Sunday, May 17, 2009

Turn about

The little Blog Baby is seven weeks old. The two lateral buds below where it was pinched out last week are showing signs of growth, and the plant is looking very green and healthy It has weathered the storms this weekend very well, but the soil is very wet indeed so I won't be able to feed it until it is ready for watering again. I did turn it today though - along with all the other newly rooted cuttings that I transplanted during the week. Regular turning is important in keeping the plant growing evenly and straight. Plants will always grow towards the light, and the side away from the light will not be as full or well grown as that facing the best light. Turning the pots once a week in the same direction will ensure that the plant gets good light all round.

Because this job is getting bigger by the day I try to work to a system for turning the plants. When I move them to the kindergarten I place them on the shelves with all the labels at the back, then after the first week, when they have all been turned 90 degrees clockwise for the first time, all the labels land up on the right hand side of the pots, after the next turn the labels are in the front of the pots and soon. This way I can be sure that I have turned them all, and am able to see how far I got if I am disturbed while doing it. Works for me!

2 comments:

Prospero said...

Hi. What species of Fuchsia are you using? I'm from Bermuda and am growing quite a few South African plants.

Penny said...

Hi and thanks for stopping by! This particular one is a cultivar called 'La Campanella'. We unfortunately don't have any indigenous Fuchsia species in South Africa.