Unless of course he aims to grow standards ...  years ago I had some cuttings in my greenhouse all destined to become standards  ...  and a right knowitall friend of my ex walked in and nipped the tops out 😤 

Lyn

There not though I would think, people don’t often buy 14 standards.  OP says they’ve got lots of leaves and flowers. 
Maybe he is is though, if that’s the case he won’t cut them down.😀🙂

Dovefromabove

There’s no accounting for gardeners @Lyn ... there’s someone who pops in here who seems to be growing a vast forest of monkey puzzles and appears not to have as much as a garden to put them in. 😊 

Lyn

Hope he’s not planning on releasing them into the forests. 😱

Dovefromabove

Hmmm 🤭

MisterBoy

I don't understand much of this discussion They're all bush variants, planted at 1 foot intervals along a border.

What did the garden centre do to keep them looking so healthy, that I've messed up? Maybe they took them in at night and the cool evenings last week were the problem... I'm in northern England and it got down to 2 degrees or so one or two nights... Should these have been protected and planted out once the weather was warmer?

Borderline

If you have bought plants that are already a foot tall and some are almost flowering, it's being forced to make it look more appealing in the garden centre. Fuchsias at this time or year will normally be small plants. They are way ahead of their time and will find it very hard to adapt to the 'real' environment. Especially into the ground. This is seen with Hydrangeas too, so it is important to be patient and see if they will grow back their leaves and adjust. 

You needed to keep them protected at night. With fleece or bring into a cold frame for at least a week or two until they get used to it. 

MisterBoy

Thanks. I think they just bring them out in the day. Not sure if it's worth digging them into pots so I can do the same, or leaving them to see what happens and replacing. The weather is set fine so maybe I'll get on with other jobs and count it a lesson learned if they don't survive. Only £3 a pop, they didn't have larger ones in stock.