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Cuttings. NB Whatever submissions are included in this website by individuals are the opinions of those individuals and not necessarily those of the society. You are always most welcome to question or challenge what you do not understand or what you may disagree with. I read in an old copy of Fuchsia Fanfare that dipping cuttings into honey gives 99% success rate. Anyone game to experiment ?
Stock up with Palm Peat bricks - the nurseries do not always have the "unwrapped" ones that are half the price of the wrapped ones so grab them when you see them. Ackermans Home Store were selling very nice "Tupperware" type boxes last year - I like them because the kind of seal they have is easier to close than the traditional tupperware seal - perfect as a propagator. Update: Although I have had success with Palm Peat I have recently followed the recommendation of two of our members and have been trying a 50/50 mixture of Vermiculite and Perlite and I am very happy with the results - loses have been less and I find that the delicate little roots seem to be "freer" to move rather than to grow bunched together. I have also found that it is wise to open the propagators once or twice a week and after about two weeks not to seal completely. Doing it this way prevents any Botrytis occurring. רררררר
רררררר A useful observation from one of our members follows OSMOSIS AND FEEDING: Osmosis is defined as "Diffusion of a solvent through a semi permeable membrane into a more concentrated solution, tending to equalize the concentration on both sides of the membrane”. Reverse Osmosis occurs when the concentration in a potting mix is higher than that in the plant, so that the solution, i.e., nutrients dissolved in water, cannot be taken up by the plant and in fact may be lost to the potting mix, causing the plant to wilt even when the potting mix is moist. In other words, Reverse Osmosis is osmosis in the opposite or reverse direction to what we are trying to achieve, that is, feed our plants with nutrients. Therefore, it is important not to overfeed plants, but the recommended frequency of application may be adjusted to suit personal preferences as long as the amount of fertiliser used for each application is adjusted accordingly. For example, if 5ml of a certain product in 5 litres of water, applied every two weeks is recommended, then half that strength i.e., 5ml of that product in 10 litres of water can be applied once a week. By feeding plants more frequently, but with a weeker solution should eliminate the problem of reverse osmosis. A. Szollosi רררררר BOUNCE BACK A number of our members have been using a product called Bounce Back made by Neutrog this past season and reports coming in are excellent. This product comes in pellet form and has a slow release action but for my small plants I like to crush the pellets into a powder.
WHAT ARE YOUR IDEAL GROWING CONDITIONS IN SA ? Do you use a shade house or just shade cloth overhead and if you were able to construct your ideal growing area what would it be? Share your dreams.
My Fuchsias grow under 50% shade cloth in an area on the East side of my cottage. I increase the shade cloth in summer by adding a removeable 50% shade cloth thus giving me 75% (see chart below) These pics give some idea of my area. A useful chart.
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COMBINATION OF |
RESULTING PERCENTAGE |
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SHADE NETS |
OF SHADE OBTAINED |
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20% & 20% |
36% |
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20% & 30% |
44% |
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20% & 40% |
52% |
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20% & 50% |
60% |
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20% & 60% |
68% |
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20% & 70% |
76% |
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30% & 30% |
51% |
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30% & 40% |
58% |
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30% & 50% |
65% |
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30% & 60% |
72% |
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30% & 70% |
79% |
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40% & 40% |
64% |
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40% & 50% |
70% |
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40% & 60% |
76% |
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40% & 70% |
82% |
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50% & 50% |
75% |
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50% & 60% |
80% |
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50% & 70% |
85% |
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60%& 60% |
84% |
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יייייייייייי
NEVER GIVE UP
Recently I had a few plants suddenly curl up and look very dead, leaves went soft and dropped off overnight. I could not believe the speed at which this happened and naturally looked for all the pests and diseases that plague Fuchsias but could not come to any conclusion except that some of them felt a bit too wet. I set aside what is now called my "hospital" area, removed the plant from its pot careful not to disturb the soil and placed it into another pot with a little very dry soil at the bottom. I then gave them about half a teaspoon of Epsom Salts and added a teaspoon of Efekto Insecticide Granules just in case and then left them - no water - nothing for several days and guess what I have tiny new green shoots. These pictures were taken before I removed all the very dead leaves and then after the shoots appeared. I will update as they grow.
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Wise words: If you have a burning candle and you use it to light the unlit candle of the person next to you you not only keep your light but you increase it with the second candle.
It
is a good idea to start now and into February sorting out and cleaning all
your pots especially the containers that you use for cuttings. Give them a
good wash ready for the cuttings you will be taking from your own plants and
those that you may acquire at our workshops and from friends. Don't forget
to make sure that you have labels for names otherwise you will end up with a
whole lot of unnamed plants like I did last year. I have found a really nice
waterproof pen - nice fine nib and with a special rubber should you wish to
remove a name - "Faber-Castell Multimark1513 permanent"
