My husb. put our two brugs in very large pots. Probably 36" in diameter or there about. The pots will withstand freezing and not crumble.
Now, we are wondering how to overwinter these brugs. The pots are too big and heavy to bring in. We are in zone 6. Please advise.
Brug N Huge Pot Overwinter??
Can't you mulch them with some old hay or straw.
You need to protect the roots. Unless you put wheels on the pots
and even then it is hard work, dragging pots in and out. I would mulch them good.
for backup you could take a couple of cuttings to be sure you have them next
summer.
Hope this helps.
Charleen
The map in this link shows where the ground freezes in the states and how deep the freeze goes. The depth may vary from place to place and year to year due to micro-climates. The soil in the pots will freeze killing the roots. Because the pots are surrounded by cold air, pots allow the soil to freeze faster. Mulch won't effect the outcome much.
http://nsidc.org/frozenground/whereis_fg.html
I know of a tropicals grower in Kentucky who piles large areas with several feet of active compost and puts his plants in that mix. The compost produces heat as it matures protecting the roots of his tropicals
Take long cuttings and start over next spring or dig the Brugs out of the pots and place them in temporary pots, buckets or even in garbage bags. If the containers don't have drain holes, be very careful when you add a bit of water to keep the soil from drying out completely. Store them in a place that does not freeze. I wouldn't put them directly on the cold cement unless it's a basement.
Maybe I did more harm than good,
But sure would take cuttings, just to be sure. I know it freezes
very hard and deep in Mo.
Thanks for digging me out,
Charleen
Charleen, I lived in southern Ohio for 4 years ages ago, but still remember the winters and how long they lastest. LOL
I agree with bettydee. Your best bet is to dig them out of the pot and put in smaller containers and bring in. Also take cuttings for backup. I live in 7b and I cannot leave out anything in pots in my zone. I have some brugs in the ground but they have to be mulched heavily and they don't start coming back until June. Even if you were able to protect the roots, your stalk will die back to the ground. I tried storing some amaryllis bulbs in containers in an unheated storage shed one winter and lost several of them. The bulbs froze and to mush and they were inside in a protected area.
There is a girl fom Ontario that cuts them back and
puts them in smaller pots, that is better than letting them die.
I love to watch them grow and it seems like it is taking forever
but when they send up that Y and starts blooming. Heaven !!!!
I sure wouldn't want to lose them. I remember what Mo. feels like too.
Had Snow past my Knees, don'twant it again. Getting too old
for all that. ^_^
Charleen
Thanks for the advise. I have never dug up Brugs before. I have had several and kept them in their pots that were manageable to move indoors. Before I dig them up, uhh, how does one do that? I mean, are the roots huge, and all over the place and will I need to root prune them??
Glad you can identify with our crumby winters--however, we usually don't get but more than two snows and they usually aren't more than 3 inches. However, its too much for my poor Brugs!!
Brugs form a large root system.. expect the pots to be full of roots. Take cuttings to start indoors.. move the pots to a west facing protected area that gets afternoon sun that may warm the pots during the daytime. Heavily mulch and Cover them with something dark colored that absorbs the heat and encourages them to be heated during the day. This may help keep them warm enough that you could possibly save the roots and you could also put some crhristmas lights under the mulch that could be plugged in on colder nights to add some warmth to the pots.. not LED lights.. those do not produce any heat but little mini lights... I use those to add some heat to a few of my most precious plants in the winter outside.
Tammie is correct about the size of the Brug roots, but you can root prune. To compensate for the loss of roots, you need to prune the top. If your Brug has produced "Y"s, you want to retain at least 2 layers of "Y". Prune the rest off. Root cuttings as backup.
Lights under mulch? Don't do that!!! Big time safety issues!!! Use of Christmas lights have long been used as heat sources to keep plants warm, but they should not come into contact with anything flammable.