Thickening Fukien Tea

Jrbrown4

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I started out growing Fukien tea and really enjoy the look of them even as I start to expand my horizons into various species. I have a tree that was an air layered branch by my former teacher and does not have the S shape of many imports. I am really interested in making this the strong specimen that I know it can become. I have had this tree for about 5-7 years and it has always been in good health and I have been letting it put out a lot of new leaders this year to really help it become more vigorous. I have played with the styling and have some views that I like but overall I am still not happy with the thickness of the truck which really hasn’t increased much since I purchased it. I was going to either put it in the ground or make a large grow box for it but am not sure which route would be better. I know if I put it in the ground I would still have to put it in a large nursery container because I have to pull it out and overwinter it inside for 3-4 months. I my experience even in zone 8b/9a the cold nights will really blacken the leaves and hurt the tree even with some protection. I was just hoping to see if anyone had ever tried either of these techniques with a Fukien or if not I can buy a few mallsai and experiment until I find something that works then use that for the tree's I am actually hoping to train long term.
 

Bill S

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Not sure how much work you have done to it pruning, repotting etc., but having it in a pot, and pruning are holding it back.
Planting it in the ground then hauling it out won't help it much, if the roots are ready to "escape" when it goes into the ground, removing it will set it back a bit due to cutting/ripping the new roots in the ground.

Put it in a somewhat oversized container and let it grow with out molestation, water and fertilizer as often as you can. Moving to the tropics could help too.:eek:
 

irene_b

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I started out growing Fukien tea and really enjoy the look of them even as I start to expand my horizons into various species. I have a tree that was an air layered branch by my former teacher and does not have the S shape of many imports. I am really interested in making this the strong specimen that I know it can become. I have had this tree for about 5-7 years and it has always been in good health and I have been letting it put out a lot of new leaders this year to really help it become more vigorous. I have played with the styling and have some views that I like but overall I am still not happy with the thickness of the truck which really hasn’t increased much since I purchased it. I was going to either put it in the ground or make a large grow box for it but am not sure which route would be better. I know if I put it in the ground I would still have to put it in a large nursery container because I have to pull it out and overwinter it inside for 3-4 months. I my experience even in zone 8b/9a the cold nights will really blacken the leaves and hurt the tree even with some protection. I was just hoping to see if anyone had ever tried either of these techniques with a Fukien or if not I can buy a few mallsai and experiment until I find something that works then use that for the tree's I am actually hoping to train long term.


Is this the area you live in now?
I also live in this zone and did an experiment of a Fukien cutting this past winter. It survived being outside all year no matter how cold it got. It was placed with my other trees and was not sheltered from the cold or wind. It did lose it's leaves but no die back. I repeat it was just a cutting.
Irene
 

Jrbrown4

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Temperature

Yeah I live in north florida so depending on the map you look at I am in zone 8b/9a. My only real experiment was last winter with a couple cuttings and they really struggled to come back this spring compared to my indoor collection. We had a colder winter than normal with multiple "hard" frosts. I always hear that Fukien's do not like temps under 50degrees and I know our winter nights hover around 40. Please let me know what, if any, protection you gave your cuttings for the winter.
 

irene_b

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Yeah I live in north florida so depending on the map you look at I am in zone 8b/9a. My only real experiment was last winter with a couple cuttings and they really struggled to come back this spring compared to my indoor collection. We had a colder winter than normal with multiple "hard" frosts. I always hear that Fukien's do not like temps under 50degrees and I know our winter nights hover around 40. Please let me know what, if any, protection you gave your cuttings for the winter.

None...They were placed with all my other trees on the ground. No shelter over them or around them.
My big one was kept in the GH and the temps in there would go as low as 35 and I saw no damage to it nor any of my other tropicals. I am thinking the key is the trees adapting to an area.
Irene
 
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