Fuschia

[PinkFlowers]

My Fuschia is still pretty small, and after dying off a little the other week(brought it inside out of the storms for a week or so and it got too much sun, not enough humidity me thinks), it's finally bounced back and I'm just waiting to see if the dead ends of branches will drop off or if I'll need to prune them off.
After having a read around on here though, I'm wondering if I should put it into a bigger pot and just let it grow awhile. I'm assuming it's under a year old, as it really is quite small and wiry.
How big a pot would be ideal? And is now the time of year to re-pot it into a big cage? How long should it take until it grows nice and big?
Julie

[Handy Mick]

Hi Julie, can you post some photos?

[PinkFlowers]

Sure, just give me a minute

[PinkFlowers]

Excuse the wild Violets.


Side view.


Dead branch, I can't tell if these baby leaves are new, or dead ones from when it dried out,
so I am waiting to see if these will dry off or if they'll keep growing.
Is there any risk of disease by leaving these dead branches on??

[Greth]

I would leave the leaves for now, sometimes it will drop them while the branch stays alive. Only cut the branches when you are sure they are dead, eg, no green when scratched.
I grew mine on for a year or so in a shallow but wide planter trough, about 6 inches deep, a metre long and about 16 inches wide, with lavish good potting mix, fertilizer and water. It bolted away and by the time i lifted it some roots were over a metre long. the rest of the plants from the grow box breathed a sigh of relief when it was gone, i am sure. Now the trunk is over an inch in diameter and I am working thru stages of thickening up the branches. Have paused in my cutting and growing routine because the thing is now flowering, and i am a softie and will not remove flowering branches! At least the flowers are holding the branches down so I don't need to wire
The planter trough is now home to 3 more varieties, all being spoilt rotten of course, so more potentsai on the way!

[PinkFlowers]

So would potting it into a larger pot be the go? Would it need to be a wide pot like yours? Or would just a larger pot do the trick?
I want to end up with a fairly proportioned tree.
I was just planning on leaving the dead branches to see if they'd fall off themselves, thinking that'd perhaps reduce chance of scarring. Altho with so much growing left to go, I suppose it'd heal over fairly well, yes?
Is now the time to repot?

[Handy Mick]

Julie,
Just leave the plant as is, but plant out into the garden or polystyrine box what ever you like, try not to disturbe the roots if possible.
The reason being is that winter is apon us and it is the wrong time of year to do any work, you may give it a little trim when spring growth starts but not now as the new leaves wont have time to harden off before the winter.

Also are you in a bonsai club?

Mick

[PinkFlowers]

Thank Mick, I'm not in any clubs, not too sure if there are many around?? I've never heard of any. I'm in Outer East Melb.
I've found this Bonsai on google, any chance that my Fuschia could be shaped into this kind of shape? Perhaps I could wire some branches down?
I'm not too sure how to go about shaping it like this, any ideas?
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl= ... 29,r:6,s:0

[dragon]

hi Julie
the one thing i have learnt from doing bonsai is patience it is the most vital lesson to learn to get a tree from yours to the one in the
google will take alot of years training and alot of patience what you need to do is plant out and let it grow trim every season cut back every season
to get thicker trunk and while it is growing do the one thing everyone in this forum still does and thats
read alot . thats my worth
cheers dean

[Greth]

It will take probably two years to thicken up to something much better from where it is now. Keep looking for more, and when you look, check the trunk size at the base particularly. Nursery grown ones are usually forced as quickly as possible to get the largest flowering plant for sale. You are more likely to find better prospects at country markets (Yep the old lady with the recycled yogurt tubs) or ones that are a bit overgrown in the reduced to clear section of nurseries - be careful with these that the plant still looks healthy, no signs of rot or dieback.
Low branches are often an asset for a bonsai hopeful too, doesn't matter too much with fuchsia as they backbud all over the place and frequently.

I went for a shallow but wide container so that I did not develop any thick roots going too deep, as these would have to be removed later for bonsai pot, and this could set the plant back considerably. Mine had heaps of shallow feeder roots when I moved it into a smaller container, so was happy with the move.
Good luck with it!

[Sahara]

mm i saw one like your yesterrday was tempted to get it but it was 55 dollars not sure whether that right for mini fuschias any idea .. youre tree is very lovely by the way and great structure to work with from what i can see

[PinkFlowers]

I bought mine for $17 from Banksia Nursery on Burwood hwy.
Can you begin to shape a tree while it's just out growing? Or do I just leave it? I wasn't planning on pruning it, just maybe wiring a few branches down

[Sahara]

im not sure about fuschias sry but im sure someone else willbe able to answer you soon

[PinkFlowers]

youre tree is very lovely by the way and great structure to work with from what i can see

Thanks I love the little flowers it gets, tiny little things that're only 1-2mm long. Adorable.

[Sahara]

youre tree is very lovely by the way and great structure to work with from what i can see

Thanks I love the little flowers it gets, tiny little things that're only 1-2mm long. Adorable.

yeah i was very tempted to get the one yesterday but ill think i check out whre you got yours instead that quite a huge dif in price and it around tha same size as your tree to

are u coming to the bonsai meet tonight in kew?