Watering the dormant brugs

I know they don't need much water and I'm afraid I may over do it. Looking at the photo of Monika's winter quarters... it looks like she lets all the leaves wilt off. I see wilting leaves.... and I think they need water. Most of my plants have dropped all their leaves except for the ones at the tippy tops of the stems. Some of the newer & greener stems will bend over when they get really dry... so I throw some water on them and they perk back up. If I see wilting leaves I water then too. Am I watering too much?? The basement is quite dark and the temps are around 60F.

I have the same situation .... have one that is just a stick....will be interesting to see if it comes back.

I have more defoliated brugs this year than ever before. I doubt that you are watering too much if you are letting them get dry on the soil surface and it sounds like you are. Keeping them on the dry side will also help keep them smaller and will discourage the fungus knats. On another thread someone mentioned that the brugs in darker areas of the house looked better than those in the windows and that is the case here too. My basement brugs are a nice dark green. They also do not get watered as much as the ones upstairs.

The leaves on my basement brugs are yellow and sickly looking. Then again... they get almost no light. Just a tiny bit that comes in from a tiny window.

I should have mentioned that mine are under light with a north window close by also. They just don't get a lot of light and for a short period of time. Much cooler down there too. I've never grown them in the basement until this year and it sure has freed up space in our living quarters. However, I'm quickly filling that space back up with more brugs and other plants.

The ones outside in my storage building are growing, I think they are confused, I know I am not overwatering I let them get completely dry, but they are still putting off new leaves, and a bloom every once in a while on what Susie and Kyle thought might be a JY.

I just went to the basement to water and found a couple of buds on Creamsickle. Wheeee!! Maybe I'll have a bloom or two this winter. One of the brugs was totally dry and drooped. Bet he was happy when he got a drink.

Congats Brugie!! I've had a few blooms but not a ton. Whiskers seems to keep going & going. The plant is just small but all of it's buds hung on and have opened.... most of the others dropped their buds.

Mine are all cuttings except for the Creamsickle. It had nearly died this summer and I had to cut it off and re-root it. At least it is alive and growing well. Saw a Pink Beauty that CC sent me that has made a Y, so maybe it will bloom also. Bet my Whiskers in the garage has on open bloom now. I've got to get myself in gear and get out there to water too. All these plants strung out all over the place are a pain to keep watered and cared for.

Oh but what a pretty pain it would be Shirley once the blooms start coming. Mine are all over also. 4 rooms and some in the hallway. Good thing its just Mike and I.

I have mine under shoplights in about 58 degrees in the basement. In my opinion they are NOT dormant (I consider dormant to be no obvious signs of life). They are growing really, really slow, and continue to put on new leaves but not any visable stalk growth. I have removed the leaves twice on most to help control the aphids and I have fertilzed once since bringing them in. Also, I have those nats...any ideas on how to get rid of them?

Mine are in the cool GH where they still get sun but I think the cooler temps are letting them go dormant. The leaves are turning yellow and falling off. I water when they look completely dry. I've got some smaller plants up on the table where it is a little warmer and they're getting some buds on them. Tropical Sunset has a flower out today and Pink Beauty has two buds.

Waterloolily. I have plants in every room, but the bathroom! Just me and Ed, BUT! In two weeks kids are coming home with their three kids(young). I have to quick find someplace to hide them so they don't get trampled and broken!

Well, I have the opposite problem. Mine are all robust and green. I am wondering if I should force mine to stop growing and go dormant to rest as that is what Monika says is their normal state for up to 2 months a year.

I do not have many brugs for my yard is too small, but the brugs I do have, I have now cut down the large limbs to make alley trees for next year. So I have alot of a few kinds. I am now in love with a no name yellow that is sold all summer long here as a huge brug in a small 2 gallon pot for just $13 in a hardware store no less. I have them all over my yard. They just bloom and bloom and are full right now. They get to be huge trees.

There is so much moisture in the air I am cleaning up the dead blooms as fast as they fall. I am afraid of fungus.

We may not even get a freeze here this winter. I wonder if I try to force dormancy if I really am just stressing and half killing the plant when it really wants to just grow all winter.

Don't you think that Monika was referring to places that get really cold and the brugs have to be inside for so long. Where you live, other than a few nights of frost, your brugs can continue to grow. I don't know for sure, just guessing. Think about the ones in southern CA. They are trees and continue to grow. Might be a bit warmer, but the day length would be the same.

LOL Brugie..........are you saying I am worrying over nothing??? Before Dave's I let all my plants deal the best they could with winter. I never did anything to them after September....never even went out to the back yard once I got the bulbs in...I gardened like crazy all spring and summer and winters I took off. Now I am like a mother hen, killing them with kindness. LOL

Kell... go look at those big brugs in your neighborhood. if they are growing and blooming, let yours too. i wonder what zones 10 plus are doing right now......

That's a real feauty Kell! How is the fragrance? Does it bloom continuously or just quick flushes? Where is mine?

I'd like to have some of those Z10 brugs right now. In fact, I'd like to live in Z10.

I'm thinking 11......

Karyn, what do you think about Hawaii? Just enough rain every day that we would never have to water plants.

Yeah,and my son is sitting there,in Hawaii,sunning himself...

He's got to do a lot of laying around....He broke his back and has no clue how he did it.So the poor child has to lay around,and if I know him he's sitting on the beach.

I guess he's been having back pain since he got back from Bosnia.They finally x-rayed his back and there are 2 broken vertibre,nothing serious,but bad enough for him to not be able to play army......

Kell speaking of Fungus. I am worried about my brugs in the GH. I had removed all the leaves and sprayed them before putting them in but now you can't tell I ever removed a leaf. They are really crammed in there. Monika had said in recent post not to remove the leaves. So what do I do. I have a air forced electric heater with a oscilatting fan behind it for more air circulation and I do open and air it out almost daily due to condensation, but no way are they dormant. I have been having to water at least once a week. I have never had a GH before and am not sure what to do. Even at 30 degrees the other night the minumum temp in GH was 51 degrees with the heater.

I don't think you will be able to get them to go dormant when they have the light they get in a greenhouse. It takes little light, cooler temps, and less water for them to go dormant from what I've heard. Mine in the basement aren't going dorman due to having lights hanging over them. It is cool down there, but I'm keeping them growing for now. Some were cuttings that weren't rooted enough to go dormant and be able to live.

I would think you are doing all you can do Donna. Sounds like they are very happy in their new home. Give in and let them grow!! LOL Worst fates, huh? I am going to spray in my hoop house with a lawn fungicide just prophylactically. I used it this summer on my roses and it was the best stuff.

So what kind of electric heater do you have Donna and does it get water dripped on it?

I don't know the name but hubby got it at Lowes for $17.00. It works great and has thermostat control and built in fan. It is hanging from the ceiling poles by a bungie cord as well as the old oscilating fan since the heater doesn't blow very hard. It gets some drips on it but the top is closed so it should be ok. If it last the winter I will be happy. I am going to plant most of the brugs in the ground in spring.

Well, I am going to look tomorrow at Lowes. I would think heat would also help discourage fungus. For I want no fungus among us!!!

Donna,
Can you open your gh during the day to dry out?...I have 4 doors in my GH..two in front and two in the back. I have mine open right now and it dries out in a short time...air circulation is most important in a GH.

Yes Gloria I open it almost everyday. I also have an oscilating fan in there.

Oh so much to learn from of these old threads, I have wondered just how much to water brugs in winter. Quite frankly I still don't know, my season is so wet and I don't have a prayer of keeping most of them dry..............I shoulda pull this one up earlier.

dee

Dee in our climate it is very difficult to keep them dry because of our high humidity and wetness during the winter, sun and overcast for days. In my greenhouse I let the get almost dry and then on the sunny winter days they have to have water when they are dry and wilting. It never fails that within a day or two, the cold comes back again and the overcast sky for a week or two at a time and then they stay wet. I have tried to figure out what to do for several years and I still don't have it perfect yet. In our area, plants slow down and grow less but there is no way we can get them to go completely dormant because of our warmth and sunshine that we do get during the winter months. With the door open on my greenhouse it can get to 85 in there when the temp is 55 outside. Without water they really get stressed and I don't think this is good either in the heat. It would be perfect for us if we did not get those few winter freezes because then we could just leave them in the ground.

I know Frannie, I have been trying to figure this out myself. As you say this can be a real problem and cost us some plants. I have been trying to read and learn what I can to help the situation but I think what you said is the only thing we can do in this climate.

I know this morning it was cold with heavy fog and now here it is noon and I am about to turn on the AC. Now tonight it is suppose to be in the 50's again. My trees are just beginning to leaf out and most of the stuff is in full sun (wet and hot) but will have to be moved by next month because they can't be in that much shade.

So it is neverending......I guess we will just have to keep guessing. Phewwww