I read something recently about NOT pinching Brugs back. Will someone please tell me about this?
Thanks.
Hugs,
Judy
Pinching the tops of Brugs
Before Brug can bloom, it must Y. This is a natural growth pattern of the plant and pinching to make it spread is not the same thing. If you pinch back the tip, you only delay the natural Y.
Thanks. Knew it had something to do with delaying the blooming period. Been so busy I didn't have time to go through all the posts....putting Brugs in the GH. Calling for a winter blast again!! The 1st time I put things in there it was haphazard when I ran out of time so
I pulled things out & am doing it better this time. Looks like they will be in & out of the GH quite a bit & I swore I would never do that again. Just take cuttings & forget about the big plants. Well........guess who is lugging pots in & out? Oh, what we do for our love of these beautiful plants. Some had never bloomed so I "had" to see that. Thanks again. Where is Big Sandy? I'm in Ft Worth.
Hugs,
Judy
Why would you bring the Brugs out of the greenhouse before Spring? Are your Brugs large and if so, why do you keep them in pots? I lost a lot of Brugs last Winter but it was an unusual Winter. I am in east Texas, about 35 mi. north of Tyler. Depending on where you are in Fort Worth, you could be a half zone higher than I. Which side of Fort Worth do you live. I grew up in Azle and lived most of my life in Cowtown. I have been a member of several garden clubs in and around the Metroplex. I grew mums of the Japanese garden for several years.
We are hosting a plant swap this Spring and you should make plans to come. Most people leave here with more plants than they can deal with. I always have Brug at all times but especially in the Spring. It will be a three day swap so people have time to get to know one another.
When I put them in the GH it was a "hurry & get it done before the Thanksgiving cold spell." I have MORE plants than I want to count in my GH. A large part are tropical Hibiscus. If I move one or two Brugs out or around I can get to everything else now. Before it was a lost cause but this week I have concentrated on "doing it right". And, they are big Brugs. I cut them back some but mostly side branches that would have made it impossible to get them in there. I took cuttings last year & left the pots outside & everyone of them lived. After 15" of snow I didn't think that was possible. Lost one of the 3 big ones I put on the south side of my house. Do you have yours in the ground? In pots? I bought a bunch from the co-op that I think it was you that told us about on the other site. They are still sitting in a bucket of water with a little peroxide added. Think I can concentrate on them now that I have the GH under control. What else do you have? Tell me more about the swap. It sounds like a lot of fun. I live on the south side of F W. Oh, the reason I have them in the GH is they have their first buds & I want to see them bloom so I will know what I have. More later.
Hugs,
Judy
Yes but up above you state that the Brugs will be in and out of the greenhouse quite a bit, why? I had most of mine planted in the ground until this year because I lost so many last Winter I also traded for a lot last Fall and most are doubles and I did not want to chance loosing them. Then I bought more cuttings and plants on three different co-ops and made more trades last month and most are too small to to plant out until next Spring. I will plant most in the yard this Spring as long as I have backups. They grow better in the ground, especially in hot Summers.
If you still have cuttings in water they really need to be potted up. They will root much faster in soil and grow better starting off. Water roots are different than roots grown in soil and if you allow the cutting to grow very long roots in water, most will die and they will need to grow more roots. Just leave them in water until they get nubs and then plant them in very small pots. The smaller the pot, the easier it is to keep the soil on the damp side, not the wet side.
The swap we have here is called the TXRU ( Texas Roundup ) and was started when we were in Brugmansia Growers International and American Brug and Datura Society. The big Brug swap is in Al neer the GA and FL border and we have been to several of those. Our swap starts on Friday and ends on Sunday, with most people showing up on Friday evening and more coming on Saturday morning. There are several plant swaps, one in Arlington and one in Jacksonville but these are only for a few hours and you are so busy with the plants that there is sometimes very little time to get to know one another. Some of our closest friends are people we have met in swaps. Plant people are the greatest.
I now have 100 Brugs and probably 50 Gingers as well as Hellabores, Toad Lilies, giant Alocasias, Bananas, Banana Shrubs, Gardenias, Winter Honeysuckle, Japanese Keria, etc, etc.....
I think I may be able to leave them in the GH but shift them around to get to the other plants now. I didn't have room before. I have some planted in the ground on the south side of my house (where I lost one out of 3 last winter). Also put them on the east side of my storage bldg & will see how they do there. The others were in pots & I moved them to different locations all summer long. Had to be gone a week in June for a wedding in Tn & I don't have a sprinkler system so my son rigged up some connections & a timer to water things while I was gone. My new ones will be put in pots this week. They have nubbies but not roots & that has worked so far. I got 6 very nice cutting from Brenda that are growing in small pots in the GH. Thanks Brenda!!!! I'm a relative newbie to Brugs & I'm learning all the time. Thanks for all your help. It's greatly appreciated. One other question. Have 15 cuttings & wonder if its best to put each in it's own pot or could I put say 3 in a larger pot together until spring? Can do it either way. Thanks again for your help. This picture shows some I got off of the floor & up on the shelf my son rigged for me. These were in the floor & I couldn't get in & out without moving them. Have lots of plants under the shelf too. Mostly ferns & some other plants I like to keep. My son tells me I need to scale back but I don't see that happening. :-)
Hugs,
Judy
I have a Brug that has a bloom coming but it hasn't 'Y'd yet, this is pretty unusual, no?
Your Brug was a cutting from above the "Y" on the mother plant. Those cuttings continue to bloom as if they were still attached to the mother plant. As the plant matures and the root ball gets larger, it will send out new shoots from below the soil's surface. Those shoots will have to go through the vegetative cycle before they "Y" and bloom, but their growth will be straight making them ideal for growing as a standard (tree shaped).
Beetydee this is really interesting, a standard Brug, how wonderful!
We went to inspect this new Brug and DH said "look it really does have a 'Y'" and he is quite right, it is just that it is not very obvious, but it is there. One bloom out and two more to come, Yay!
Some of my Brugs are getting really leggy, is it ok to cut below the Y or is that a no, no? Sue
Most Brugs are generally leggy especially if the starting cutting is from below the "Y".
You can cut below the "Y", but that just forces what is left in the pot to start the vegetative growth all over again. If you make the cut below the "Y", root the portion with the "Y" attached to it. That cutting will bloom sooner for you. You can also cut back most of what is left below the "Y" and let it start new shoots all over again. Of course, they will have to grow to their specified height before they "Y"
You can avoid some of the legginess by fertilizing more often, at least once a week. Sometimes if you have to water quite often, fertilize twice a week. Your Brug will be willing to send up more vegetative shoots leading to a fuller looking plant.