Hi everyone. I live in zone 8a, Alabama. I have three brugs that were rooted from cuttings. I was told that one of them is white and the other two are pink.
Rather than have to go through all of the posts, can someone tell about how to care my brugs during the usually mild winters we have here.
1. When do I take cuttings for rooting? What time of year do I do this?
2. Do I cut the entire stem back to the ground before frost or after frost? Or do I wait until Spring?
I have seen a lot of Brugs growing in people's yards around here. They are not in pots so I assume they survive the winters outdoors.
I appreciate any advice or help you can give on these beautiful plants. Oh, and I forgot to mention, my white one has a flower bud appearing and the pinks ones have several. Probably won't get to see them bloom before the frost gets here.
Thanks much.
Anita
Help! New to Brugs
I've never had to deal with such nice winters before. LOL! You can take cuttings anytime and get them rooted. For me they root easier in warm weather. As for the ones in the ground, I'd just enjoy them as long as you can. I don't know about when to cut them off, so I'll leave that to someone with the experience.
Thanks so much Brugie. You seem to answer everyone's questions.
As information, I found a place in Louisiana that sells unrooted and rooted cuttings. They say to leave the stalk as is until all danger of frost has passed in Spring. Then cut it back.
If these are like my perennial hibiscus, then new stalks will come up next to the old one.
Thanks again for the response.
Anita
I would take some cuttings just in case. I live in zone 9 and I can lose brugs in the ground over winter if it is unusally cold. As far as your buds go, I have had some open inside after I cut the stalk off that has the bud if the bud is far enough along. Good luck! I hope you get them to flower early next spring so you have a long season to enjoy!
Leaving the stalk protects it from rotting. If you cut the trunk off and it develops a hollow spot in the trunk, water can sit in it and rot it during the winter. Leaving it prevents that from happening. Mulch it really well with leaves, straw, etc. over the root zone area, I would put it a couple of feet thick. Take some cuttings to root as a back up in case it doesn't return. In the spring, pull the mulch back and you will see new green shoots coming up from the base if the roots survived.
Thanks MaryinLa. I will try that. I have two pink ones and they have a couple of side shoots on them below the "y". I feel sure those will make good cuttings.
I have a white one and it has only the "y". Can I take one side of the "y" as a cutting?
I assume the cuttings should be taken before the frost gets here?
Thanks again for the response. I am anxious to grow these things next year. My white one has a very large bud getting ready to open and the pink ones have 5 or 6 buds on each of them.
Anita
if you cut it back to the ground before the frost hits, can you cover the cuttings with some sealant of somekind to keep it from rotting? what would one use. I ws planning on cutting my two pinks to the ground before the frost, we get cold winters here in arkansas, don't they sort of wilt when they get frozen, kind of like everthing else does, seems a waste that you couldnt' take all the stuff you cut off and root it for other plants, and seal the cut off? just wondering, see anita, lots of new to brug folks around. LOL, I'm still learning myself. hoping someone can answer this too before it freezes here it got to 36 the other night, that was scarey, it wasnt expected to be less than 49. weather man was sooo wrong.
kathy
I would think you could Kathy. I do not live in your zone, but in the past I have used that spray pruning seal on my brug cuts. I will say it is ugly stuff and dripped all over. You can still see it on my Golden Lady when you look at it.
Anyway, I had cut my GL suckers all off at the ground just before our rainy season and I had no problem at all. But I did not have it as cold you have, though some frost. This year GL is just huge. Too huge actually for my yard.
If you are really worried, do not cut them off at the base, but higher and cut at an angle. I would think that may help.
I know most people on here from the more moderate zones, all take lots of cuttings in fall to make sure they have back up in case their outside brugs do not survive the winter.
For what its worth...I learned in my MG class(from an expert arborist) that one can use any paint to paint tree cuts. We have oak wilt in this area, and its critical that you paint the wounds on those immediately to help prevent your trees from becoming infected. We were told that whatever you have available (preferably spray paint, for ease of use) will work.
thanks for the tip, that's alot cheaper than the plant sealer stuff
kathy
Happy to help :)
I've also been told you can use Elmer's glue to dab on the cut areas. We use this on the rose canes so the bores don't get in. If they are already in, it will smother them.
My question on Brugs is I have brought my four plants in the garage for the winter. Our nights have gotten down to 40 degrees so I didn't want to chance losing any. Two of them are blooming now (Frosty Pink & Miss Ann) and I'm not sure where to cut them off. They all are about 3'-4' ft hight and all have "Y" although only two bloomed. Any thoughts of where to cut them?
Thanks!
If you have the room, I wouldn't cut them off at all. They will probably bloom quicker next year on the old growth. If they are huge, you can leave some of the Y's above the main Y. That might make them manageable size.