Our "Blog Baby" is now 6 weeks old, well settled into its soil, and growing well - a little too well if the truth be told!
It is quite tall and threatening to become a bit lanky. If it is left to its own devices it will just continue doing this and land up as a most unattractive plant with a few flowers right in the tip.
So, it must be "pinched" or "stopped" so that it will stop its headlong upward rush and start to make side branches. The growth hormones in the tip are sending messages to the buds in the leaf nodes down the stem to stop them from developing. We are going to remove the tip which will release the lower buds from bondage and allow them to develop.
1. This young plant is well settled and growing strongly. It is quite tall and in danger of developing into a lanky teenager.
2.It needs to be pinched out to force the development of side shoots. I'm going to cut quite a lot off it as it has grown quite tall and I prefer to leave only 2 or 3 nodes after the first pinching. Remember that you are aiming to produce a "fat, round" plant with lots of branches. We don't need the height at this stage. This cultivar, 'La Campanella' is a trailing variety so we want lots of side branches to fill a basket.
3. The deed is done! It look quite drastic, I know, but It is better to be a little daring now in order to keep the plant compact and bushy.
4. The piece that was removed will make a perfect cutting for rooting. I admit that I don't usually leave a young plant to get this big before I pinch it, but I'm trying to keep things in order of performance for clarity here!!
5. This is to show the plant as it is now - 'La Campanella' is a cultivar that branches readily on her own, so a couple of the lower nodes have already started to develop without our pinching them. Not all cultivars will do this!
We are on our way to a good bushy plant that will make a beautiful basket!
Remember to turn the plant 90 degrees each week, and feed it with a weak (25%) solution of Seagrow each time it needs to be watered.
"Pinching is an act of kindness!!" :)
More info on each picture can be found HERE
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1 comment:
Hi Penny, thank you for following my blog; nice to meet a new member of the blogosphere. I love Fuchsias too. They are such wonderful plants with their flowers clad in ballerina skirts; or better the right term of tutus.I used to grow them in Switzerland, but have not been successful in my subtropical garden. Looking forward to your Fuchsias in all their glory!
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