Tropicals & Tender Perennials: To buy or not to buy...and last year's brug is back!, 0 by plymouthgarden

plymouthgarden wrote:
Hi Brug lovers! I'm in Massachusetts and tried earnestly to overwinter my very first brug. Our winter was so oddly warm and loonnnng - that in January my Brug was still growing (in the unheated garage - we had a new kitten or I would have brought it into the house (she chews everything!). Then it suddenly became winter and my brug was gone. I thought it was a lost cause this spring - no buds, no signs of life (and this was a pretty big 4' tall, multi-stemmed brug). I brought it outside in May and watered it. Nothing. Then I took it out of the pot and noticed that some of the roots were still white, so I soaked it in a bucket. Well - it has tiny leaf buds now!!!! It was just labeled "white". So that is very exciting for me - not sure if I should fertilize it right now, or just let it be....

My other question: Should I buy a 2nd Brug that is for sale at our local nursery? It's HUGE - 3' tall, the biggest leaf is an astounding 12" long. The label on it simply says "Angel Trumpet, Yellow" and the others are pink. The brugs are covered with healthy, big leaves, but not one bud. The stalks are also straight up - no "Y"s. I thought I remembered from this forum from last year that the buds will only come above a "Y". Is that correct? These are priced at $29 each. Seems high, but they are the only ones I've seen locally for sale. I'm dying to have one again - big and full like these - my white one bloomed all summer long and was so fragrant. Would you buy it at that price? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

(The photos is from last year - this year only one of the stems survived, but I'm just delighted that something is growing - hopefully it'll get big quick)

Kara