I have my 1st year of Brugs still outside. They did not flower, but grew to a little over a foot tall.
__what do I do with them for the winter? dig-up and put in basement? (I have no greenhouse)or perhaps cut short as a neighbor does and mulch heavily over the site?
I also have a few in the kitchen - cuttings from DG friends, now with roots.....do I plant them in smal pots to go into cool basement with a little light (small eastern basement window.
As you can probably tell, I am a beginner with Brugs and really don't know what I am doing here.
Soooo.......any helpful tips or advice will be greatly appreciated!
Thank-you so much,
Sheri
SOS - dig up or cut and mulch??
I would dig up that small Brug and overwinter it in the basement. The root system of a large mature Brug might survive in your zone, but not a small one. Also not all Brugs are hardy enough to survive in the ground over the winter in your zone. You could really be pushing the zone for your particular variety of Brug. It all depends on their genetic mix. I'm in zone 8b-9a. I had 2 one foot Jamie plants planted in the ground, well established or so I thought. Even though they were well covered, they died to the ground and never returned.
As for the cuttings you are rooting, how cold does the basement get? If in the low 60s upper 50s they may be fine in the basement. Notice I'm hedging. Brugs root much slower in cold low light situations. If the soil remains too wet or damp for too long those same situations are just what rot needs to kill the cuttings. Newly rooted cuttings are better off in a warmer sunnier location and in potting mix that is on the dryer side. They would be all right in the cooler basement if you could set up a 2 light florescent strip with one warm and one cool bulb. Brugs with a good established root system have the reserves needed to return from dormancy.
I have a few newly transplanted cuttings in the greenhouse, but the weather has been cold and wet. So the normally warmer greenhouse is a lot cooler. Although the thermostat is set at 50ºF, that has been the high when the overnight temperatures outside have dropped into the low 20s and daytime temperatures have only risen into the low 40s. My cuttings are just sitting there since they are getting neither warmth nor sufficient light. In fact when I checked on them today, 2 may be goners. I'd bring them into the house, but I just don't have the room for them in here. I need to move them closer to the heater and place more mature cuttings when they are now.
Too much water is the biggest Brug killer especially in the winter. So keep the soil just barely moist. Use your finger to test the soil down an inch or two before adding water and then only in very small amounts.
Thank you Betty and others for sharing your experience with we newbies just beginning to know these wonderful special lovely plants!!