Fuchsia bonsai

[bonsai-novice]

I have been trying to make the beginnings of some fuchsia bosai. The small on was just a cutting, and the big one was my first attempt at air layering (which initially i thought hadn't worked) .

The little one I was thinking may be nice to do as a cascade type shape, is it too small to start wiring, or should I try doing it and try and make it an extra little bonsai?

The big one has a quite nice curve in the base of the trunk but I had to bury it to give it more stability whilst the roots grow. i thought the top part wasn't going to put out any sprouts but luckily it now is.

I was wondering whether I should chop off the big stem so it can focus on the others, originally i should just leave it for the time-being? Not really sure what kind of style it would look nice as, but as I say, there is a quite nice curve at the base of the trunk

Thanks for any and all suggestions and help.

 

[stubmle]

I have a couple little ones from cuttings. They grow well, are easy to care for, and do OK indoors for winter with some grow lights. I put them outside when night temps get above 50F.
I find that they're tricky to wire since they are so brittle, but I've had good results with clip and grow. They seem to follow a cascade naturally if you keep top growth in check and let lower growth run a bit more. They are a bit slow to cover wounds but will eventually if the wood doesn't rot away first.
My opinions: try wiring the small one, you might have better luck than I did. if it doesn't work out, easy enough to get it to grow back. Not sure about the big one, I've never seen one that large so I'm not sure where to take it. What a monster!

 

[bonsai-novice]

Thanks for the advice. I've always been unsure about the cut at the end. Is that always just going to be there, or is there a way to minimise it's noticeability?
I know on "bonsai" you buy from places like B&Q have very obvious ones, but then I would assume that with massive produced ones they don't really care about minimising the cut.

 

[stubmle]

Thanks for the advice. I've always been unsure about the cut at the end. Is that always just going to be there, or is there a way to minimise it's noticeability?
I know on "bonsai" you buy from places like B&Q have very obvious ones, but then I would assume that with massive produced ones they don't really care about minimising the cut.

The cut on the end of the large one? That will probably be there a long time, maybe forever. You might be able to heal over it if you get some strong growth in that area. My fuchsia are much smaller, so they cover their (also much smaller) wounds in a few years, usually.
I suppose you could try carving it, or smoothing it out to encourage callusing. You could also just leave it and eventually the deadwood will rot away. It gets kind of punky and crumbly with time. Are you planning to keep most of the trunk?
Sorry I can't be of better help, I just don't have any experience with fuchsia that size.

 

[bonsai-novice]

I was planning on leaving it as tall as it is, but that more depends on how much it can back bud. It's not looking too bad so far, given I cut it off the parent plant in about march. Not really sure what style to go for though if it ever gets that far? I doubt pads would look right

 

[bonsai-novice]

Here's an update of the big fuchsia. It seems to be growing quite vigorously now, though annoyingly the shoots at the end of the trunk seem to have withered and died. Should I just let it continue to do it's thing until it's a bit stronger still, or do you think i can now start pruning it a bit? I was worried I might kill it if I pruned it before now, but I think it looks strong enough now?

 

[stubmle]

Looks very nice!
You'll probably need to cut it back some before Winter, and that's best done when it has some growing time left in the season to recover. How are you planning to overwinter this, and how much time until your average first frost?

 

[bonsai-novice]

Thanks for the advice

I was just going to leave it outside over winter as it's parent plant is outside all year. I expect we'll get out first frost some time in late November early December? But frosts generally seem fairly sparse I think? Normally it's just cold and damp here

 

[stubmle]

Thanks for the advice

I was just going to leave it outside over winter as it's parent plant is outside all year. I expect we'll get out first frost some time in late November early December? But frosts generally seem fairly sparse I think? Normally it's just cold and damp here

Your climate is definitely different than mine- I don't think most fuchsia would survive the winters we get, though there are hardier varieties that might. If it's going to stay outside that reduces the need to cut it back since it doesn't have to fit in the house.
Sounds like you still have a decent amount of time left in the growing season, though it will slow down as the nights get colder. I don't know that I would recommend totally defoliating it at this stage, but you can probably get away with a pretty substantial reduction in foliage. I usually keep mine trimmed back during the Summer, but I want them to stay small. I let new shoots extend a few inches, then cut back to one or two nodes & let regrow. If you're after rapid growth you might want to let them run.
If you want to play it safe, just leave it as-is until Spring/Summer next year. These backbud pretty easily in my experience. No harm in waiting.
I've noticed that cutting the shoots into old wood can cause "bleeding" of the stem ends. Sometimes they'll dry out and die back. If you cut into the older wood, you should seal the cuts. I've found that Vaseline works pretty well for this- not sure why but I have better luck with it than with cut paste for semi-succulent plants like dracaena or cordyline.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Fuchsia are an interesting subject for bonsai. I have dabbled with a few hybrids. There are some species cold tolerant to maybe 25 F (about -4 C ) but majority of the 110 species and their hybrids are frost tender and should be protected unless you know specific hardiness.

Flowers are on current year's growth, or growth less than a year old. Prune often to shape, let grow out to get flowers. Many species do not tolerate high summer heat, temperatures over 100 F ( +38 F) can do damage or be fatal depending on whether the species or hybrid parentage is dominated by cloud forest species.

They root easily from cuttings. If flowers get pollinated, they produce a small, sweet, dark purple, edible fruit.

Stems of new growth are tender, break easily. Wood as it matures is more like an herb, it does not have growth rings, hence it is hard but quite brittle. I do not suggest trying to use wire to bend branches old enough to have developed bark. Wood will give a little, then snap. Care must be used with bending young branches, this means Fuchsia are best as "clip and grow" for styling. Try to avoid wiring if you like the branches you have. The hybrids I've encountered all bud back fairly reliably on old wood.

Where I live it is too cold in winter to risk Fuchsia outdoors. They are outside for summer, indoors under lights for winter. They hybrids seem to need longer than 12 hours of day length to bloom, under lights they can be kept blooming year round.

I tend to prune late winter, and again middle summer, but if you want to be fancy, prune about 10 weeks before you want to show your tree, new growth should produce flowers in about that time. Make notes, time from pruning until new growth produces flowers. It will be useful in planning for bonsai shows. Different species and hybrids may take a little longer or shorter from pruning to blooming. Light intensity will also make a difference. I've always used about 1/2 sun, but I'm far enough north that my summers are relatively cool. In hotter climates more shade is important. Most species are cloud forest or tropical montane species.

The dangling flowers are a delight, and any design that arches up and out to provide a display support for the flowers will really stand out.

Roots are fine and fibrous, they seldom develop thick surface roots, so don't try to expose "the nebari". You can train them to have a wide flat root system, but they are a "I dry, I die", genus of plants, they need constant moisture at the roots. It is easier to use pots as for satsuki azalea, somewhat deeper, the additional media holding moisture to buy you time between moist and totally dry. Drying out will kill Fuchsia, they have no "cactus traits".

 

[stubmle]

Fuchsia are an interesting subject for bonsai. I have dabbled with a few hybrids. There are some species cold tolerant to maybe 25 F (about -4 C ) but majority of the 110 species and their hybrids are frost tender and should be protected unless you know specific hardiness.

Flowers are on current year's growth, or growth less than a year old. Prune often to shape, let grow out to get flowers. Many species do not tolerate high summer heat, temperatures over 100 F ( +38 F) can do damage or be fatal depending on whether the species or hybrid parentage is dominated by cloud forest species.

They root easily from cuttings. If flowers get pollinated, they produce a small, sweet, dark purple, edible fruit.

Stems of new growth are tender, break easily. Wood as it matures is more like an herb, it does not have growth rings, hence it is hard but quite brittle. I do not suggest trying to use wire to bend branches old enough to have developed bark. Wood will give a little, then snap. Care must be used with bending young branches, this means Fuchsia are best as "clip and grow" for styling. Try to avoid wiring if you like the branches you have. The hybrids I've encountered all bud back fairly reliably on old wood.

Where I live it is too cold in winter to risk Fuchsia outdoors. They are outside for summer, indoors under lights for winter. They hybrids seem to need longer than 12 hours of day length to bloom, under lights they can be kept blooming year round.

I tend to prune late winter, and again middle summer, but if you want to be fancy, prune about 10 weeks before you want to show your tree, new growth should produce flowers in about that time. Make notes, time from pruning until new growth produces flowers. It will be useful in planning for bonsai shows. Different species and hybrids may take a little longer or shorter from pruning to blooming. Light intensity will also make a difference. I've always used about 1/2 sun, but I'm far enough north that my summers are relatively cool. In hotter climates more shade is important. Most species are cloud forest or tropical montane species.

The dangling flowers are a delight, and any design that arches up and out to provide a display support for the flowers will really stand out.

Roots are fine and fibrous, they seldom develop thick surface roots, so don't try to expose "the nebari". You can train them to have a wide flat root system, but they are a "I dry, I die", genus of plants, they need constant moisture at the roots. It is easier to use pots as for satsuki azalea, somewhat deeper, the additional media holding moisture to buy you time between moist and totally dry. Drying out will kill Fuchsia, they have no "cactus traits".

Good note about the pot depth- mine are all cascades, so deep pots. They seem to like it.

Have you ever tried putting them into dormancy for Winter? I've had decent results putting them in the basement (hanging baskets of them, not bonsai), so long as I remember to keep them watered well enough...

 

[bonsai-novice]

Fuchsia are an interesting subject for bonsai. I have dabbled with a few hybrids. There are some species cold tolerant to maybe 25 F (about -4 C ) but majority of the 110 species and their hybrids are frost tender and should be protected unless you know specific hardiness.

Flowers are on current year's growth, or growth less than a year old. Prune often to shape, let grow out to get flowers. Many species do not tolerate high summer heat, temperatures over 100 F ( +38 F) can do damage or be fatal depending on whether the species or hybrid parentage is dominated by cloud forest species.

They root easily from cuttings. If flowers get pollinated, they produce a small, sweet, dark purple, edible fruit.

Stems of new growth are tender, break easily. Wood as it matures is more like an herb, it does not have growth rings, hence it is hard but quite brittle. I do not suggest trying to use wire to bend branches old enough to have developed bark. Wood will give a little, then snap. Care must be used with bending young branches, this means Fuchsia are best as "clip and grow" for styling. Try to avoid wiring if you like the branches you have. The hybrids I've encountered all bud back fairly reliably on old wood.

Where I live it is too cold in winter to risk Fuchsia outdoors. They are outside for summer, indoors under lights for winter. They hybrids seem to need longer than 12 hours of day length to bloom, under lights they can be kept blooming year round.

I tend to prune late winter, and again middle summer, but if you want to be fancy, prune about 10 weeks before you want to show your tree, new growth should produce flowers in about that time. Make notes, time from pruning until new growth produces flowers. It will be useful in planning for bonsai shows. Different species and hybrids may take a little longer or shorter from pruning to blooming. Light intensity will also make a difference. I've always used about 1/2 sun, but I'm far enough north that my summers are relatively cool. In hotter climates more shade is important. Most species are cloud forest or tropical montane species.

The dangling flowers are a delight, and any design that arches up and out to provide a display support for the flowers will really stand out.

Roots are fine and fibrous, they seldom develop thick surface roots, so don't try to expose "the nebari". You can train them to have a wide flat root system, but they are a "I dry, I die", genus of plants, they need constant moisture at the roots. It is easier to use pots as for satsuki azalea, somewhat deeper, the additional media holding moisture to buy you time between moist and totally dry. Drying out will kill Fuchsia, they have no "cactus traits".

Thanks for the advice. I would never had considered pot depth as a factor. Where I am in the UK, it can't get colder than maybe -5°C, and rarely a over low 20s in summer. I think it's just a bog strandard fuchsia so fairly tolerant of UK weather and temps, though it was looking a bit wilted the other day.

I've never tried a clip and crow type method before, so any advice concerning that method would be really good

I did prune off a fair amount of growth yesterday (when lumped into a pile, I was surprised at howuch growth there was), but I wasn't really trying to shape it, more just trying to remove the overly long bits. I struggle to have a picture in my head of what I want and how to get there .

 

[Betula1]

You need to be sure that the variety you grow is hardy otherwise in our UK climate they will get damaged or killed by occasional hard frosts. I have a number Ive grown for over 10 years which are Fuchsia magellanica and the cultivar Lady Bacon,which survive outdoors as garden shrubs, but in bonsai pots are safest in a cold greenhouse or conservatory in winter. There are already some useful threads here about Bonsai Fuchsia which would useful for you to look up if you do a search for fuchsia on the advanced search tab at the top of the page - here are a couple:-
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/fuchsia-magellanica-garden-dig.54428/

Thread 'Looking for pollard/broom inspiration for fuchsia'

Mar 21, 2021

So I went to town on this fuchsia today - it has a trunk! Sorry if you've seen this one on a few threads, but I'm giving it it's own.

Had a good chat with @Leo in N E Illinois about styling - whether to go for a 'turtle back' (more conventional) approach or embrace the trunk. Yes there's inverse taper, but the latter excites me much more Thank you again Leo for your thoughts and information, very much appreciated!

Seeking inspiration of UK/European pollard trees or vase shaped brooms, the older the better! Leo said that @BobbyLane and @ConorDash could be the people...

• Clorgan
• broom fuchsia pollard
• Replies: 27
• Forum: General Discussion

 

[bonsai-novice]

I've pruned it a little to try and make it look a little neater, so I hope that's enough, it studdently feels like autumn is arriving here