Letting brugs go dormantAdvice, please.

I am NO novice on growing Brugs....Been doing it for 4-5 years now. But--always still learning.....

In my zone (7a) I have to bring them in and let them go dormant. Have been doing this every year. I plant them in big pots and then sink the pots half way into a bed. Digging them up--I just lift them, cut off any roots that have grown through the pot holes, put a plastic bag around the pot and that's that.
BUT---they DO grow bigger and bigger every year and then the time comes when I cannot bring them in any more.

This year I said Good-Bye to two of them because of that. OH! I would never trash them! I begged and begged the Baltimore City Arboretum to accept these. Finally, after many e-mails and pictures I sent-- they did. Came and got them in a BIG panel truck.
I sure hope they are living "happily ever after"----haven't hear from them at all.

Now--my question here is about how far to cut back a Brug when you are letting them go dormant???? And to WHERE?
So far--I have just, kind of, let them dry out and drop all their leaves and maybe--water them 3 times through the whole Winter season. They survive in my cool, dark basement and perk up within a week when i bring them back outside in early Summer. NO complaints!

BUT--I have been thinking lately that maybe I should cut them back further down than I have been doing--never going below the "Y", of course. All the cuttings I take to root--I keep from above the "Y"--and they bloomed while still in the cutting size. Just amazing!

I have trimmed the tips off all the branches--maybe 6" or so--to the below "Y"'s. Of course-- "Y" is above another "Y"--which is above another "Y"----if you get my point.

SO! here is my question: Should I cut it back to the FIRST "Y"--or keep some of the branching "Y"'s intact. Is there a benefit doing either? I would like to keep my plants a bit more compact--especially the Rose Souvelons which tends to sprawl a bit.

Here is my Rose Souvelons as it is NOW. I just cut back the tips. I am wondering if it would be a stronger, more compact plant if I DID cut it back to the first, or second "Y" that the plant made--like, just above the main stem.

Your opinions, please....

Here is my HUGE "Maya" waiting for thew truck to come and get her....
In all the years I have had this one--I have never seen it produce 4 amazing flushes of bloom in one Summer--starting in June.
It was easily 6'x7' overall this season.

Lat Fall--I really butchered it up. Took a lot of cuttings and just trimmed it to a basic skeleton.
Did not want to do it any more this year.

Good bye--"Maya".....So beautiful!

Gita

OH! I would never have given that away! It is beautiful!!! I would have kept it if I had to move out of my house to make room! Or build another greenhouse just for it... LOL

You could have made several smaller, but lovely plants out of it. That is so sad to just let it go!

This message was edited Nov 4, 2009 12:06 AM

I keep going back and looking at it! I can't help it! It is sooo beautiful. Every leaf perfect! Mine always have leaves that have been chewed on.

Gita,
I remember reading some old threads that advise leaving 2 or 3 layers of "Y". So the original "Y" plus 1 or 2 more rows of "Y"s depending on the plant's age and size. You want sturdy stalks to start of with next spring.

Then to avoid getting die-back, it's a good idea to spray or brush the cut ends with a fungicide.

Thanks, Bettydee.

In my heart--I know I should not cut it back to the first "Y". If one does that--then you have no recourse if it needs further cutting back in the Spring due to die-back.

yardqueen---This was the 4th flush on this brug! All the buds for this flush were already there as the third one was going on.
I love this close-up as it shows all the 3 stages of bloom color on the "Maya".
The buds open yellow--fade to a milk white and then turn a gentle peach as they are about to fade.

Gita

This is the other Brug I gave away. It is my Rose Souvelons and had also grown too big.

I have replacements for both the Maya and the R.S. coming along nicely.

Love your plants! I could only dream of friends giving me this good looking plants!

Jori

Very pretty! Looks a lot like Isabella.

YQ,

When I first got this--I turned to the Brug people to ID it and it was ID'd as a Rose Souvelons. Doesn't mean it is correct--but I have gone with that name all these years.
What is interesting about these blooms is that they have almost NO calyx and the blooms hang at almost a 45* angle.
The inside of the bloom has noticeable "ridges" full length of each petal. Will post a close-up.

Why do you think it is an "Isabella"????? I am just wondering.....

Here you can see the lack of a long calyx.

And here you can see the "ridges" I was talking about.....
To me--these blooms sometimes also have a "puffy" appearance.

I didn't mean to say it IS Isabella, just that it looks like Isabella. You really cannot ID the cultivar name of a brug from pictures only. But you can Identify certain traits. When they told you it was a rose suaveolens that was not a cultivar name. It was to say that it is a rose colored suaveolens. You can tell that it is a suaveolens because of the long neck of the corolla. It is not covered by the calyx which is a trait of suaveolens. Also it has short tendrils and the flower is nodding. What makes me think it looks like Isabella, which is a suaveolens form, is the separation of the pink and white color, rather than a fading of color from edge to center. But in one of your pictures it looks like Frosty Pink, another suaveolens, because the color does fade and the inside is not as white as Isabella, but is more of a pale yellow, or even pale light green.

Whatever it is, it is beautiful and so healthy looking!

Edited for spelling



This message was edited Nov 4, 2009 12:33 PM

YQ---You lost me!!!!

I am so confused already!!! All that you said sounds so "technical".......

The two pictures I posted were at least 4 years apart--but still the same plant--due to propagation....
It is all in the camera---and the lighting.....and the time of day.....

Just for me--could you define what is a "SOUVELONS?????"

I really don't care! It is just when i share cuttings--I want ot ID the plant as best I can.

Gita

Gita,

You have d-mail with a more detailed explanation.

Carol ^_^

Gita,
There are 7 wild species of Brugmansia. One of them is Brugmansia suaveolens. Note the spelling of the species name. "SOUVELONS" is a mispelling of suaveolens. There are key differences between the species. Yardqueen was describing some of those differences. Basically what you have is a rose colored NOID heavily influenced by suaveolens traits, such as a very long neck showing between the calx and the corolla, nodding position of the flowers, and short tendrils.

This illustrates what can happen when we try to ID a Brug that has no name or whose name has faded from its tag. It leads to mis-naming of an un-named Brug. There is nothing wrong with having un-named Brugs. In fact many of them are some of the toughest and best growing Brugs around. Since we Brug owners tend to share our Brugs with others, it is best not to try to ID a Brug or to give it a pet name when we pass a cutting on. There are so many look alikes that it is impossible to ID from a photo. Additionally, the shape and the color of the blooms can vary from flush to flush or between the seasons that photos of just one flush can be very unreliable and misleading.

Thanks, Veronica! You have given a better explantation. ^_^ I also have d-mailed her telling her about the same thing, but I did it in a d-mail because she asked about what is a Suaveolens, and I sent her a link to an description on a forum that I cannot name here, as you know. I sent links to all of the species traits, and she will learn more about her Maya, too. Now she probably knows more about brugs than she wants to! LOL