Here's my brug, rooted from another plant and set out this spring. It's not even 3 feet tall yet, so I'm wondering if it will overwinter. What will I need to do to protect it? Anybody?
NOID Brug, will it make it over winter
More knowledgeable brug growers will advise you, however, I've had several small ones that have come back although have not had blooms yet. You do need to mulch it though.
Mulch is a given, I know, but I appreciate your input. If it only grew this much in a season, I wasn't sure that I'd ever get it to Y so it would bloom if the cold weather got it.
Hemophobic,
You seem to be in zone 7a. My two books on Brugs and sources other than the PlantFiles indicate Brugs are root hardy to zone 8. Not all Brugs are equally hardy. B. suaveolens and Brugs are are heavily loaded with suaveolens genes are not as hardy as other Brugs. Maturity of the plant also influences its hardiness. Some DGers have overwintered Brugs in the ground, but that's iffy in your zone and if the soil doesn't freeze or stay below 32ºF for long periods. I live in zone 8b-9a. I lost 2 out of the 3 Brugs I attempted to overwinter in the ground. My lowest temperature was 25ºF for a day. Other lows down to 27ºF for a few hours were scattered throughout winter. I tried the bubble wrap, then covered the entire thing with a large resin pot. The 2 Jaime Brugs died anyway and never returned. The Audrey Hepburn lost most of her branches, but the growth close to the ground survived and returned this spring.
If you overwinter a backup plant indoors, you could give it a try to see what survives and what doesn't. New green growth is more susceptible to frost damage than mature growth. So you should probably stop feeding it as winter approaches.
Betty: Thanks for your excellent advice. I do plan to take a couple of cuttings, so maybe if I pot them up so that they get some size on them before setting out, they'll grow enough next year to make it through, perhaps even to Y. They root so easily that shouldn't be a problem.
We'll definitely have temps below 25 a couple of times this winter. The ground doesn't usually freeze, though.
Thanks again.
Angie
Angie, right before you have your first frost, cut the stem all the way down, leaving about 1 inch left. Cover with more leaves or pine straw. Take your big stem that you just cut and keep it in water (with a little peroxide) in garage and if your brug don't come back, then you'll have a backup.
Thanks, Lili. Sounds like an excellent plan to me! BTW, I have two of these about the same size, so maybe at least one will make it.
How did your seeds I sent you last year do for you?
Angie
the daisy never came up, but I have some Clematis flowering right now, but I'm not sure which is which. They are small white flowers. I thought the Sweet Autumn have bigger flowers. Everyone warned me against planting the SAC.
Angie, this is a seedling that I grew out in my garden. It's blooming now. I assume your zone and mine is the equivalence. These will return with proper mulching in the winter, the higher the mulch (in thickness) -- the better to insulate from the below freeze temp.
Lily: Sorry the daisy didn't make it. I'll check my seed stash and try to get it up to date with what I hope to harvest from plants new to me this year. SAC has small flowers, smells great, but is invasive. It will take over if you don't watch it! It's lovely in autumn and is easily controlled by simply pulling it up. I still have some, matter of fact!
Angie
don't worry about the daisies. I didn't expect them to come up, but I tried anyway. I hear they are hard to germinate. I will keep my eyes out for those SAC. Are they tiny flowers? I need to take picture for you to see, because I have 2 vines growing and only one label of SAC, so I don't know what the other one is.