Through this group I have learned about fertilizing and watering brugs. As a result of heavy fertilizing and heavy watering I have had early blooms--------------and now I even have the remains of previous blooms still on the plant while new little buds are beginning to hang down. That is just amazing to me. So, thanks to all of you who have taught me so much (didn't know about the value of the Y being formed). Also, many of my friends have benefited as I rooted many pieces from above the Y this past winter. People like Bettydee and Gordonhawk are invaluable!
Thank you,
Shirleyd
Grateful to this Forum
Well...Shirleyd... It's my pleasure to help in any way I might... I too started out with one.. my Cypress Gardens from Logees.. after getting 140 blooms at one time... I came here to seek more information ..and got piles of cuttings of old reliables.. to start me off... and lots of advice as how to manage them..
So.. I send out cuttings.. and try to help... to carry on this tradition here...
and because the Brugs when I'm out quietly tending to them.. tell me to do so... I'm but their servent...
Shirleyd, I love passing on what I have learned from others before me. I taught for 18 years. I guess it's difficult to stop. LOL. I encountered some generous people so when I can, I share what I have and pass the love on. :-)
I just bought a Brug (half off sale). I live in Arlington TX (zone 8). What should I do for the plant as it is not in great shape. It has varigated leaves.
C
Please provide a photo and explain what you mean by "not in great shape." Missing leaves? Missing branches? Yellowing leaves? Odd shape? As young plants, many Brugs are oddly shaped, are missing leaves and in general have a gangly shape so they wouldn't win any beauty contests. I would let the plant get acclimated to it's new home for a few days, fed it with a dilute solution of a complete liquid fertilizer until I saw new growth. Then I would start using full strength fertilizer twice a week. I wouldn't remove any thing right now until I saw how the new growth is shaping up.
Do you plan to overwinter the plant inside in temperatures over 50ºF? Temperature over 50ºF allow the Brug to continue growing throughout it's indoor stay. Lower temperature will encourage it into dormancy. If you are going to let it go dormant, I would cut back on the fertilizer early next month or at least several weeks before the average first frost so the tender wood on the plant has a chance to mature.
Photo will have to wait until after the weekend (guests). What I meant was the plant didn't have many branches. It is covered in very small, new leaves all along the stem. The whole thing is about 21/2 feet tall but not well branched. It has been at the nursery a while and it looks very root bound. I was planning on putting it in a large pot and over wintering it in that. I watered with dilute fertilizer when I got it and am wondering if it can survive a Dallas winter in a pot? I can see it will be a stunning plant with or without the flowers if it just had a little TLC. My problem is I do not know what they need. Water, soil, sun...
Cheryl
The pot will have to be taken indoors, either to a basement, garage, greenhouse or the house. Many Brugs are root hardy in zone 8, but not all are that hardy. I had an Audrey Hepburn and 2 Jamies planted in the ground last year. I spent the winter running out to cover the 3 Brugs with burlap and bubble wrap. Since the 2 Jamies were about 1' tall, I took the extra precaution of inverting a fiberglass pot over them. About 18" of the Audrey Hepburn survived and put out new growth pretty quickly in April. The 2 Jamie Brugs died completely and didn't return. If the soil temperature drops below 32ºF, the roots will die. It is easier for that to happen in a pot.
I overwinter my Brugs in a heated greenhouse. This past winter, I kept the thermostat set at 50ºF, fertilized the plants several times and kept the Brugs healthy and growing. Because the temperatures fluxuates so much, my Brugs never go dormant and keeping them at a minimum of 50ºF and fertilized, they were healthier than in previous years, when the thermostat was set lower.
In areas where the humidity is low, Brugs grow best if they have morning sun and afternoon shade. They are fertilizer hogs and when growing actively, fertilizing with a liquid complete fertilizer twice a week is not unheard of. They require moist soil and sometimes need watering every day. If your Brug has lots of large leaves, they may need watering twice a day during very hot days. It is possible to overwater them so when they aren't growing actively check the soil before adding water and don't pot into a very large pot. Let the plant grow into larger pots gradually. This is important in winter when the roots won't take up much water. In the spring, when the Brug is ready to sprint into rapid growth, you won't have as much of a problem if you overpot.
I use Miracle Grow potting soil, because it is the easiest to get at the local box stores. I add some extra perlite to the mix to provide more aeration and avoid root rot.
You can also use the dialog box located at the upper right hand side of the window to search for answers to Brug questions. For example I keyed in "overwintering Brugs". By limiting the search to the Brugmansia Forum and the body of the posts, I got 164 hits.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/search.php?forum=&search_text=overwintering+Brugs&limit=brugsetc&search_area=body&limit_poster=&Search=Search
If you have specific questions, it would be best to start a new thread. You'll get more responses. Adding it to an existing thread, your questions only get seen by individuals that open that thread.