I want to plant a Brug near a pond I'm putting in. Will it survive the winter in zone 8b? We're very close to the zone 9 line. It only freezes in my town a few times during the winter; the rest of the year is warm or hot. I'm new to Brugs (only have 1 in a pot) and haven't experienced winters with them yet.
Safe in the ground in zone 8b?
I'm relatively new to Brugmansias also, but from what I've learned in this forum and some outside reading, some of the hardier ones will overwinter here in Zone 8b if they are heavily mulched. Tops will die down, but the roots will send out new shoots. I would think that if you covered the tops on the nights you had a freeze warning you might be able to salvage parts of the tops as well. Look for your Brug's name in DG's PlantFiles. Many have a list of the zones they will grow in.
This year I plant to keep my Brugs in pots, take cuttings when they get bigger so I have back-up plants and plant the parent plant in the ground next spring.
It all depends how cold and for how long. I cover my best plants with a sheet when we are going to get a frost. I usually get by fine. I get more water damage than cold damage. Though I can lose my leaves in a frost. I always lose some branches too but I think it is die back from the combo of cold and wet. Brugs hate cold and wet. We only get frost here for a few hours, and it only goes to 30 or so. Any colder and they will not be happy esp if more than a few hours. They will probably return from the roots however.
I live in zone 8a and for the past two winters, all my brugs were in the ground with two sacks of mulch, each brug, piled close and high. I kept back up cuttings. After wintering in the ground, it takes them longer to bloom, which is why I kept cuttings in my bubbler. Unfortunately, a storm blew all my buds off, but I do have a couple that might bloom this weekend. Good Luck!!
Hey Neighbor..they are in my gardens and hopefully will return next year for me as well(This is my first year to plant them)..My neighbors have them and they come back every year!!..
i had 2 in ground that died never come back . so i think to cold here for them in ground..
I am in Zone 8B and every brug I had planted in my garden came back from the roots. Even the versicolors which notoriously do not like cool weather. Some take longer than others, and many are loaded with buds. Like Kell mentioned, it depends on how cold it gets and for how long... Good luck!
I got my first brugs last year. I put 6 in the ground and put 5 or 6 in 5 gal. buckets. Took cuttings in the fall as back up and wished them well. Every one has come back...some faster then others. Of the 12-14 cuttings I only lost one. Silly plants have yet to figure out that my thumbs are more brown then green and that I kill stuff! LOL
I live in Zone 8 and someone gave me a baby Brug last year close to the end of summer. I planted it near my house to shelter from high winds and frost. It got to the point of blooming and an early frost killed it. It came back this year with a vengeance. The blooms are beautiful! After reading some of your posts, I will take some cuttings as a precaution and put them in pots. ;-)
Congrats, Sheila, it is a beauty!!!
Its beautiful Sheila cool! I used to live in Rincon, GA wooo hooooooo....off Goshen Road, how neat is this!
Hugs
Julie