I think I asked this before but can't remember and can't find the thread sooo.....
To overwinter a brug, do I cut off the trunk at the soil line and store the pot and all in a cool, dark place(should I seal the cut with latex paint?)? Would a basement be okay? It has high dungen type windows but I have a grow light on down there. And does watering once a month sound about right?
I kept this brug in my garage last year and it didn't wake up until the end of summer!!>:(
Overwintering
Why cut it down at all? I trimmed off the branches and used them for cuttings, leaving a bud about four inches or so, and removed all the lower branches because I wanted more of a tree shape than a shrub.
I put the container in a double plastic garbage can bag, and tied it around the top of the pot. These will not need much water at all - check every couple of weeks.
Mine are in a greenhouse, but they would go dormant in a darker place. I won't start feeding them until Feb., and then 1/2 amt.
Check frequently for any pest outbreaks.
(The first paragraph info is some Monika advice, and the feeding suggestion from Brugie, I think)
Mine are in the basement with plain florescent lights. How cold does your basement get, do you know? I would not cut them back. Water spareingly! Jean Pasko, Orange Sherbert, Kells' Big Yella. Have Hawiian dbl white, Butterfly x L'Amour and Pink Favorite blooming today, also.
Very pretty, Gloria!
These are very beautiful.
Mine has a pretty bad aphid infestation I can't get rid off so cutting it off would be prefferable. I don't have a greenhouse and I want to store this HUGE pot somewhere out of the way in a dormant state. How do I achieve this?
BUMP..
Like everyone said,you are better off NOT cutting it down.
You can,but will have to start all over again next spring and may not get blooms on it till next fall,its a better thing to leave the exsiting growth.
If you are determined to get the pot stored way out of the way,you can take the plant out of the pot,get rid of some of the soil and put the root ball in to a plastic garbage bag,maybe double it.Remove all the leaves except maybe the tiny ones on the ends,the leaves will fall off in the house anyway.Spray for aphids,and store it out of the way,Just check to make sure that over the winter it doesent get too wet and cool.That will kill most of them.
I don't know how big yours is but you can prune it back.If it has Y'd DO NOT CUT THE Y.you can cut back to 6 nodes above the Y
I wonder if some of you can store them pruned with the roots in a plastic bag laying down,like in the rafters of your garage?
they don't go dormant like a bulb but go in to a resting period,so it won't need much water.It will grow VERY slowly .
If you find you can't do that then cut it off at ground level,and put the whole cutting into a bucket of water for the winter.It will most likley root and you can pot it up in the spring
Hope this helps
First I would spray those aphids! Many things out there to kill them. I never have any trouble getting rid of them, one spray, or just take leaves off and pinch aphids. I personally would not cut it all the way down. If it has a Y, cut off anything ABOVE, not below the Y, so as to get early blooms next year.
JMHO, hope it helps.
Yeah but if you remove ALL the leaves first there won't be too many aphids left to spray,you won't have to use as much pesticide
We posted at the very same time, Karyn. Great minds think alike, ha....
Michelle, if you have lights on down there, not sure if it will go dormant. Mine aren't, they are blooming and making buds with the florescent lights on them. Our basement stays 62 degrees all winter.
I'll remove all the leaves save for a top few. They're mostly all falling off anyways because I left the brug outside for too long and the leaves froze. I hope it won't take too long this year to come out of hibernation because of that. The lights I have down there are kind of low to the ground, hanging off a ping pong table leg. It illuminates the room but doesn't really light it.
I don't trim mine back at all. I put my brugs in the garage late fall until all the leaves fall off. Then I put them in the crawl space of our house and only water about once a month or so, just so they don't dehydrate. Getting some of the bigger ones in the crawl space is a struggle, but it can be done. Our crawl space is almost 6 foot, and it's dark down there with no lights, stays about 50 derees. I bring them out in the spring and most start growing again. I do lose a couple every year, but most do fine this way.