Saving a Fushia Tree Branch, is it possible?

Happy Dude

Hi everybody! My first post in this here forum

Yesterday while helping my mum in her garden I tried to pull up an unwanted 1 ft fushia tree branch that had grown out of the ground close to my mums huge fushia trees in a very hard to reach place, but it broke near the ground so there are no roots at all. She wanted to throw it away anyway but I'd like to save it if possible. Right now I have put it into a large vase of water after giving it a clean angular cut and stripped away a couple of inches of bark.

I have just read that fushia cuttings will develop roots in water easily just like coleus plants which I've successfully rooted, but will it work with a 'cutting' that is over a foot long? I hope so. Would adding some rooting powder to the water help do you think?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Have a lovely weekend all!

Obelixx

I would cut it down into smaller pieces as, in my experience, the bits that roots best in water are the younger, greener stemmed shoots.   Just plain water, nor hormones.

You'll be left with woody bits that you can try and root in a mix of seed and cutting compost with some perlite for drainage.   Keep these somewhere shaded and frost free and give them time to produce roots and start to grow.  

nultyphilip224

Hi Happy Dude,

True Fuchsia Cuttings will develop roots in water providing the cutting is softwood,..as the branches age they become hardwood and not so easy to root from cuttings.

Taking that your piece of your Mom's Fuchsia is soft wood,..leaving it in water for a spell will help though i would suggest dipping the cutting in Rooting Gel or Rooting Powder to guarantee the cutting takes root,..fill a flowerpot with soil and make it moist,.. make a hole in the soil,..dip the cutting in the Rooting Powder/Gel,..place it in the hole and firm around it,..you should have a new offspring to your Mom's Fuchsia.

Lyn

These are the bits you need to cut off for cuttings in water, these have been in a jar for about 2 weeks.

Happy Dude

Thanks for all your help all.

Sounds like cuttings are the way to go, but since I can easily get so many cuttings from several huge trees, I think I'll just experiment and see if I can get this branch to survive somehow. If it fails I lose nothing really.

Regarding the cuttings and putting them into water, is now a good time to do them?

Thanks again and have a great weekend!

Obelixx

Yes, asap, while they're still green and before the shut down for winter.

Lyn

Which fuchsia is it that has grown to a huge tree? 

Paul N

Fuchsia cuttings will easily root in water or gritty compost. I've done this many times. Fortunately in our 'new' garden, we've inherited about seven or eight fuchsias, some are large bushes which clearly haven't been annually pruned for a while. I found one trampled beneath one shrub, and an unusual variegated variety. I am endeavouring to identify each variety.

Happy Dude

Lyn said:

Which fuchsia is it that has grown to a huge tree? 

This is the one. They're about 15 foot high and 15 foot wide. Not sure if that makes them huge trees but they seem pretty huge to me. My mum has three of them in her garden, although one has been attacked by her clematis this year.

LToby

That looks like a Fuschia Magellanica ... yes, they grow big if you don't trim regularly. I even experimented in propagating the branches of this by just planting directly to the ground and it will grow. In my experience it is best to propagate this in early Summer.