Dormancy! Pros, Cons, Do's & Don'ts!

I'm thinking of letting my Brugs go dormant for the winter! I've never done this before & I'm wondering just how complicated it might be! Usually I do cuttings - but I'm getting impatient when Spring & Summer arrives waiting on the buds & blooms! Any input would be greatly appreciated! :)

Ok! A few questions:

How often would I water? Any idea of how much to water?

I don't plan on using the grow lights. Anything special I should know considering I'm not going to be using them?

What types of pests & critters should I expect while they're in dormancy? Will I need to keep the 'Neem' oil around?

What's an ideal room temperature?

Should I keep the ceiling fan on for air circulation?

Do you (or anyone) have pics of Brugs while they're in a dormancy stage? I'm curious to see what they might look like all stuffed in a room, basement, garage, etc! I'm sure they look lifeless! No leaves, etc.

If I think of any other questions - I'll be sure to ask! These are the important questions I'm concerned about, before I decide what I'm going to do! And if I've missed something & someone notices it - please YELL, really loud! lol!

I feel this thread may give me some excellent thoughts & ideas! Hoping it's useful to everyone! Personally - I'm never to old to learn! :)

Mike

'Confusion'

Mike,

I am planning on letting mine go dormant for the first time also. I have read information and asked some questions in the past so this post is like a little test for me. LOL

I will answer these questions and then hopefully someone will come along and tell us both if I gave the right answers!

Q:How often would I water? Any idea of how much to water? A: about a cup per pot every couple of weeks

Q: I don't plan on using the grow lights. Anything special I should know considering I'm not going to be using them? A: If they are going dormant you shouldn't use lights anyway.

Q: What types of pests & critters should I expect while they're in dormancy? Will I need to keep the 'Neem' oil around? A: I am not too sure on this, but since they won't have leaves, maybe there wouldn't be any.

Q: What's an ideal room temperature? A:45-50*F

Q: Should I keep the ceiling fan on for air circulation? A: couldn't hurt

Q: Do you (or anyone) have pics of Brugs while they're in a dormancy stage? I'm curious to see what they might look like all stuffed in a room, basement, garage, etc! I'm sure they look lifeless! No leaves, etc. A: I don't have pictures, but you are correct... lifeless, no leaves.

How'd I do? ^_^

How do I overwinter them in a GH? Do I let them go dormant, or keep watering them? This is my first year.

On the ideal temperature. Before this past winter, my greenhouse temperature was set at 45ºF. My Brugs didn't go dormant because the daytime temperatures often get above that. They continue to grow very slowly, but grow they did. I've read that the temperatures have to be under 45ºF. Any fluxuations above that temperature and they won't stay dormant.

Spidermites will be your biggest problem if you get them, but if you spray your Brugs with a miticide before taking them indoors, it might reduce the problem. Having plenty of air circulation and some humidity will help in avoiding the issue.

Use the Search Forums dialog box in the upper right hand corner to look for overwintering photos. I have seem a number of threads on the subject.

The thing to remember about Brugs is that in winter their roots don't take up much water. If the roots sit in waterlogged soil too long, they will rot. Root Rot is probably the biggest Brug killer during winter. Dormant or nearly dormant Brugs only need enough dampness in the soil to keep the roots from drying out. How often to water has to be judged individually as some plant will absorb water faster than others depending on plant and root size and use your fingers to test the soil before adding water.

Lynn, whether your Brugs go dormant or not in a greenhouse is controlled more by the daytime temperatures. If you get lots of sunny warm days, growth will slow down, but the Brugs will not go dormant. If winter temperature go below 45ºF and stay below 45ºF all winter (for the most part), then your Brugs will go dormant, but may not lose all their leaves. They would still have to be treated as dormant plants. Use your fingers to check the soil moisture before adding water and then only by the cupful as yardqueen suggested. You will have to set your thermostat to about 40ºF to keep them from freezing as well as keeping them below 45ºF. If your temperatures fluxuate, your Brugs will not go dormant.

If they don't go dormant, as mine don't, I've learned that setting the thermostat at a minimum of 50ºF works out better for the Brugs. They suffer less die back and have fewer problems. I've also learned that keeping them fertilized with a weak solution also keeps them happier and healthier.

Thank you so much for the advice. I bought several from a coop this year, but only one has bloomed. It is gorgeous, and now I am hooked. I took a cutting from it 2 days ago, can't wait to see if it roots. I only planted one (Kong) in the ground, it never did anything, but it is still alive. Maybe next year it will bloom. I potted my Brugs in Coir, so they should drain well. (I think).
I keep my GH around 40-45 during the winter. I will keep it a little warmer this year, now that I went Zone crazy and have a bunch of tropicals to bring in.

My DH and I had a thermostat war for several winters until we discovered a propane leak. Once the leak was fixed and my DH saw that the heater used much, much less propane, I was allowed to raise the temperature in the greenhouse. That's how I discovered that my Brugs stay healthier if the thermostat is set at 50ºF. I also discovered that the yellow leaves my Brugs had over winter was due mainly to the leaking propane. Apparently, members of the Solanaceae Family are very sensitive to propane.

The usual recommendation is not to fertilize during the winter and I'm sure that holds true for dormant Brugs. I found my Brugs looked healthier and had fewer insect problems if I fertilized them several times during winter. They also need a bit more water than the dormant ones. I keep them on the drier side of moist. Until I learned to keep them drier, winter time was a dangerous time for my Brugs.

I'm a Zone pusher as well. I don't know what I'm going to do when some of the trees I have in pots get bigger. Root pruning is gong to be 'fun'

How many Brugs do you have? What size GH? It must be a big one if you have trees in pots!

I have about 25 Brugs in various sized pots. Many of them were damaged badly by grasshoppers. More were killed outright by them. I have a small 8' x 8' orchid greenhouse, built by my younger son and a 20' x 20' for my tropicals. I did have to cram the plants in last winter, but I had some plants that arrived too late for fall planting last year crammed in there too. I have one monstrous plumeria tree and a yellow Cordia lutea
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/68043/
A scarlet Cordia sebestena
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54472/
all in 24" pots. They will probably graduate into 3-" pots next spring. The rest of my plants are in 18" pots or smaller.
This is a photo of my scarlet Cordia in bloom this summer before the grasshoppers ate all the flowers. I was hoping to get some seed this year.

I didn't realize that the grasshoppers were that evil. Something has been chewing my leaves on them and my hibie's, maybe it is grasshoppers. Should I spray with Sevin?

I would die for your big greenhouse. Mine is a glass house, 10x12. I have a twin to it, but we need to set it up (been nagging the DH to get it up before frost).

Your Cordias are beautiful. What else do you have? I would love to see a pix of your Plumeria tree.

Grasshoppers are evil, evil creatures. They will eat anything and everything. They are easiest to kill as nymphs by putting out bait, but it takes up to 6 weeks to see any difference. Meanwhile they are chewing on everything. As adults, they are almost impossible to kill. They have to come in direct contact with some sort of spray. The problem is once you have killed the ones in your yard, others move in to take their place. I live on a ranch so killing a few hundred doesn't help when there are tens of thousands just waiting out in the surrounding pastures to take their place.

I have mostly Brugmansias and plumerias, but I do have a few bananas, citrus, some euphorbias and adeniums and 3 tropical hibiscus. I'll take a photo of the plumeria first chance I get.

Here is a pix of my ugly crew last year, this was taken about a month after bringing them into the basement. I only gave them 1-2 cups of water (depending on the size of the pot) about every 4 weeks. My basement gets cold but not freezing; I didn’t use lights or fans, just left them there and brought them out in the spring. I did use a systemic and sprayed them with neem oil before bringing them inside

Yes Mike what you are talking about doing would be great and I would do the same but I don't have anywhere that is cool enough for them to go dormant. My garage stays about 50 and they keep still grow and put out new leaves. The greenhouse gets too warm during the day but cold at night. Don't know how they are going to take the big swings yet since I only run the heater on nights that will get below freezing. A basement would be ideal or maybe a spare room that you could shut the heat off to and block the light coming from the windows? I would think a fan would be of help. Air circulation is always a good thing. Watering would depend on the pot size I would imagine and how rootbound they are. I would stick my finger down in it and see if they need water or not. On the dry side would be best. I used my daughters room for the smaller plumies last winter and did all that and they only needed to be watered a few time all winter. I only gave them a drink if the soil got really dry. I can't put the brugs in there because of the carpet. I have a round pool I put the plumerias in and she still has room to get around them when she is here for the holidays, lol.

This message was edited Oct 7, 2009 5:11 PM

I'v been reading all the info here and I have no garage no basement and this room that they (2) will be in will be around 60-65 sooo what do you think I should do this is my first time ever with them and I don't want to lose them as you have all made me fall in love ;0)
Gloria

At that temperature, the Brugs will continue to grow. If you can, place the plants in front of a sunny window so they won't get so leggy. If you don't have room the the entire planted pots, take large cuttings (trunks with their "Y"s and place them in a bucket. They should root and be ready for a pot come spring. A third choice would be to prune the tops off and place the pots in the coolest part of the house. Root the cuttings as backup.

Before you take them in, spray the tops and if possible apply a soil drench to get rid of any pests.

Veronica,

What do you use as a soil drench?

Carol

thank you
Gloria

Carol,
I've used a few different ones trying to find a solution to my biggest problem — fire ants in the pots. For other soil pests, several people have recommended using Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub Insect Control as a soil drench. It is a systemic that can be used on plants in gallon sized pots as well as larger plants. It is available in liquid or granular form. I prefer to use the granulated version and water it in.

As for the fire ant problem, Talstar granules are supposed to be very safe around non-target animals such as birds, reptiles and mammals once it is watered in. It is a synthetic pyrethroid. I've read it is more effective in getting rid of fire ants in pots. I'm going to try it this year. I'm desperate. I always leave the greenhouse with a few ants bites that get infected and itch for days.

Thank you for the info! I will try that Talstar too. More than anything I think I have a problem with things eating the leaves, I think it is slugs. Next to that is aphids that get on the hibiscus, and we wash them off and spray them for that. And then there are the mealy bugs on coleus. It seems only certain coleus are suceptible to them. Or maybe I should say that certain ones may be resistant. Some of the brugs get spider mites, but usually I think that is it. A systemic might work well for that, right?

Yes, a systemic will help against spider mites. If the problem is slugs or snail, you should be able to see slime trails. Have you looked for green caterpillars? They are harder to spot because they blend in so well. I usually don't find them until they're over an inch long and have shredded a few leaves.

LOL, yes I have found them also, but I also find slugs uder pots sometimes.

Thanks for all the great questions and answers!!! Always a new tip or deeper understanding from this forum.

Bettydee when you said "take big cuttings and put them in a bucket" does this bucket have water, soil, a special formula to get them to root? I'm about ready to cut back my Brugs and would like to root some as well as send some to friends. I have three that are about 10 ft tall but have never tried to root the trimmings. We usually cut them back and they sit happily in the garage all winter.

Thanks for any info in this area. :)

LOL I think my question has been answered here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1674/

Sherri

This message was edited Oct 7, 2009 8:50 PM

This message was edited Oct 7, 2009 8:56 PM

Sherri I looked at that article and its fine for summer cuttings but for winter ones you only want to but a couple of inches of water and don't plant too deeply just deep enough to hold it upright since the soil stays wet longer than when its hot they can rot easily. Using the water method if it starts to get mushy you can cut off the bottom and start again. If its deep in the water and it starts to get mushy you will lose more of the cutting. If the ones in water do that cut off the mushy part and dip in rooting powder and pot up in a small pot.

Thanks F4F! I've lost a couple I've started in water to mush. I think I had too much in there. I'll try again. :)

Out here in california i dont use water to root at all goes directly into a gallon pot of garden soil they seem to root better for me this way. I have no luck in water. I have about 26 brugs that all go into the greenhouse for winter I dont do anything except spray for bugs before I bring them in. I will have flowers almost all winter long. Very nice one in Dec and Jan. I do try and keep the air moving so a small fan is going almost all the time. I dont heat the greenhouse unless it is going to be freezing outside. I use a wood stove just enough to not freeze. My greenhouse is quite large 32 x 32 all glass and fiber glass.

I like what I see of your greenhouse. That Brug has a really nice flush.

I had to bring mine in the house as it froze the other night now I'll see if I can get them through the winter ;0)
Gloria

I will have to keep mine in the spare bedroom this winter, it will be heated along with the rest of the house. Others mentioned about how much to water but what about fertilizing. How often should I fertilize my baby. I just started my first Brugs from cuttings this spring, I have never grown them before.
Cheryl

Awesome thread. Great information for us Brug newbies. Thanks to everyone ;-)

Don't fertilize much overwinter unless you have enough light for them to actively grow or they will just get leggy. If you are using grow lights or have nice large windows with good light you can give them bloom booster and have blooms but the smell might be too strong in the house. In the spring repot them into a larger pot and start taking them out on warm days and give them some mild fertilizer until they are used to being outside and then you can give them plenty of fertilizer and they will grow like weeds.

I have all mine inside and I am going to fertilize them tomorrrow. Here is my first bloom on my Bergkonigin from the other day. Would you believe it's almost 12 inches long?

This is a great thread.. here in Kansas it gets down to freezing and below.. this year I brought my brugs in and all my tropicals when it was the same temp outside as is inside.
no Leaf drop and lots of blooms.. I have some going dormant in the basement in a back room closet. The others that are blooming are under several lights and a fan going all day and night. the fan is on a table and blows to the whole growing area.
my small cuttings I have in baggies wrapped in papertowels damp not wet. they are then "clipped" with a hair clip to a tall plant that is in a window area or under bright light. This seems to work well for me. the larger cuttings are in a tub with a small aquarium pump to keep the water swirling. this gets me thru the winter, and they are still under light. Last year was my first time for a brug. one. this year I have almost 20 or more. I am experimenting right now with a few cuttings in the kitchen, in a plastic cup with an inch of water a drop of peroxide and a little food, with a sponge in the middle and the cuttings pressed into the side. I see nubs already on those in only four days. Here is my downstairs set up a few weeks ago.. it is alot bigger now.

Debra, Wow, with that much light, your Brugs ought to do well this winter. It looks like your plants have crowded you out of the basement. What will you do next winter? :-)

Yeah I guess you'll have to SHARE! lol

Thanks, F4F, for the info. I have a feeling my spare bedroom is going to look a lot like joeswife's downstairs by the time I get done. I bought 2 big shop lights that will be for the lighting, the room is only about 15 x 15. Do you think that will be enough light?

I bet that will be plenty of light.. how many bulbs are in them? I am having track lights installed next month, 4 bulb 48 inchers, three of them down the length of 40 ft. I
will move the spot lights to another room in the basement over the seed trays.. good thing no one goes down there anymore.. it is unfinished for the most part, but it does have a ceiling, heat vents, a nice tile floor.. and the other half is still empty ..LOL

Well we can't have empty spots in our basement greenhouses around here.. better get busy joeswife ☼ ‼

Yes one will be fine. The thing you need the most direct strong light is for the seedlings. If you have cuttings or plants it will be fine. I used one full daylight bulb and one grow light in a two bulb fixture and have a couple of small window panes in the garage door and it worked well for large plants. Then when I had really large plants that were shading the small cuttings I put in a 2nd fixture so just make sure your small ones are closest to the light and the larger one farther away. Who needs that ironing board. More room for plants without it, lol.

heh.. that is not mine, but my DHs' ironing board.. I do not iron.. LOL

Me either. My hubby broke out the iron when we were getting ready for son's graduation yesterday morning and I started sweating and drug out a dry cleaned pants suite. I haven't worn anything but blue jeans or sweatpants in a year or two, lol. Will try to post some pics soon of my brugs. They love this cool weather! Dang camera cord is missing in action.

Here's my two cents:

I recently brought my brugs indoors for the winter. For most, I just took cuttings (including several large branch cuttings, which I will make into standard "topiary" brugs - see my post from last winter - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/947548/).

I also brought in a couple of my full-size plants which I had cut back severely (to get them inside). I put them in the middle of the basement (I have other plants by all the windows) and I'll let them go dormant.


How often would I water? Any idea of how much to water? VERY LITTLE - Maybe a quart every 3-4 weeks (for a large 3 or 5 gallon pot).

I don't plan on using the grow lights. Anything special I should know considering I'm not going to be using them?

I don't keep them in the dark, but they are definitely in a low light area.

What types of pests & critters should I expect while they're in dormancy? Will I need to keep the 'Neem' oil around?

I do a systemic pesticide about two weeks before I bring them in and may give them another shot in mid-winter if I see any evidence of pests on the plants by the windows.

What's an ideal room temperature?

My basement is cool - 60 degrees - I'm not sure if it's ideal, but all the plants seem satisfied.

Should I keep the ceiling fan on for air circulation? I don't have a fan on mine.

Do you (or anyone) have pics of Brugs while they're in a dormancy stage? I'm curious to see what they might look like all stuffed in a room, basement, garage, etc! I'm sure they look lifeless! No leaves, etc.