What do they want?

I have two noids I over-wintered last year in a window that gets northern light. They lost all their leaves and I assume they went dormant. This year I was going to try and keep them awake year around. But I need some help. I put them in the same place as last year but in addition I hung a grow light above them. They have lost all their leaves again just like last year.
My question is…should I just let them go dormant?
If they go dormant should they be in a dark place or with medium light or with lots of light. The room they are in is about 65 degrees F. Is that to warm, too cold?

Here they are when I first brought them in last month.

Wow I bring mine in and just give them the light from the window and they do well. I used to live down south in zone8b and I just left outside and in the spring they would come back up I heavily mulched them which I think help,

beautiful brug

Thanks crit.
I don't know much about them but I am enchanted by them. So far only one of them has bloomed at it has been in the end of Oct through mid Nov. I have to bring them in in mid oct but they don't seem to mind and bloom anyway. Last year I think they went dorment as they lost all their leaves and I backed off on watering and didn't fertilize.


This message was edited Nov 3, 2010 2:49 AM

oops! wrong pic. Here she is before bringing her inside.

Mstish,

Your Brugs won't go dormant in temperatures as warm as 65ºF. They would constant cool temperatures in the low 40s in order to go dormant. When they go dormant, they don't need much light which is why some Brug growers store their Brugs in their basements.

However, if you want to keep them going, you will have to provide a good source of artificial light. A good and relatively inexpensive way is to use double bulb florescent light fixtures placed 1" or 2" above the foliage for 16 hours a day. How many fixtures you need depends on the size of the plants. Light intensity falls off rapidly as the distance from the bulbs increases. If your Brugs are very wide you may need several fixtures.

It is normal for the leaves to fall off right after you take your plants inside. This is the plants' reaction to a drastic change in their environment. They will grow new leaves. Don't expect the plants to have as many leaves as it did outside. As new leaves emerge, they will tend to shade the older ones below causing them to yellow and fall off.

Keeping them growing well demands that you also apply full strength fertilizer although not as often as when they were outside. Growth will slow down somewhat so their demand for food will be less. Sixty-five degrees is still cooler than they are used to. Cool root systems don't take up water as fast as warm root systems. So cut down on the water you give them. Use your fingers to test the soil about 2" below the top. Water when the soil feels barely damp. If the roots stand in unabsorbed water too long, root rot will kill them.

Spidermites will be your biggest pest problem. Indoor home environments are perfect for them.

I know it seems like a lot of trouble to keep them going, but getting your Brugs to bloom in winter is the reward.

Veronica

mstish...

I cut my Brugs back to a "skeleton" to bring them in--making sure i never cut them back below
any "Y"'s that have formed.
They spend the Winter in my dark, cool basement....

Since I grow my Brugs "Pot-in-Pot"---I only dig out the inner pot and that is what i bring in.
Any roots that have grown out of the pot's holes--I trim off and then put a plastic bag over
the pot to keep the root-ends from drying out. I remove most of the leaves--as they will fall off
anyway. Less mess to clean up.
And so they survive in my basement till planting season.
I water them now and then with a bit of water--just enough to keep them from completely drying out.

When the temps. get Spring-like---here-- in late April--early May--I bring them outside.
At first--it shade for a couple of weeks. Then in part sun--then in bright light.

You won't believe it! They just go "POOF!" and get all green again and keep on growing.....
The Brug is, basically, indestructible. No need to baby them...

You are a zone warmer than me. I am 7a. Perhaps--in your zone--you can almost leave them
outside for the winter???? Maybe not!
There is much more info on Brugs all over the internet.

Here is an example on how severely I cutback my HUGE "Maya" Brug before I brought it into my basement
for the winter....It survived--and grew the best it has ever been.. The following year--it had 4 huge bloom flushes...
Gita

Gita looks like you really give them a hair cut

GITA! It's Christmas at my house! I received your wonderful box today with the terrific plant starts and lots of seeds! I am so excited to get them!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Patti---

You are welcome---You are welcome--You are welcome......

If you have any questions or need any advice--please D-mail me and I will be glad to give you all the help I can.

Glad everything arrived OK! Did it????????

Gita

Gita - That's quite a haircut. MIne don't have many branches. Is there any special way to prune them other than to stay above the Y? Do you only prune them when you bring them in for winter? DoO they get bushier if you prune them? I know, I have a lot of questions, sorry.
Betty - I have 2 florescent grow lights hanging over them and they are in front of a northern window. Would more light help them grow better? I feed them regular old miricle grow about once a week and water three times a week. Should I feed them more?

So far only one of them has bloomed. Last year it had 5 and this year 8. The other brug is about 18inches shorter and has never bloomed. Got them at the same time, treated them the same.

Outside this fall. I have been bitten by the brug bug.

My pretty noid.

She likes to show off.

When you guys keep your brugs growing through the winter do you put a fan in the room with them? I have a fan that comes on for a couple hours a day to keep the stems strong. At least that was the reason I was given for doing it. Am I wasteing electricity?
One of my fuchsias...

Yes Gita .... everything seems to be in good shape. :-) I have them in water right now. Should I plant them in just fresh potting soil, or ad a little pearlite to it?

Beautiful fuschia mstish.

I am looking for a good way to catalog and store my seeds and wanted to pick ya'lls brains. Trying to decide whether to do it by name (I'm really bad at latin names, and don't know the names of some), height, color, etc. ....... and also what to use to store them. A shoebox seems way too big, recipe card files aren't big enough. Any ideas?

I have an old cigar box and a childs shoe box that I keep my seads in.

WOW!!! So many questions to answer.......
Mind you--this is all just from MY perspective and experience---I am NOT some kind of "expert"...

mstish----
YES! I only cut the Brugs back to bring them in. You are in zone 8--maybe your Brugs would survive
outside for the winter--just mulch them well??? Even if the tops freeze off--often the roots survive....
Of course--IF they have to re-grow--you will have to wait until they "Y" again to get any bloom.

Your yellow Brug looks like a Dr. Seuss to me. Why? The leaves have serrated edges....
Do the blooms turn "orangy" when they fade? Do they emanate the most amazing fragrance
in the evening/night? YUP! That would be the Dr.....

From my knowledge--not so all-encompassing--Feel free to correct me!
IF the leaf edges are serrated. it is a Dr. Seuss.
If they are smooth--it is a "Charles Grimaldi"....The blooms are very similar....

I DO NOT keep my Brugs "growing" during the winter months....You can--IF you have a sun-room
or very bright windows to keep them in. If you do--they will even bloom all thought the winter....
Water and fertilize them as usual.....

At my house--they reside in my small, cool, 90% dark basement
with extremely minimal light. I water them, sparsely, a few times during the winter. Just to keep
the root-balls (pots wrapped in plastic bags) from getting totally dry.
Of course--I have cut them all back to the "bones"...
.
I cut them back "severely" for a couple of reasons:

1--They don't care! They will be semi-asleep all the cold months and pop up green as soon
as you put them outside in the Spring...It is amazing!!!! They are indestructible!
2--They will drop all their leaves anyway--so why not cut them all off? Less to clean up.
3--Cutting them back to a "skeleton"--but NEVER below the first "Y"--they are more compact.
4--Also--cuttings taken from above the "Y" will bloom sooner the following season.
ALL my cuttings I share are from above the "Y"! IF they are stem-cuttings from below the 1st "Y"--
the plant will have to re-grow and "Y" before you will ever see a bloom!!!! Maybe not until Fall.

Crit---

Please put the cuttings in fresh Potting Mix asap----You can use MG or any other "MIX". NOT soil!!!!
"Pearlite"helps aerate the soil.. No harm adding some...It is totally inorganic.....
Dip the ends of the Brug cuttings in Rooting Hormone--it helps! Make the hole and put them all the
way down in the pot. Keep it barely moist until new growth appears...

As for how to save seeds-----everyone has their own way. Depends on WHAT you plan to do with them.
Here--in the Mid Atlantic--we have a "Seed Swap" as well as a "Plant Swap" every year...
So--I try to think ahead and be a bit organized.

I am the super-organized type---so--I have my seed-packets all in legal sized envelopes,
in the tiny zip-loc baggies (Wall Mart--100/99 cents in the area where they sell beads).
Most of us use these for seed saving. You got your seeds in these!

SO! I have ALL my seeds in mini-baggies in the envelopes--with the description of them in
typed mini-labels inside the baggies. Al ready to go!
On the outside of the BIG envelope, I have a small photo of what the plant looks like.
Also--minimal descriptions of the care, the color, "annual" or "perennial"...year collected, etc...

I just pass this box around and people can take what they want...
Hands-free trading......I'd rather eat and chat--than have to actively "push" any of my seeds on anyone.

Here is my "Seed Trading" box-----Makes it so easy!
Each mini-zip-baggie with seeds has a printed label in there describing the seed's needs,
the date harvested, and the name of the plant and who it came from.
They are all inside the big envelopes--in individual baggies for the taking...

You can do the same--whether you trade or not....Print out pictures for any future "takers".
IF someone asks you for seeds--just whip one out and send it off--for .44 cents.....ONE stamp.
Sometimes--I don't even bother asking back for postage IF I can send it to someone for ONE stamp!

Don't sweat the Latin names! I don't know them either.
People that just relate to the Botanical names--are WAYYYY above my head....
However--most people will know the common names....It works just as well......Even in PF.

Hope some of this helps you!
Gita

That looks like an easy and effective way to save the seeds. Thanks!

Thank you so much Gitagal. I am pretty sure it is a Dr. Seuss, but I can't be sure and I would hate to miss-identify a plant. I was about to drag them into the basement but your info has given me the confidence to hang with it and continue to try and keep them going through winter. I was concerned when they dropped al their leaves but now that I know it is normal it doesn’t bother me so much. They have lots of new growth coming out so they are looking better. Here is a pic of them tonight.

I would never try to put s name put a name on any Brug, it is just too great a chance of getting it wrong. There are dozens of yellow / orange Brugs with and without serrated leaves. They can start out with serrated leaves and then stop, they can be yellow in the Spring and orange in the Summer. If you are not positive what it is, it is best to just call it a NOID.

Ken--

OK!!! OK!!! We have been through this before....
Give it a break! PLEASE! Let people do their own thing.
Not everyone is as anal as you all Brug fanatics.....Most of us just enjoy what we have and
call it whatever we want.

Haha, I have named my brugs sole and para, NOID,
solenoid
paranoid

LOL tish........

I seem to of lost one of my lists that I hadn't gotten on my Trade Tracker yet. Is there anyone that I owe or have promised plants to, or owe shipping or anything? I still have some wandering jew that is going to end up dying because I have no place to put it for the winter. I already have 2 hanging baskets and a planter full. It is rooted in one of my planters outside, and if no one wants it, I'm just going to let it freeze.

Crit--

All you need is a small pot-full of Wandering Jew to have enough for next year.
I have it all over outside too. Took a 6" pot in. That will be IT.
Every little piece will root and grow big....

Cooking Cranberry Sauce today. Almost done---then have to jar it all.....
Then i will go outside and continue pulling things up.

Since you asked----you owe me postage for the package i sent.....$2.92

Gita

Thanks Gita. Do you want paypal, check or postage?

I love the WJ because it is so easy to grow and root. I am very fond of the plant for several reason, one just because I think it is pretty. :-)

Crit

Postage is the easiest to mail.....and we can all use it--with X-Mas card
season approaching......

I do not have pay pal.....

Thanks---Gita

Will go to the P.O. today. I need stamps myself!!!!

Gitagal....newbie here from ontario Canada. Is it possible to get some rudbeckia, 4 o clocks, and datura seeds from you please? Oh....your brug is soooooooooooooo beautiful, wish I had one like that.

Mick

Mick,
Be glad to send you the seeds.....please D-mail me with your address....
While i am at it--did you check my Trade List? I have a lot of seeds.....

Too bad plant material is NOT allowed into Canada....Seeds are OK??? Right?

Talk with you on D-mail....

Gita

Gita..I have Dmailed you....just realized you are a Pisces as well :-) I am March 8th

As mentioned in the dmail, plants are allowed into Canada, one just needs to buy a phylio certificate, or you can just take cuttings and send that as a GIFT, which most people do.

Seeds are fine....again just declare it as a gift

Mick

Good info on cutting back & saving seeds, Gita. Thanks for posting this.

Hugs,
Judy