Tropicals & Tender Perennials: it you take cuttings from a blooming plant.., 1 by bettydee

bettydee wrote:
Brugs bloom by producing the first "Y". There after each new branch will produce another "Y" and more buds, more "Y"s, more buds, etc. I took a screen shot of your Brug showing the first "Y". How many more times has your Brug "Y"ed? You have 2 choices on making cuts:

1) Leave the main trunk(s) and the first 2 to 3 layers of "Y"s attached to it and cut off all the rest. Be sure to use sterile pruning shears and to spray the cut ends with a fungicide. This will help prevent dieback on all the cut ends.

2) If the main trunk is very tall, you can make shorter standards by following the instructions in this link.
http://cubits.org/Brugmansia/articles/view/458/
Again spraying all cut surfaces with a fungicide. This, however, will leave the original plant missing its "Y". Before it will bloom again, this Brug will have to go through its vegetative growth again before producing another "Y". This means that the original plant probably won't bloom until the fall of next year.

tikipod, You leave the original "Y" on the mother plant and take cuttings from above that.

You will notice that the branch growth above the "Y" takes a slight zig zag look. This is great for shrubby looking Brugs. If you want the Brug to look more like a small tree, then the cuttings should be from below the original '"Y". This includes any branches that pop up along the trunk or that come up from the soil. These branches will grow nice and straight giving you a straight trunk on a tree looking Brug.

mjsponies, This screen shot of your Brug shows the original "Y". You will need to go up 2 more "Y"s before making any cuts.