Summer Pot test ... as discussed in Monica's book

The pot is rigid plastic but I don't think it's as large as listed in her book.

This is Butterfly that had two blooms in the basement this spring but afterwards dropped almost all of her leaves and then pouted after I repotted and took her to the hoophouse.

The pot was thick, rigid plastic so one fine day me and 'Bud' decided she got to be a guinea pig and we cut all the holes, packed in some fresh potting mix and buried it on the edge of a center bed. I dump 2 gal of fert mix in the pot two or three times a week I guess. She has leafed out, started branching some more and has started setting buds.

This is 8-Jun... the day of the deed

This morning.... 10 Jul and she's grown more in a month than almost all other brugs, container or in ground.

What a difference a month made!!! Maybe that's what I'm missing down here, your friend Bud. lol lol

Have fun!!

Judy

AH...the 'pot' thru me off for a moment....lol.

You and Bud do a great job!!! She looks great! What fert are you using?

Shoot, I forgot to use beer on my brugs. I need to!!!

A brand called Super Grow which is Stein's nursery's own brand. Just more granulated blue stuff. Most of the time I'm using the 15-35-15. Sometimes I use another version for evergreens and trees with high nitrogen. I finally decided I could just use the 15-35-15 which works so well in the basement during the winter and then I throw in some amonia for nitrogen spike now and then.

yeah Carol... :) When comes to overwintering I guess I better not use HH to refer to the Hoop House. How do you spell houka?

I thought brugs like a small middle number. What kind of fertilizer does everybody else use????

Linda

Does BEER help Brugs. maybe I need to try that, it would make me thinner *LOL*

Linda... maybe not according to rules written in stone. I've seen others ref using balanced with high numbers like 20-20-20 or more. I don't think it's a so much of a 'low middle number' (phosphorous) as it is ensuring adequate nitrogen (first number NPK). Trying to reason why on my own, I decided the high nitrogen level commonly recommended may be to push these through the vegetative stage they have to go through and get to the flowers. May not be correct but it made more sense to me like that. So... they're getting the 15-35-15 that goes on all the other stuff in containers (dahlias, cannas, avocado, calla). I've added ammonia a few times when it was specifically for the brugs.

(left over beer and garage pee too! :) )

I guess I need to start saving the garage pee (god knows I would have plenty of that), and DH has beer in the frig. I believe it is Bud Light. Oh yea he also has some Red Stripe Jamaican Lager in the closet. Do they prefer cold bud or can it be home temp. Don't tell me they won't like the light.

I would not ever question anything that you do for your brugs because they are beautiful. I was just wondering. I have been using 20-20-20 with added cal. I water real good the night before then feed the next morning. I burned about six of my brugs by using 30-30-30. Not for sure if it was the fertilizer or if it was my stupidity that did it. I foliar fed in the heat of the day. That may have been my error.

Linda

Edit to add: I forgot to tell you my P&C is Y'ing.

This message was edited Jul 11, 2005 9:13 AM

nowwww I'm doing the happy dance. Mom is just starting to open her 2nd flush so maybe we're in the same cycle.

In that KS heat, it might have done it. The Cal / Mag is something else I've seen recommended so often. I haven't done it though, figuring the hard Lake Michigan water we have here covers that. I'm thinking it's probably more important for those with well water or acidic soil maybe? Bud Light is the flavor du jour here. Red Stripe? Aw geeze, I'd be feeding that to the plants and grass. That brings back some painful memories from trips into Jamaica while in the Navy.

So what is garage pee? I use enough cow doo, so I might try garage pee if I knew what it was.

I just burned my RK so badly it lost most of its leaves, maybe all by this monring. I need to go out and take it out of its pot and flush it like mad. I do not even remember what I used on it, but it must have been something not too good..

Congrats Linda on yor P & C!

kell - was it from foliar feeding or just dumping in the pot?
I haven't managed to do this "yet" but ya'll have got me nervous. Looks like I've blown some new holes in what grass I have left. Dribbly bottle of roundup or more likely I sprayed something good then stepped on it and track it into the grass.

GP - to avoid getting flamed by the DW for tracking in the house and not wanting to to have to take off shoes and stuff, I just keep a milk jug in the garage. When it's full I slosh it around the conifers unless I'm mixing up a trashcan of fertilizer and use it immediately.

The one that I had burned the worst I just removed all its leaves, that poor plant was so naked my DH asked me what it was. Then I flushed out the pot 3 times with just plain water. Then I added some H202 to some water and poured it on. I figured what did I have to loose. Then after a week I fed it with some 20-20-20 and some cal. Today it is full of leaves, and still growing, that's why I think I burned it because of foliar feeding with 30-30-30 in the heat of the day.

Linda

I hope this picture is big enough to see.


Thanks Kell I went out earlier to check on it and I do beleive it is Y'ing in 3 different places. This poor brug has been through h--- with the three hail storms it has survived.

Edited to say: I send the wrong picture I am having a terrible time sending pictures this morning, they are so slow to send. I have tried 4 times to send the correct picture. It just won't go.

The picture I did send is a picture of my Tequila Sunrise (I think that is the name) and I think it is starting to bud. Is that a bud that I have circled. Please tell me it is. There is about 20 of these little things on the brug. I don't care what it smells like or the color or the size, or shape I just want a flower.

Linda

This message was edited Jul 11, 2005 11:45 AM

I am looking for the answer too kell, what is "gararge pee"

I could tell you but I will leave that up to 8ftbed, I am sure he could do a better job then me.

Linda

It's in Blaines' last post!

I use a low P (not as in Garage but as in middle number) because there is SO much already bound up in the soil we use. I found a 21-9-12 which I really like. I was told that many "former" farm lands where P was used can still be high in it as it almost never goes away!!! or gets used up.

Carol what brand do you use?? Fertilizer.

you know Carol, someone explained something similiar in another thread. Said phophorous and potassium binds but nitrogen flushes out.
I just don't want to have a different mix for everyone. Laziness on my part I guess.