Questions about watering and fertilizing.

How often should I water my brugs? They are putting on a lot of growth right now and many have buds on them. Temps here are in the 70's during the day and mid-50's at night. I hear these guys need a lot of water, but I don't want to overwater them. I mixed a fair amount of perlite and pumice into the high quality potting soil to ensure good drainage.

Regarding fertilizer, how often should I feed them. I want to encourage them to grow, but not overfeed them. They are all living in containers and get a fair amound of sun. Here's a pic of most of them. I'm using a really good nana fert that's 15-5-30 and also mix in one tablespoon of epsom salts in one gallon of water.

They look great, I know nothing about the brugs, this is my first year at growing them and I am still a trainee, in the learning mode.

But whatever you are doing looks like to me is working. Did I say they look great, yes they do.

Linda

Emily, sounds like you have my weather!! But don't you get lots of rain in Portland? I root trim and then repot most of mine in the spring so when they have plenty of room and are not root bound, I do not have to water that much. Maybe once a week to begin with then every 3 or 4 days. But as the summer passes by and the roots fill my pots, I finally go to every day.

If it is abnormally hot, I may have to do more too or at least mist the leaves. If in doubt I stick my finger down as far as I can to tell how dry it is but usually I can just tell by looking at the plant. They get a certain look and you know they need water.

I do not fertilize as often as I probably should. Some people here do it a lot. I would think every week or so would be fine.. Esp those in the ground send their root out to find food so they can go longer with out being feed. But ones in pots get flushed regularly so you should fertilize those more. If yours are growing well and budding sounds like you are doing just great on your own.

Your fertilizer sounds a bit high in the potassium. I know bananas like lots of K but brugs do not seem to need so much. I do not know if it will hurt them, but if your specialty fertilizer is expensive, you may want to switch.

Kell what fertilizer would you recommend?? The numbers I mean or brand, whatever.

Linda

Kell, when you root trim and repot in the spring do you also trim back the plant in proportion to the roots? This is the first time I wintered over brugs and I didn't root trim so I am watering twice a day when it's over 85. 8^[

Linda, I personally use a mix of whatever I have on hand. I use Miracle Grow and VF-11 as a foliar feed. I use 20-20-20, the cheap one at HD for my ground brugs. And I just started using a lawn one that has a low middle number, slightly higher K and a bit higher N. I was looking for a similar one that Monika recommended but can't seem to find one comparable around here. I also throw in a handful of Osmocote into the pots and also more than anything I have been using the Rose systemic food and insecticide lately. Now that has the wrong number combo but my brugs that I have used it are full of buds!!

No Water........................ Yes. I cut the rootball by at least one half. In the spring plants can survive a bit more of a root pruning than at other times. I then take the canopy down by quite a bit also. I do NOT go below the first Y though. The general rule of thumb is to reduce the canopy by as much as you do the rootball. I find the brugs love this. It really refreshes them. I do leave a good bone structure though too. Do not be too severe on top or you will wait for blooms much longer.

And I like to put in heavy soil so I do not have to water them so much. Yearly root pruning keeps the nice feeder roots plentiful too. Plus I go up to a size 20 to 25 gallon pot and that is all I will go to. I may start root pruning my 15 gallons and leave them in that size. All these huge pots are too much to move around. .

Great instructions, Kell. Thanks.

Yes thanks a lot Kell, great information.

Thank you for all of the great information, Kell. As far as rain in Portland goes, we do get a lot of it except during the summer when we receive very little at all.

Speaking of water, I think I've been overwatering mine, especially the smaller ones I have in large containers.

As far as my fertilizer goes, I asked Monika to look over the numbers (including all of the trace elements) and she thought the magnesium was too low, but okay other than that. My fertilizer isn't that expensive. I bought it off of ebay for $19 (including shipping) for a 3 pound bag. All of my other fertilizers have phosphate numbers 10 or higher so I'm a little hesitant to use them on my brugs. Sometimes I feed fish emulsion or liquid kelp instead.

Glad to hear once a week is enough. I'm afraid of burning the plants by overdoing it.

emily, yours are all in pots, right? Do you have really cold, extended winters?? I'm in zone 8a and I winter mine in the ground, well mulched. In this area, zona 8b gardeners winter theirs in the ground too, except for special ones, just in case there is a prolonged freeze...good luck!!!!

Yes, all are in pots averaging about 6 gallons in size. I think most of the plants are about 2 yrs old. Our winters are very wet, but not cold. The rains here start in October and usually don't let up until May (June this year). I think our low temp of the winter was 22f and we had no snow. I've thought about planting some, but I'm afraid the neverending rain would make them rot. What do you think? Do you think they would make it?

We get lots of late fall, winter and early spring rain - I'm on flat land and I've never had one rot. I just don't have the place or energy to haul them in and out...and I've never lost one in the ground, but it could happen...I would think you would be safer than I am...

Emily, 2 year old plants in 6 gallon pots? At 2 years old my plants are unhappy with 15 gallon pots and I move them up to 20 or 25 as their final pot destination. Maybe you should pot them up a bit.

I bought most of my brugs from mail-order nurseries so they didn't have a huge rootball. I'm not really sure how old they are. My "2 years" was a guess. Many are "Y"ing for their first time and the tallest is only about 30 inches. About 1/2 were 1-gallon sized plants. Hmmm.. Maybe a year old? I think my "newbieness" is flashing in neon colors. ;)

I have two that have been blooming for about 2 months now and their soil seems to dry out very quickly. Have 2 15-gallons waiting for them. How on earth do you repot a brug that is 3 feet wide without breaking it all off? I counted 20 buds on each of them... I love the buds. I love the blooms.

Wat till they flower so the brug does not drop them. But I would get them out of their pots and check the roots. If they have a lot, pot up. I find brugs grow faster in a big pot. Next month you should not pot up to get ready for winter, you do not want a lots of soil around the roots in winter unless you have a GH, but now go for it! LOL