I have become aware that some growers are rooting their brugs in water all winter long while others pot them after they have some roots. Is the advantage to pot rooting to get them to grow more before spring? It seems in cooler climates and places like mine with cool, rainy summers that a headstart in growth would be beneficial.
The biggest bruggie gardener in our area didn't have blooms until September but she just keeps them in water all winter.
water rooting vs soil rooting
Im a novice to be sure, but it would seem to me that water rooting might initially start faster roots, but transplanting to soil would no only give the plant a healthier root system but also make it grow faster... but then again? what do i know?
I hope you're right. It makes sense to me. I hope some others reply.....
apparently the people that know aren't night owls! ;) i would like to know this too- because im finally seeing little white nubbies on my water rooting sticks.
I keep mine in water all winter. The first and main reason is because of the cool temp. in my Greenhouse and the missing adequate daylight length. The second reason is that I do not have enough room for so many potted cutings. I pot my cuttings in early March. By rooting cuttings out of the flowering region only, you will have flowers alreay in the summer.
This my 3rd year rootings cuttings. I had only Frosty Pink the first year. I managed to get a cut of Dr Suess to root last year. The first two years I kept them in water all winter long but they seemed to get too cool in the only window I have to keep them in. I would usually loose 2/3 of what I would start. This year I started everything in water and when I had the beginnings of roots I potted them up. They are growing like gangbusters! This year they are also sitting in a 75 gallon aquarium with one aquarium bulb and two fluorescent tubes. Maybe the heat and light is the biggest advantage? I really am not sure, but if things continue, hopefully I can fill my fenceline for my back yard with these beauties sooner than expected! :>)
Monika, do you mean if you root cuttings from above the Y, you will have blooms early?
The cuttings taken from above the Y are going to bloom early because the area above the y is the blooming region.It will be more of a shrub shape.Sometimes you even get blooms when its only a foot tall.....its really funny to see a bloom bigger than the plant!
crested chick, do you think those potted start growing and will bloom earlier than those rooted only in water until spring?
I've never noticed a difference...never paid attention....LOL
I do know certain varieties will bloom sooner than others no matter how you root them
Can you name some of those varieties? I have a cool summer season here and it is hard to get some to bloom for long before frost.
*bump*
I'm also no expert in rooting in water, but it does seem that they root faster in water , but for fuller massive root systems, they really need to be put in dirt, seems the roots that they get while their in the water are very fragile and when Iput them in dirt after being in water, it seems like they have to almost start over again, the tiny roots seem to break off or get damaged. I get faster results rooting in pots and their healthier roots to me. This is just my opinion, but seems like when I root in water, and then stick it in the potting soil to finish it off, it takes just as long to become a healthy rooted plant, as if I had stuck it in the pot of potting soil from the very beginning, It takes up les s room to root in water than in pots for sure. You can stick quite a few in one container of water , and you can't do that to pots or shouldn't anyways.
I've always been one to root in potting soil rather than water /bubbler method.
My opinion though!!
kathy
I am gonna try both this year because I will have a little greenhouse!!
The main reason I use a bubbler, in the winter, is so that they won't grow outta the GH and into Ripley's Believe it or Not types, so quickly, and because my temps are 'extreme', today 27 in the am, 77 in the pm, and if the water isn't changed almost daily, they turn to slime.
so, when my greenhouse is finished, I shouldn't put the potted brugs in there because they will grow too much? I thought people put them in a greenhouse for awhile in a semi-dormant state and then warmed up the greenhouse around March. Which should I do? I guess I don't know much about how to use a greenhouse yet.
If your greenhouse is cool and bright, they won't grow so fast. I made a mistake once and put too much stuff over the brugs which shaded them. The GH was warm, around 65 at night, and when I took the brugs out in the spring they were torn to shreds by the slightest breeze. The next year, I kept the GH about 40-45 at night with no shade. Made a big difference in the toughness of the brugs.
when did you start warming up the greenhouse? My growing season is cool here and some years the brugs barely get the buds on before frost. So I want to give them a head start in my GH
I never raised the minimum above 45 because our temps started warming up in March. I would open the doors on sunny days so it didn't get too hot. Last of April I would start bringing stuff outside to sheltered areas to toughen up. I would still lose some leaves and branches if we had wind, but they weren't nearly as tender as the ones I grew in the warm greenhouse.
I would put the heat mats in the floor for cuttings and seedlings that needed it warmer. I kept the heat mat set on 72*.(also for my orchids which did not like it 45*).
When you take them out of the greenhouse, even if your GH is bright, don't put them straight into full all day sun; give them a few days with part sun to toughen up.
Here is a picture of a brug blooming in the greenhouse in February 2003, according to my file there is snow on the ground outside. This is flowering in a cool greenhouse. If it wasn't sunny, the GH felt a bit chilly.
Gosh, Susie, you have my number, makes perfect sense re my zone. I guess your TN zone and TX zone add up to about zone 8a, lol, but sounds totally correct!!! Thanks for the super, sensible, info!!!
Calalily, what brug is that? If it likes a cool greenhouse enough to bloom, maybe it will bloom in my cool summers here...