Oddball Species and Interesting Cultivars

AJL

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A few oddities from England:-Here's a Potentilla I rescued from a nursery dump last summer- it looked almost dead then but seems healthy now! Also heres a couple of hardy Fuchsia from hardwood cuttings Ive been playing around with,theyre flowering early this year due to the weird weather here
 

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ABCarve

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A few oddities from England:-Here's a Potentilla I rescued from a nursery dump last summer- it looked almost dead then but seems healthy now! Also heres a couple of hardy Fuchsia from hardwood cuttings Ive been playing around with,theyre flowering early this year due to the weird weather here
I gotta get me one of them fuchsias. What fun!!
 

AJL

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I mainly grow Fuchsia magellanica cultivars as they have small leaves and flowers and hardy woody stems which can survive fairly cold winters.
The two I showed are F magellanica Lady Bacon which has very small leaf and F magellanica alba which has white/very pale pink flowers. I think a lot of hanging basket Fuchsias arent winter hardy unless you can keep them in a greenhouse.
 

penumbra

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I mainly grow Fuchsia magellanica cultivars as they have small leaves and flowers and hardy woody stems which can survive fairly cold winters.
The two I showed are F magellanica Lady Bacon which has very small leaf and F magellanica alba which has white/very pale pink flowers. I think a lot of hanging basket Fuchsias arent winter hardy unless you can keep them in a greenhouse.
There isn't a hardy fuchsia for my area that I am aware of.
 

ABCarve

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How cold does it get there?!
I can get to -20F, but I have a temperate greenhouse 55-62 for winter. Can their roots freeze? How cold can they take?
 

AJL

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I keep mine outdoors all year round here in England but we dont get the lowest temperatures you experience in winter.
Hardy varieties can survive down to minus 10 F ,minus 23C USDA hardiness zone 6.
These hardy varieties are deciduous so need to be kept dormant in winter and I guess in your climate bonsai fuchsia will need protection from the severe freezing
 

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I keep mine outdoors all year round here in England but we dont get the lowest temperatures you experience in winter.
Hardy varieties can survive down to minus 10 F ,minus 23C USDA hardiness zone 6.
These hardy varieties are deciduous so need to be kept dormant in winter and I guess in your climate bonsai fuchsia will need protection from the severe freezing
What soil do you use for your fuchsia mate?
 

fredman

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For those Fuchsias I used a mix of John Innes number 2 plus akadama and cat litter in roughly equal proportions.
Thanks. Yeah I thought some humus will be good in there. I have two big ones that i'll be changing the mix this year. They really haven't been doing good in a open mix.
Also i'm going in search of cuttings of the NZ tree fuchsia this spring....Fuchsia excorticata. They grow to huge trees over here.
 
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AJL

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I prefer to keep them in free draining medium for bonsai otherwise they grow too vigorously and with long internodes Could you post some photos of the NZ tree fuchsias? I read they can grow to 12metres tall - shame theyre not frost- hardy!
 

rodeolthr

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FWIW, I garden in USDA 8 outside of Seattle. We routinely have about 2 weeks each winter that will dip down into the high teens (-9C to-6C). The hardy fuchsias are very popular here and grow quite well provided you give them full sun in summer. However, there are many times when they will die back to the ground and all woody stems have to be cut back to allow new growth in spring. I've grown the hardy type in large pots as part of a summer arrangement of plants and flowers. Most, if not all, have died completely when not in the ground. Just my personal experience. I have toyed with adding them to my roster of bonsai, but don't have a means of properly wintering them to ensure their survival. I do however keep all of my Japanese maples sitting out and exposed. They freeze solid during those cold periods, but always, remarkably, flush out beautifully in the spring.
 

fredman

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I prefer to keep them in free draining medium for bonsai otherwise they grow too vigorously and with long internodes Could you post some photos of the NZ tree fuchsias? I read they can grow to 12metres tall - shame theyre not frost- hardy!
Photos will be difficult. Best to check them out on the net. Good photos on google images.
They are quite rare to find. I know of two that I can get cuttings from...they grow in dense bush. I had one a few years ago. It unfortunately died, but i'll give it another go. Love to eat their fruit. Small sweet berries. What is most striking about them is their flaking red bark.
 
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AJL

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Do let us know how you get on with the NZ tree fuchsia cuttings and maybe post a photo when theyre rooted?
It might be worth taking some hardwood cuttings which root quite well as it gives you a more mature looking instant plant for bonsai training.I have had good success with these planted in autumn
 

fredman

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Do let us know how you get on with the NZ tree fuchsia cuttings and maybe post a photo when theyre rooted?
It might be worth taking some hardwood cuttings which root quite well as it gives you a more mature looking instant plant for bonsai training.I have had good success with these planted in autumn
I will mate 👍
Yeah it roots easy. The one I had, I started from a 1" cutting. It's winter here in NZ now though. They're decidious. I'll take the cutting when they start budding....that's what I did last time.
 
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