In message , JennyC
writes
Hi Nick,

Mine is about three years old. It's in a large plastic pot. In summer
it stands on the terrace with sun for most of the day.

I always cut it right down about now and bring it into the frost free
GH. However last year I had an unnoticed power failure in the GH and it
was down to freezing for about two or three days. Consequently I lost
a far number of tender plants. I thought that the Tibuchina had also
given up the ghost but it started to sprout in late spring.

I gave it some fertilizer (pellets and some bone meal if I recall) and
it took of and is now at least 5ft and bushy. It's still flowering ATM.

Maybe some serious feeding might encourage it - or a touch of frost !
Jenny

Hello all,

Bought my first Tibouchina early this year: about 2 feet tall.
Transplanted to 12-inch pot, which in turn went into a slightly larger
planter, filled up with more soil all around. It sat alongside a
(West-facing) wall and was watered almost every day; it flowered its
socks off all summer and into October.

Now, though: I have no greenhouse or conservatory so it is in the
(east-facing) porch. It looks happy enough, but it's a bit difficult
getting in and out the front door. I thought it shouldn't be pruned
until spring: is it ok to prune it now? Also, I understand it is quite
easy to get the cuttings to root, but for that to happen, when should it
be pruned? Can I play it safe by half-pruning it now (to make it easier
to get past it) and trying to root those cuttings, and finishing the job
in spring, or would that play havoc with its hormones?

Grateful for any info

Klara

(Gatwick Basin)


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