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calla_lilly96

my fushia is dieing!

calla_lilly96
18 years ago

I bought a beautiful huge hanging fushia basket that I hung where it would only get about 3 hours of sun, well it started to wilt after summer set in and the temperature started to rise I watered more often and it just got worse so I moved it to shade and in the process I noticed little webs everywhere with these little almost transparent spiders, I bought some pesticied have sprayed it 2 times now I can count the number of leave that are left its looking so bad what should I do? I had kept it fertilized also. I took a cutting to start in water just in case.

Comments (5)

  • seventowers
    18 years ago

    Do fushia's get spider mite? garden spiders don't seem to harm them as I have one living in the hanging basket I have.
    I hope your fushia picks up for you .
    Did you check the label of the insecticide you are using to see if you can use it on fushia?
    L

  • fuchsiabonsailady
    18 years ago

    Hi Calla Lily,
    Where you had it hanging originally, sounds ok in respect of only getting 3 hours of sun a day, in this position was it getting good air circulation?, if not this could have been the start of your problem. What time of the day were you watering?, it should have been in the mornings and not evenings and how much water were you giving it? When they start to wilt through heat, giving them too much water in the pot, will cause all sorts of problems, usually root-rot, better to spray the foliage, especially late afternoons.

    Red spider mite is invisible to the naked eye, so it was probably another type of pest. From your description I think lack of air circulation and overwatering might have caused the original problems and as Laura asked did you check the label of the insecticide before using it?

    If you want to try to save the plant, I would cut it back and see if it will shoot again - Kath :)

  • fuchsiabonsailady
    18 years ago

    Yes Laura fuchsias do get red spider mite, especially if there is not enough air circulation where they are placed. As I said above they are invisible to the naked eye and not to be confused with the very small red coloured spiders that are visible which you also see during the summer (here anyway :), indoors and outdoors.
    Good article on this, see link below - Kath:)

    Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.bonsaigarden.net/ftspidermite.asp

  • calla_lilly96
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    thank you all for the info, the pesticied I got didn't say I could or couldn't use it on fushias, and I was watering in the afternoon until water ran from the bottom of the pot ( it does have drain holes) and after a few minutes I would sometimes go back and water a little more thinking more was better! so if it is root rot does my fushia have a chance of coming back out if I cut back on the water, and cut the plant back, how far back should I cut it back and should I keep fertilizing it weekly?
    thanks so much,
    calla

  • fuchsiabonsailady
    18 years ago

    Hi Calla,
    I would say it's definitely overwatering that has caused the problem.

    If the soil is soaking wet, let it dry out until it is just moist, then cut the plant back by at least half. Remove any old leaves and flowers that may be laying on the soil, keep only just moist and stand in a shady spot. Never feed any plant when it is under stress. Wait until the foliage is growing strongly again - Kath :)

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