Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

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pureheart
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Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by pureheart »

Hi All,

I'm trying to make a Fuchsia Bonsai and at the moment it is very healthy and lush but I'm not understanding what the branch structure is and I think is ready to be styled.

I'm thinking that I should defoliate, check the structure and then prune, wire and apply cut paste....

Is this the correct thing to do? Is now a good time (Melbourne) or is it too late or not to be done with Fuchsia?

By the way my Fuchsia doesn't lose leaves... Is that normal or is it an hybrid?

Hopefully I'm making some sense! any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Taddeo
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by pureheart »

No one? :(


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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by pureheart »

I guess everyone thinks I'm wasting my time with Fuchsia? :p


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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by Theodore »

Pics will sometimes help solicit a response!

I have no idea on this as bonsai so hopefully someone does eventually chime in!

Theo
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by KIRKY »

Fucshia are evergreen unless exposed to severe frost. Fucshia for bonsai it is grown by the clip and grow method. It can be very brittle and delicate to wire. You can defoliate it at this time of year there are still a few weeks of growing time left in the season. Mine are currently flowering. You can repot Autumn/Spring. The biggest killer with these is drying out or sitting in water. There are some very nice Fuschia's grown as bonsai you can check google for images.
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by Boics »

Yes there are some wonderful Fuschia Bonsai out there.
I got a lovely little dwarf variety once but alas the little guy departed early to Bonsai heaven.
One of the fabulous things about growing bonsai is as you get old and decrepit your trees get old and beautiful
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by pureheart »

Sir Theodore wrote:Pics will sometimes help solicit a response!

I have no idea on this as bonsai so hopefully someone does eventually chime in!

Theo
I will post a photo later ;)
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by pureheart »

KIRKY wrote:Fucshia are evergreen unless exposed to severe frost. Fucshia for bonsai it is grown by the clip and grow method. It can be very brittle and delicate to wire. You can defoliate it at this time of year there are still a few weeks of growing time left in the season. Mine are currently flowering. You can repot Autumn/Spring. The biggest killer with these is drying out or sitting in water. There are some very nice Fuschia's grown as bonsai you can check google for images.
Cheers
Kirky
Thanks Kirky then I'll defoliate and remove unwanted branches... I'll wait for spring to repot to be on the safer side!
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by pureheart »

That's it before:

Image

And after defoliation:

Image

And after cutting the excess but I'm not finishing it cleaning it up... ( my daughter was screaming my name so it was time over...)

Image

What do you think? Am I wasting my time ?


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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by Kevin »

pureheart wrote: What do you think? Am I wasting my time ?
Hello Pureheart,

Not at all.
They are great little plants / trees.
The flowers will reward your efforts.

Good luck and keep us posted,
Kevin
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by KIRKY »

If you like Fuchsia' why would you be wasting your time? :lost: they are great plants.
Liquid feed once you have finished with all your trimming and you will have leaves in a few weeks.
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by pureheart »

Ok mission accomplished...Image
What do you think?


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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by KIRKY »

Wow, serious defoliation. Lots of liquid feed now. And leave it to recover in semi shade, still warm so you don't want the new growth ziziling in the sun.
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by bodhidharma »

You have to be careful when root pruning as they are touchy and if you cut off a main root it will kill the part of the tree it is feeding.They are semi deciduous and can be affected by hard frost. They make ok Bonsai but it is impossible to make them flower close to the trunk. Wire gently and clip and grow your secondary and tertiary branching. They also suffer dieback a little.
viewtopic.php?f=132&t=3968&hilit=Fuschi ... 30#p116123 this could be helpful :reading: .
Last edited by bodhidharma on February 27th, 2017, 3:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Fuchsia Bonsai Defoliation

Post by pureheart »

Thank you for all the info!


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