"Maya" outdoing herself this Summer......

I have a "Maya" Brug that is about 4yrs. old in the same pot. Means--I have NOT root-pruned it or re-potted it....
I usually dig this 16" (or so) pot half way into my bed for stability and to keep the soil temps, as even as possible.

Well--This Summer--this Brug has outdone anything I have ever seen!!!! It is currently in it's 4th amazing bloom-flush. This bloom-Bonanza started with the first flush in June. I was amazed--as it had just, barely, come out of my basement and dormancy. In no time at all--it just went blooming-bonkers!

I believe this SHOW is due to the fact that it is VERY root-bound.

Here is flush #1--in June

This picture shows the stages of color the "Maya goes through.
I know there is a thin line of identification between the "Maya" and the "Peaches and Cream"....
Through DG--it was decided that what I had was a "Maya"----it had to do with the length of the calyx between the two.

July--it took a break---

Here is flush #2---in August.

Really pretty!

Karen

Here is flush #3--in mid-September.
Note--behind all the open blooms are, already, all the buds for flush #4.

Here you can see the unopened buds just waiting their turn.

As soon as all the #3 blooms fell off-thanks to a hard rain-storm--the new buds were all ready to burst open.
I am blown away--every day I look at this plant!

And here it is in full flush again--#4. Still September!

By now I have decided that i need to give this HUGE plant away--as in my area--I have to take it in my basement and keep it semi-dormant all Winter.....

...Starting to search for takers.......:o(

Night shot----Love how the flash accentuates the white! And--OHHH! The fragrance!!!!

Getting serious about finding a taker now.
Posted it on Craig's List----NO replies. All I got were 3 Spam replies....D-E-L-E-T-E!

Called my City's Cylburn Arboretum and offered it to them--FREE. TWO Brugs--the other one is a Rose Souvelons--in the same "Too large" category to store in my basement......
This Arboretum is owned by the City of Baltimore Dept. of Parks and Recreation.

Waiting for a reply....waiting...waiting......Sent another e-mail with more pictures......Still waiting......

Finally--they responded!!!! Long story short--they are now coming with their truck tomorrow to get the two Brugs. Had a nice chat today with the man coming to get them. Don't think he was a gardener--but he was pleasant to talk to.

Then it is THEIR choice what they do with them. I hope they get a big thrill out of all the blooms (till they fade) and then I hope they take a zillion cuttings and root them and sell them at their annual Plant Sale.

Farewell shot--taken yesterday......I DO feel a bit sad--but then again--life goes on--even for plants. Just not in MY Garden!

Here is the "Maya" taking Mama's place.
This is one of the cuttings from last fall. gave many away--kept this one.
Jist today--it opened the first of it's 4 blooms.

YES! Life goes on.......

Here is the other one i am giving away.....It is the Rose Souvelons.....
A good rooter--and a good bloomer.....just grew too big for my basement as well. Also--miserably root-bound. Like--SOLID! That must be the secret!!!!

Good Bye to this one too! I also have another one of this that I am keeping.....

I wish I could have taken it off your hands... LOL I don't have a Maya.

What a nice gift for them, that's very generous of you, they both are beauty's, so they are in for a treat, they look so healthy,

Elizabeth

They ARE!
I think I only had one bout with Spider Moites earlier in the Summer...Sprayed them god with Neem. haven't had any problems since...

The Arboretum said they could not "guarantee" that it would stay on their premises---and something....not sure what she said--that there is a chance of insects in the Green House.....

Well--it will be out of my hands after tomorrow. Hope they enjoy the blooms while they last.
I am hoping they will cut it back and take a slew of cuttings to root and to sell at next year's Plant sale they hold every year....

These large plants are, somewhat, a pain in the butt to have here--as they have to be wintered over in the house....

I just think "The Thrill" of having a Brug is gone by now!!!!

Gita

Sorry you have to give them up! What if you had to overwinter 100+...

yardqueen,

I would never have more than a few.....Three is about it!
As it is--I still have 3 left to overwinter--but they are younger plants....Will manage!

Can't you leave yours in the garden all winter in TX??

Just dug my pot out of the bed.....Wasn't as bad as I thought--just hard to access the pot from all sides....All kinds of other things in the way!

Gita

Gita, that was a gorgeous "Maya" you had. What you need is a compact or dwarf Brug. I just wish they existed. I live farther south than yardqueen does, somewhat between zone 8b and 9a. Lowest temperatures in the last few years have been between 25 - 26ºF, really putting me in the zone 9a category. Brugs left in the ground will die down to the ground. Some will return in spring and some will not.

That was about the prettiest Maya I have seen!!! Now see, it grew SO WELL for you...and I kill all variegated brugs :-(

You found them a good home though :-) That was very nice to share.

Gita,

I have left some in the ground, but I cut them down and root the trunk, and those do better than the ones left in the ground. I have potted all the rooted ones this year, and I don't want any in the ground any more. So I am going to dig them all up and either pot up or get rid of each one, depending on what it is. As bettydee said, they come back from the roots. But they don't always grow big enough to Y and bloom.

Carol

The Audrey Hepburn I left in the ground this past winter is just now blooming for the first time this year. When it was in a pot, it had blooms almost continuously all summer. I'm going to root a trunk and it's going back into a pot.

Gitagal, do you have any cuttings that I could buy from you?
The 4 o'clock seeds that you sent me last year have bloomed profusely. Thank you so very much!!!

Lynn--
No! I did not take any cuttings--as I did not want to"deface" this magnificently blooming Brug by cutting back.
I have had this plant for about 6 years now. The last 3 it has not been re-potted. I still think it bloomed so amazingly this Summer ONLY because it is so miserably pot-bound. Nothing else has changed over the years....

You could try the Brugmansia Forum and ask there....There is a very similar Brug to the "Maya" called "Peaches and Cream"....also has variegated leaves...I think the difference is only in the length of the calyx.

Maybe end of next year when the replacement has grown big. Right now it is only about 2' tall--but is blooming and has a bunch more buds.
That was a cutting from last fall....Just went out and took a picture for you.....


Gita

I gathered about 2 cups of seeds from my 4's this Season....
Try digging up the roots and saving them dormant--as you would Dahlia roots...Just air dry them first and then throw them in a cardboard box for the winter. You might want to cover them with some dry peat moss or something...

Early in the spring--pot up the roots in som kind of a container just to see what sections will sprout. Then plan them in your beds. I did that this year--and one of the roots grew a 4-bush about 3'tall and 4'wide. MASSIVE!

Look! That is ONE plant!

Here is what the roots looked like when I dug them up last Fall. Amazingly--these were grown in ONE season by the plant that I started from seed!
They loose that speckled look as they dry.

I believe in the South--where they can stay outside all year--they are considered invasive...

Your Maya is beautiful. Picture perfect!!!! I don't think mine has ever had that many flowers on it at one time.

Gigital, thanks for the advice and the pictures. I will look for Maya or Peaches and Cream.
Oh my, those roots on your 4 is amazing. It just boggles my brain to think that started from a seed this year. I will dig at least one of them up to see if it will overwinter. I have been collecting seeds, they are fun and easy to get.

That Maya was beautiful! I hope they appreciate it and take care of it. The variegated ones are hard to grow here. I have managed to keep one alive this year out of the many I have tried. If it lives through the winter I will be amazed.

Fool4,

Do you leave yours outside for the Winter?
If you bring them in--what do you do--how do you treat it?

I have to take mine in the lowers level of the basement that used to be my Ex's Shop. There is almost no light there and no heat vents--so it stays cool.
I just remove most of the leaves from the Brugs (they would fall off anyway) and drag them down there and, pretty much, forget them. A few times during the winter I water them lightly....

In May, I take them outside and keep them in a shaded spot for about 2 weeks. Then I move them to a brighter place--and, eventually, to a sunny spot. They just go "POOOF!"--and turn green almost in a few days from bringing them out.
The "Maya" took a bit longer....Here is the same plant in May of this year---waking up and starting to grow leaves....
Hard to believe--I know!

Gita

I leave the ones in the ground for the most part but the slow growers I dig up and bring in. I don't have any problem with any other than the variegated ones, lol. Its too warm during the day for any of them to go dormant fully but they just sort of hang out until spring. Its so hot here during the summer most of the variegated ones don't make it and the ones I tried before I got in winter time. The first one did fine as a houseplant in the window but once it went outside hubby overwatered it and the others just couldn't survive the heat. I got this one early summer and kept it in more shade on the front porch out of easy reach of the water hose, lol. I think it would do ok in my front bed that has some shade but it will have to be dug up for the winter. They don't grow back well from what I have seen so I will sink the pot next spring like you did and try it there in a little more sun. One of our biggest problems is lack of rain. City water will keep the brugs alive but they really need natural rain to thrive. Hopefully next year will be better than this summer was. We would all dance for joy if we saw a cloud coming, lol. The rest of our county gets more rain but something with the terrain and hills here causes it to split and go right around us most of the time. We have been getting good showers lately and I am finally having some good buds setting. The leaves look like crap from the grasshoppers and little green worms but I have been trying to not spray so much this year and hand picking them worked pretty good but since the rain the caterpillars have just exploded. Maya seems a bit more hardy than snowbanks which I killed several of so I have hopes. I will put it in the window again and keep it away from my husband in the spring, lol.

I bought what was labled sunset but it looks a lot like the one you have, variagated leaves and all. I was impressed with the blooms but really is amazing is the smell at night and the giant, hummingbird like moths it keeps attracting. I am hooked!
Cheryl

Cheryl, do you have a photo of Sunset's blooms? Mine hasn't bloomed yet and I like to see what the difference between it and Maya is. They are two separate cultivars according to what I have read.

This was taken a couple nights ago. The color of the blooms was more white and the last ones turned a pale orange.
Cheryl

bettyd, I live in zone 8A, do you think mine will survive outside in a pot? Should I move it to the garage? I didn't realize they couldn't take the heat. I see people from TX with pics of them and none has mentioned that they are badly affected by our heat. This is depressing news as I was thinking of getting a few more next spring.
Cheryl

Cheryl, I'm in zone 8b although the coldest it has gotten in the last few years puts me in zone 9a. I had 3 planted in the ground last year. One returned from the buried trunk, but the other 2 didn't. Potted plants freeze even faster. Your Brug has to go indoors to a place that doesn't freeze if you want to get a head start next year and want blooms sooner. The roots will probably be OK in the garage although the top might freeze if the garage gets below freezing only now and then and only for a very short while. Longer than that and you risk losing the roots as well as the top.

Some newer named Brugs can handle hot weather better than most, but other Brugs will get some spring and fall flushes — still worth having Brugs — provided you protect and keep the growth above the "Y" going from one year to the next. A few will actually continue to produce blooms even in summer. This link started out as favorite Brugs but developed into naming Brugs that withstand heat
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/797671/
Bad Angel is said to bloom well even during the summer. I've discovered that to bloom in summer the Brugs have to have both heat and numidity. Mine went dormant last summer because it was s hot and dry.

yes.. she plays well with others also.. sh's a great show... all the time

Gordon, who is she playing with in that picture?

Oh...that's Clearodendrum ..
http://logees.com/prodinfo.asp?number=R1174-4
that's her there at logees... I might have a seed or two if you'd like to give it a whirl...
I've never sprouted any of the seeds out .. I sometimes just make cuttings root...but I can only imagine they will work like other seeds do.. I bring her in and she flowers sparotically through out the winter in the west window...it's a vine and grows nicely.. inside or out.. one of my all time favorites... but then I have a pile of diffferent clearodendrums.. my favorite of all for the blue ...butterfly looking blooms is this one
http://logees.com/prodinfo.asp?number=R1177-2
but it's more of a shrub..or bush..

That almost looks like bleeding heart! I have seeds for the blue one that I will start this year.

The blue one gets about 7 feet tall at my house and blooms late October since it freezes back and starts over. I need to dig it up and put it in a pot but the trunks are very big. I wonder how deep the roots are. Might have to try some cuttings and start a new one in a pot.