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Remove flowers before planting nursery plant?
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Posted by ginnyginny Zone 9 Calif (My Page) on Tue, May 15, 07 at 18:16
I just bought a fuchsia in a gallon container. It has several lovely blossoms. I would think it might help the plant get established in the ground if I removed the blossoms and any blossoms about to open. I know I've brought these plants home in full glory only to have them die within a couple of weeks. I think the growers give them super vitamins so they are full of color and will sell. I don't think that's what is best for the plant however. What are you thoughts?
Ginny |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Remove flowers before planting nursery plant?
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| >>What are you thoughts? I think more information would help. I suggest trying to figure out the cause of death. It wasn't from not having the blossoms removed, and I don't think that will help. * What were the symptoms when your plants died?
* Did you harden your plants off before planting them in the ground?
* In what part of California do you live? What is the climate like?
* What kind of diseases and pests are prevalent in your area, that might impact Fuchsias? >>I think the growers give them super vitamins so they are full of color and will sell. A shot of fertilizer is sufficient. Fuchsias respond rapidly to liquid fertilizer, and will usually bloom heavily within a few weeks of getting it. |
RE: Remove flowers before planting nursery plant?
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* What were the symptoms when your plants died?...........One day the leaves were wilted, the next couple of days they completely wilted and were dead. I know it could have been too much water even though I tried not to overwater.
* Did you harden your plants off before planting them in the ground? It never got into the ground, died before I could plant it.
* In what part of California do you live? What is the climate like? I live in San Jose with a lovely climate lately. * What kind of diseases and pests are prevalent in your area, that might impact Fuchsias? Mites are the biggest problem and I forgot to look closely although I think their damage is shrivled leaves, not wilted. >>I think the growers give them super vitamins so they are full of color and will sell. A shot of fertilizer is sufficient. Fuchsias respond rapidly to liquid fertilizer, and will usually bloom heavily within a few weeks of getting it. ........Maybe it wasn't the over-fertilization and then coming to my house that was the problem. The more I think about it I guess I overwatered it if anything. Ginny |
RE: Remove flowers before planting nursery plant?
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| Unless there was something seriously wrong with drainage you shouldn't reasonably have been able to overwater it. Once a day would not have hurt it. Was there a catch-basin under the pot that might have been full of water? That would do it. If the water can't drain off it turns sour and full of anaerobic bacteria, and the roots suffocate. You can set pots over catch-basins filled with pebbles to keep the bottom of the pot OUT of standing water. Personally, I prefer clay pots because they aerate better, but I know that further south people prefer plastic because down there clay gets full of salty or alkaline minerals from the water. The rapidity of the onset of death makes it sound suspiciously like disease (which, by the way, can be associated with poor drainage). I bet it got either a fungus or a bacterial wilt. Either one acts with amazing speed and by the time the symptoms show up it is usually too late to save the plant. In that case destroy the remains and give the next one good drainage, light, well-aerated soil, and good ventilation. I hope the next time it works out better. |
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