Alive..Dying..Alive..My old Fuschia and what not to do

[bodhidharma]

As we know Fuschias are not the greatest Bonsai subjects but when i discovered this one on an old building site that i was working on I thought there could be an exception to the rule. The dig was hard but i finally got it out and boxed up (it was midsummer by the way) and into the truck and home. It burst into life and within two years i put it into a training Bonsai pot. For three years it powered on and i thought that it was unstoppable. I made the decision to put it into a pot that would be more becoming and accentuate the stunning trunkline and make it a little more impressive. Preparation was made, pot selected, time of year was right and proper soil was ready. As i had to do a lot of root trimming i frequently sprayed the roots with seasol. What i did not take notice of was,and it was my first experience with this, which root system was feeding which part of the tree. As i found out i had cut of primary roots feeding major parts of the tree. Each vein of life had its own root system. Maybe the reason why people think Fuschias are fussy. As a mass repotter ( i have done a hundred in one day) I had not paid attention to the trees life system and treated the tree like a Maple. I was very disappointed with myself but in all this i had once again learnt that when you think you know it all, along comes Mother Nature to teach you something new and keep you humble. Good aftercare saved the tree but i lost the main leader and some branches and i am now starting again. I now know more about Fuschia's. Future plans are to get rid of the crossing root section and grow a new leader and i hope i dont kill off any more branches The journey of this tree and me so far has been 7 years and still i need Patience, patience, patience.

[anttal63]

A beautiful piece bohdi!!! I love the interaction of the live vein with the deadwood. If i dont look at the foliage i would easily convince myself this is juni itoigawa.

[Pup]

Like you in your first thoughts of Fuschsia, I have not changed my thoughts, but I do remember a fuschsia expert coming to the horti club we once belonged to.

He said which made me sit up, was we treat our fuschsia's like Bonsai, in that we prune the roots every year!!.
Protested wildly not every year only when they need it.

He apologized and carried on, he gave me another surprise coz I was not nodding off. He said that they fertilise straight away with a high nitrogen fert for the first month once a week then with a low nitrogen Phostrogen from then on for flowers.
I thought this might help in some way for its future Bohdi. Although I have never tried this.

Cheers Pup

[Chris]

Hey bodhidharma i have one of these and was looking for some advice on how you to get my deadwood looking like you have.

[bodhidharma]

A beautiful piece bohdi!!! I love the interaction of the live vein with the deadwood. If i dont look at the foliage i would easily convince myself this is juni itoigawa.

Thanks Ant. I was very thankful that i saved the tree but was prepared to accept its loss cause thats the way of things in this world. Hmmm.. you have given me an idea... i could phoenix graft a juni on to it if it dies

[bodhidharma]

Like you in your first thoughts of Fuschsia, I have not changed my thoughts, but I do remember a fuschsia expert coming to the horti club we once belonged to.

He said which made me sit up, was we treat our fuschsia's like Bonsai, in that we prune the roots every year!!.
Protested wildly not every year only when they need it.

He apologized and carried on, he gave me another surprise coz I was not nodding off. He said that they fertilise straight away with a high nitrogen fert for the first month once a week then with a low nitrogen Phostrogen from then on for flowers.
I thought this might help in some way for its future Bohdi. Although I have never tried this.

Cheers Pup

Thanks for that advice Pup. I will give that a go and report back with the results. I still, as you are, am not convinced as to whether they are a good subject but i will persist with this one unless i sell it.

[anttal63]

A beautiful piece bohdi!!! I love the interaction of the live vein with the deadwood. If i dont look at the foliage i would easily convince myself this is juni itoigawa.

Thanks Ant. I was very thankful that i saved the tree but was prepared to accept its loss cause thats the way of things in this world. Hmmm.. you have given me an idea... i could phoenix graft a juni on to it if it dies

Dont say that!!! its not gonna die!!! Besides tanuki doesn't do it for me

[bodhidharma]

Hey bodhidharma i have one of these and was looking for some advice on how you to get my deadwood looking like you have.

Hi Chris, I think from the photo you sent me via P.M you need to let it grow for awhile and start making selections for a decent leader. Keep your deadwood until you have a basic outline of where you want this tree to grow. These respond very well to clip and grow method. firstly, get your main branch structure by wiring your new shoots into place then once they have set take your wire off and cut back to the first offshoot of the branch you wired. Repeat this process until you are happy with the structure of the tree. Once you have your tree in place then look at creating dead wood . strip the bark of the dead bits you already have cut them down and carve them with a dremel and finish them off by hand sanding with a 150 grit sandpaper and then treat them with straight lime sulpher. I usually darken the lime sulpher but Fuschias look better a bit whiter. I hope this helps a little with your project. Keep us posted as to its progress.

[Chris]

Thanks bodhidharma some great advice

[bodhidharma]

Thanks bodhidharma some great advice

My pleasure Chris

[Greth]

This one came from nursery stock a year ago, been growing madly for a year, but thats enough for me, dont particularly want a heavy looking tree, so up and and a big prune and into much smaller container for a few weeks, after a while longer will downsize pot again (had to cut of miles of root system, so preferred to take it by stages rather than kill the thing outright)
Will take off the remaining two long stems very soon, I ran out of room for cuttings...
I only want a small tree out of this, max about 12 inches, and looking for a more feminine and natural look more than chunky stump.

fuchsia Mar10.jpg

Five more varieties of fuchsia have replaced it in the grow planter to decorate our shadehouse for a while!!

[anttal63]

Nice soft movement there greth, no reason why you cant achieve what you want. I love the color of the fucshia bark!

[MasonC]

beauty bodhi!

[Greth]

Thanks Antonio, Im rather happy with it, selected the nicest start from the plants available.
And for those who dont think much of fuchsia bonsai, I will at least get 30 cuttings from this plant alone to sell at markets for $4 each this spring, will give me some spare change for a more traditional species, hahaha
The girls have been delighted with the floral addition to the shadehouse while this has been growing, ballerina flowers and I've taught them how to suck the nectar from the stamens Can't do that with a JBP!

[bodhidharma]

I would love to see its progress Greth. I would also like to see its flower type. They have so many varieties. Stay with this one i reckon it will reward you.