HI Im jim and i live in north dakota,I would very much like to grow some of these,they are so pretty,i live in an apartment so any i did get would have to be house plants,does anyone grows these indoors,are they hard,
if i get any i could put them on a balcony during summer but it would have to come in later on,
would it be worth it,and wheres a good place to get some if its ok to grow this plant indoors
thanks
JIM
real new guy and some questions
Jim, they will definently grow and bloom if you can grow them under lights - they require bright light. Here on this forum, people will offer cuttings this fall - you just send the postage in advance. I can send you some cuttings this fall.
Thanks, ill come looking around then,and ill be checking this out so i do good, i grow a lot of other plants under lights so i think these will be ok
JIM
Thanks again im excited now
When the weather gets warmer this spring where you are, d-mail me and I'll send you some that are rooted. I cut mine back this fall and have some that are ready to go. Once the weather gets warm.....(wait, does it get warm there?)....you can put them on your balcony and they should bloom for you this summer. While you're waiting for spring, start buying fertilizer. They like lots of ferts.....!
Jim,
I think they are worth all the trouble to grow them. One whiff of their wonderful fragrance and a look at the impressive blooms and I was hooked. If you have afternoon shade on your balcony during late spring and summer, your Brugs should grow well at that time. Your greatest challenge will be overwintering them.
Brugs really are not indoor plants. Unless you have a place that remains below 50ºF, thay will continue to grow through winter. The growth will slow down, but they will not go dormant. Thus you will have to find a good sized south facing window for them. That plus a little supplemental lighting in the form of a double strip or two of 4' florescent lights will allow them to grow as sturdy stocky plants. If you don't provide enough light, the growth will be thin and and spindly. Come spring you will be forced to cut off that weak growth when you take them outdoors. Keeping the soil on the almost dry side during winter helps prevent the biggest killer of overwintered Brugs — root rot. In the dry warm atmosphere of a winter home, the biggest pest problem will be spidermites. Check the underside of the leaves frequently and eradicate the problem before it gets out of hand. There are several ways to handle this, but one that doesn't work in the long run is rinsing the leaves because you can not get rid of all the little buggers at once and they will return. To me it always seems they return with a vengeance — more of them. Adding extra humidity in the form of a cool mist humidifier will increase the humidity and may help keep the mites at bay. A little fertilizer now and then in winter will help keep them more stress free and to help their growth stay sturdy.
ok i could over winter in my garage but its unheated and will get right cold,how cold will kill them,
ive got miticides for the mites,my violets had them not to long ago,and ive got a ton of fertilzuars
thank you all for you advice,im pretty sure i want to try this,
thank you
JIM
Generally you would want to keep your garage above freezing, although many can withstand a couple degrees frost if it's not for too long and not too many times over the winter. Does your garage have some common walls with heated living area? That is often close enough so you can use a tiny electric heater set to only come on during the very coldest nights. If you have living area above, you may not even need to heat it. You can get a $10 min/max thermometer at the home centers to check it (do it soon!).
I agree with Betty that these are just not indoor plants, and in a heating climate like ND, you'll have real trouble with them in the winter if they are in your home.
- Tom
If you do overwinter them in the garage, I suggest you invest in a wireless weather station and temperature/humidity sensor (~$50.00 - $70.00). Preferably one with an alarm. That investment has been a plant saver for me.