Back from the dead?

We bought our first brug from a neighbour who cultivates them in his yard. It did not bloom at all the first year, and overwintered in our basement. This second year it finally began to bloom when it was time to bring it in, and it overwintered in our dining room in a pot. This spring we asked the neighbour if he recommended putting it directly into the ground or in a pot in the ground (someone told us the latter is prefered), and he said into the ground and prune aggressively. We did, and were certain after a few weeks it was dead, but we continued to feed and water and it came back from the dead. What do we need to do to continue restoring it to health? What is the best way to overwinter? I don't want it in my dining room again!

Janet,

Whether to plant directly in the ground or sink the pot depends on how much work you are willing to do. The advantage of leaving the Brug in the pot and sinking the pot into the ground is the ease of digging it up later. That is assuming the drain holes in the pot are not located at the bottom but on the lower side. You would have to prune some of the top to compensate for root loss. Pruning aggressively at the wrong time of the year will reduce or eliminate flowering branches. To restore it back to health, fertilize every 3 - 4 days with a complete fertilizer that contains all the micro-nutrients. If you are interested in reading about Brugs, there are two excellent books, one by Preissel and Preissel and the other by Monika Gottschalk. Also try the Search Forum ffeature located on the upper right hand corner of the forum window. Put in keywords to get a list of threads that may address your concerns or start a new thread and ask a question.

In Canada, your only other choice to overwinter is your basement. You don't have to have the entire plant. You can take cuttings and overwinter them in a bucket of water. If you want to get a head start next spring, then overwinter the rooted mother plant. Brugs slow down and go dormant at temperatures below 45º - 50º F. In that state, they don't need light and very little water, only enough to keep the roots alive. Some DGers find a cold closet somewhere and overwinter their Brugs there. If your basement is kept above 50º, they won't go dormant, but continue to grow slowly. In that case, they will need a source of light, a bit more water and an occasional dose of weak fertilizer.

A number of DG members are Canadian. Maybe one of them can give you more details on overwintering Brugs that far north.