I have a 2 foot Rosalla Brugs that had 5 tiny buds on it. When they get about half an inch they fall off. I thought it was the sun so I moved it to a little shade. There still falling off. The roots are starting to come out of the pot so I dug a hole & put the pot in it. I use MG Bloom every 4 days. She is in afternoon sun with some shade. What should I do?
This message was edited Aug 18, 2009 10:59 AM
One of my most favorite Brugs have lost just about all her buds, they get pretty good size, and then in the morning they are on the ground, none of my other Brugs are doing this.
Rhonda,
How hot has it been? That afternoon sun with the reflected heat from that blue plastic fence might be stressing the Brug into losing the buds. If the Brug is not getting enough water dropping the buds would be a way to conserve water and energy. Morning sun with afternoon shade during hot weather would be better for your Brug. Have you check the plant for insects? I had a Jean Pasko who didi the same thing. She lost buds from late spring until the fall when she finally managed to get the buds to blooming size. I remember being told it could be small bud-eating beetles. I never found them nor did I discover why she dropped her buds. It could have been the heat or lack of water sometime during the day. If it's heat related, as long as the plant is healthy, I wouldn't worry about it. She should bloom for you as the temperatures come down in the fall.
It wasn't by the blue tarp. I had moved it to a stump for the pic.
no insects & l water 2 times a day. It has been 80 to 85.
So you think AM sun is the best?
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1028465/
This message was edited Aug 18, 2009 4:22 PM
Hollyhocklady, I've had a lot of bud and seed pod drop. Some drop off I think maybe due to our heat and lack of water. I water twice a day like you, but soil is dried out by the evening watering.
Also, just a thought....I'm changing the color of all my pots. I've been using mostly black pots and changing out to green. Black attracts sun and I've heard green pots will help keep soil/roots cooler. This may not be a problem if your in a cooler zone.
I did find tiny black ant-like insects inside my blooms yesterday. Now I'm wondering if this might be the cause of all my bud & seed pod drop.
Thank you all so much for all the help. I now have her in a nice size pot & she gets AM sun. I also have another brug that is starting to get buds. I will keep you all updated. Again Thank You ALL.
Holly, I agree with cannagirl about changing the pot color. also, I have found that mulching the container (mine are in 10 gallon pots) with about 2 inches of grass clippings or pine needles helps retain moisture in the soil and also helps regulate the temparature.
I only water every other day and water long enough until I see water draining thru the holes at the bottom so I know the soil is sufficiently damp. I ALSO do the finger test on the soil. if you plunge your finger into the soil up to the second knuckle and its moist, it doesnt meed water, if dry, then water...
also, make sure your brug is watered before you give it fertilizer... this helps it take up the nutrients better. I fertilize mine twice a week with one of the recipes posted here and give it a good foliage feeding once a week.
Mine is in a good spot with a LARGE dark green pot, this is a first year blooming for this Brug and her blooms have been weird, two blooms with one callax, and one bloom that the first skirt dropped way down it was white, the second skirt was short and it was yellow, this Brug is one I pollinated, Golden Lady and Hawwian double White, strange things happening with this one.
Doris
I try to place my Brugs into very light colored pots — white or gray — because even green pots heat up the soil too much.
cue_chik, I would be leery of using grass clippings in pots. The clippings tend to mat down and make great places for fungi to grow which happens often. Water tends to bead off and doesn't penetrate the mat. It tends to bead off to the sides of the pot. Pine needles are fine to use. However as they decompose, they will lower the pH. Over time potted soils tend to acidify anyway because most fertilizers are slightly acidic. Brugs grow best with soil pH close to neutral where nutrient absorption is best. But if you replace the pine needles before they break down, they shouldn't cause a problem.
Doris, give your Brug a chance to mature. Maybe cooler weather will help, too.
betty - good advice.. however, i do usually lift the mat of grass clippings when watering... but will keep an eye on any fungus growth... thanks for the heads up
Well here is the update:
Put her in a bigger pot & moved her to the AM sun and she has another bud that is bigger then all the ones that fell off. So far so good. Fingers & toes are crossed. It has to flower because the raglady sent me pollen & we want a nice hollyhock / raglady brug.....
I bought some off white spray paint for plastic and painted all my black pots. It took two coats but they are light colored now.
I haven't tried painting pots, but I did use the spray paint for plastic on some large garbage cans. Two winters ago, I wanted 4 large black containers filled with water to place on the south facing wall of my greenhouse and couldn't find any black cans so I used black paint. It sure took a lot of cans to spray the garbage cans.
Well I spoke to soon. We had a cool nite & her bud fell off :-(
This message was edited Aug 26, 2009 5:47 PM
