they bloom best on new vigorous growth. it is recommended to cut it back
every year to encourage new growth.

i have never added any fertilizers to mine and they grow like the
weeds they are.

even in the hardest of winters mine will put out some new leaflets on
the old wood if there are more than two days of above freezing temps.
the leaves actually seem to handle a slight night freeze if the days are
mellow enough that they recover. i have never looked that close at the
winter leaves to see if they are curled but i know it is always sending
out new shoots all winter.

i usually cut mine back in the early spring when they start to show full
life coming on.

nambucca wrote:
"Glen Able" wrote in message
...

Hello all,

When I moved into my house last year, at the end of April, I posted to
urg about the sorry state of my new B. davidii. The foliage was all
misshapen with yellowish patches and fell off easily. Nobody recognised
this problem. I've been keeping an eye on them and thought I'd post an
update.

They flowered ok last summer, even though the foliage was always a bit
poorly looking. I was surprised afterwards in autumn to see them start
sprouting new leaves while the old ones were being shed (is this
normal?) They kept this new growth and, as of a month ago, all 4 plants
were covered with healthy-looking leaves around 2-3" long. However,
since the hard frosts (-8C) a couple of weeks ago, these leaves have
started to look rather misshapen again. So perhaps the problem has been
frost damage? I'll be chopping them back soon, so hopefully this year
it'll all be healthy new growth. Btw would it be a good idea to use a
lower-nitrogen fertiliser now to promote flowering?

cheers,
G.A.



Cut hard back to just above the 2nd set of leaves on each stem

Give a thorough feeding of pelleted chicken manure plus lashings of good
garden compost
and water well