I have 4 large potted brugs and need to move them into the greenhouse soon. I am in Zone 5/6 (New England), and am moving them into a cold greenhouse that will be kept at a minimum temperature of 40-45 degrees. I know they won't bloom at those temperatures, but I want to keep the plants healthy and happy until next Spring. Can anyone give me advise on what to do when I move them inside? Should I cut them 'way back to about 6" above the soil line, or should I try to keep them growing? And if I SHOULD cut them back, should they be repotted now? During the winter months, should I continue to feed? I should not let the soil dry completely, right? Thanks for any advice.
-Kathleen
RE: Moving Brugs Inside
I know nothing about your zone Kathleen, but my outside winter temps are about that and up to the 50s. They do fine. It is when they drop to not too far below 32 degrees for more than a few hours when I get freezer leaf burn.
Maybe someone from you zone will speak up with different advice, but I would not cut them back at all if you have room. You could do what I do and wait till early spring, I root trim them by half and then cut them back above the Y the same amount I have root trimmed. I then repot them in fresh soil, in the same big pot and they take off!
If you cut them to 6 inches, depending if they have Yed higher, next spring you will have to wait till they regrow all the way to make another Y to get blooms. With a GH you will get ahead start on getting flowers. If your brug is a bush and was made from above the Y cutting to begin with, it can flower much faster even if you trim it hard.
I wouldn't feed until a few weeks before you can take them out and repot them for the new season! I would water them enough to keep them from drooping or getting yellow leaves.
Good luck! Did you have lots of flowers this last summer?
I was just about to ask the same questions. I'm in zone 7 & we had 2 mornings at 32. I wasn't sure if those temps were going to continue, so I moved them all in the green hut. Now it is back to being warm in the days & around 40 @ night. They are losing some leaves, should I move them back outside until it gets colder? I maybe should have just covered them & left them out there. Not sure what I should do now???
Maybe we will get our questions answered. I do have a book but it's rather sketchy on what to do when.
Thank-x for any advice!
Bj
Kell, what do you do for your brugs that are in the ground?
I live in zone 5 ,sometimes I think its 4
I use to bring all my brugs in the house for the winter,before I got my GH
So all of you that do not have a GH don't get all upset,they winter over just fine in the house.Some people even keep them semi dormant in the basement.
They will loose TONS of leaves...don't panic!!!!!
The change in lighting and temperature will do that and I think just plain stress and the change in humidity and watering will do it
When I bring mine in,which will be this week,(I've been pushing my luck so far)
I de bug them,I usually do some trimming,taking off some unwanted suckers,out of control branches,and remove leaves (not all,just some of the bigger older leaves)I take the leaves off outside to eliminate some of the HUGE mess they can make when they fall off in the GH
If they seem to be done blooming for the season I will cut some back,not DOWN.There is a great thread of Monika's somewhere that explains how far you can cut the canopy back without jeopardizing your blooming region.I think the rule is leave at least 6 nodes from the Y.But if you have the room I wouldn't even cut them unless they look like they need it.
One of the big things to remember is don't over water them.They will not use as much water cause they won't be growing as much,they do need a kind of resting period.......
Hope this helps,and remember ,this is what I do,you may find this doesn't work for you and some people may do the opposite of what I do........just trying to help
this is what my GH looked like last year after I stuffed it....LOL
Edited to add this link to monikas thread
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/362328/
This message was edited Sep 27, 2004 8:02 AM
cc...how do you de-bug your trees?
LOL,CC,that is what my living room will look like soon.
I am digging,and mine will get a good spraying to Debug.
I will use Fertlome Di-methoate and Malathion
Hmmmmmm - I have had a problem with the falling leaves because of change of temps.
Two of my brugs are doing just beautiful outside. They are on the front porch near the house to help them stay warm at night, until I am forced to bring them indoors. They are almost as tall as I am (I'm almost 5'6") and are seedlings planted last February.
They have nice sized buds on them, but no whiskers yet. If I have to bring them in the house before they get a chance to bloom am I going to miss the show? Will the buds stay on, the leaves fall off and I end up with a charlie brown? Will even the buds fall off as well? I sure hope they bud earlier next year so this doesn't happen. Fortunately our weather has improved and it is warming up a bit (supposed to be 83 today). But our evenings are getting cooler and cooler and it is just a matter of time - I am thinking probably mid October (which isn't far from now).
Earthling, I just leave them where they stand. Last year I did run out a few midnights, and cover most with sheets. All the ones in my brug garden made it thru the winter. I did get some freezer burn on the leaves. Every so many years, we get a bad cold spell that lasts several days. That is what I am dreading. Then all my tropicals die to the ground, some do not come back. I wonder if there is a forecast anywhere that would tell us if they expect that kind of winter. I do put up a hoophouse for my best brugs, just in case.
CC what do you use for a heater? Do you have a moisture problem in your GH? I may get a heater this year to dry my hoophouse out. I almost lost some to rot last winter.
Karrie, you may lose your buds if you change the brug's location, Good luck!
What do you all mean by "resting period"? I posted this somewhere else too but... Can't I just bring them in and treat them like a houseplant. I was going to stick them in front of my casket window, figuring they would lose some leaves, but still continue to grow. Mere
Oh Kell I was hoping not to hear that! Not sure how long it's going to take for these babies to open up! At least they stay warmer on the porch. Should I wrap them in plastic or something on colder, "iffy" nights, since the days should be ok?
Kell: Our winter temps get down to minus 10 sometimes, so I have to bring the plants inside. I leave them out until the night time temp will be just above freezing (usually mid-October or so). I live in Rhode Island, "The Joke State".
- Kathleen
I'm not really sure I want to know, hpluver, but what is a 'casket window'???
hpluver, it means a period with less light and water when the plants slow down and don't bloom. Bruggies WILL lose a lot of leaves when they slow down; some will look like a bunch of sticks in pots, lol. Don't worry. Just water them a little from time to time, then repot them in the spring with fresh nutrients (I use bone meal and Black Kow and the alfalfa pellets).
Gee, I guess I've been living dangerously! I haven't made the first move toward bringing the ladies in. I guess I need to buy some insecticide and get busy. Our weather forecast is 70's & mid 40's for the next week, which is what it has been for the past week as well. The brugs seem perkier than they did - could be that they like fall, or maybe the Messenger did it's thing. Anyway, even the versicolors seem lively, making new buds and blooming away. How sad it will be to put them to sleep for the winter.
This I know - debugging will be HIGH on my agenda!!!!
Picture lady
I debug by spraying ...
last week with ....dang...I can't remember the name
today I sprayed with Avid...
Another reason I take off leaves is because thats where many bug eggs are
Kell,
I have a regular furnace,propane ,to heat with
The bulk of the heat goes into the GH because its just double wall plastic and it gets to -25 or more
The GH is attached to the garage,the furnace is in the garage
The plan is the garage is getting closed in and we are making it into the living room
The living room will be our bedroom and we will just close off the upstairs
I do have some moisture problems in the in spring and fall when the furnace doesent run much
I have a fan I run in there to try to help