NEWBIE Question(s) - TIA you all!!!

I have been on this forum for an hour plus....you guys are great!!! I am generally on Perennials, Rock Garden, Roses....but I bought my first Brug in June and definitely have some questions. I am so glad to have found y'all....you seem to be such a nice, and knowledgable bunch....not to mention Funny!!!! :o)

1st question - do these plants usually "Y" and bloom the first year? I bought mine from Brugmansias.com and have been watering, and fertilizing as the instructions said....first all the leaves promptly fell off.....but they then grew back, and it started to get taller, and then nothing......did I start with this plant to late this season to expect blooms this year, or do they bloom later on like Sept.....

Jamie

2nd question - there is a small plant growing off the main trunk....should this be removed?? Will it con't to grow, and mature or flower?? It is good, healthy growth - I just don;t know if it is any good for the plant to have it there...???

Jamie

and last question...does the "Y" just form...nothing has to be done right?? I know that must just seem like such a basic question, you must all be wondering who would sell me a Brug LOL :-)
But I look at the top where the new growth is and nothing remotely different seems to be happening there....of course a watched pot never boils, maybe a watched Brug never "Y's"...lol

OK, ok...enough questions for one day (more to come, I am sure) and thakn-you sincerely for reading these, and for any info you can pass along - I obviously need it...

The new, new, newbie to Brugaholism.....;)
Jamie

our venerable gurus will chime in and give you the goods but I want to say welcome.
My first season with brugs but that plant looks good.
IMO - I'd maintain a regular and generous water and fertilizer program as you are apparently already doing. I feel there's a chance you could get the Y and blooms before fall. I have cutting and seedlings both in ground and pots. One has zoomed to 8+ ft (Y'd at 6) and still hasn't formed buds. But all the others in pot and ground have now Y'd and are setting buds. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'd feed it every time I watered it.. daily.
I'd snap that sucker off as well. You could root it if you wanted but I'd do it so all the energy would go into the main plant.

8ft ~

I feel like you are an old pal from the other forums, and thank-you for such a thorough and speedy response. I always know my friends on DG won't let me down...:-)

I will do as you suggest, feed each day when I water...what do you feed yours?? I have been using what the company said to use...1/2 strength Peters water soluble......but I am open to any other suggestions....any organic options?? I took the sucker off and am trying to root it - always worth a try.

I used to feel like I knew what I was doing in my garden...then I got the Roses bug and the Brug bug...now I am learning again!! That is part of what I love about gardening though...always something new to try, and succeed or fail...it's FUN!!! :-)

Thanks again!
Jamie

Hi Jamie, Good to see you over here! I'd have to agree with 8ft that some brugs Y at different heights. I have some that Y'd under 12" tall, but another just now at over 4ft. I wonder if this heat isn't helping things any. If you're really impatient for some blooms, I spotted some Charles Grimali's at a nursery down here that are loaded with buds. Talk about an easy one that blooms like crazy!

Fancy meeting you here Jamie. LOL. Your brug is looking good. I agree with Blaine, you may just get flowers yet. When it Ys depends on where the cutting came from. In my experience Rosamond is a big plant so it may need to grow a bit more. You might want to push the pot size up too, that usually gives it a boost. When is your fall? Do you still have another 2 months of growing left at least?

I use Miracle Grow and Osmocote mostly on my potted brugs. I have noticed that people here use different things and the brugs usually just like to be fed.

Good luck on getting a great flush!!

yep, what Kell and emily said.
There's a lot of threads concerning the feeding. It also seems to me that most folks have success mixing your fert in buckets and being regular and consistent with the watering and feeding. Keeps them happy and growing. I mostly use stuff like Miracle Grow from Stein's garden center.

Hi Jamie, Welcome...
I see you have gotten excellent advise. I will just fill you in on my experience with brugs here in our neck of the woods. For those who don't know Emily and Jamie live within 50-60 miles from where I live.

I have found that in the years past I will get blooms from winter started cuttings usually in the month of August. Then Sept. they can really put out a flush and just before you need to bring them indoors in Oct. TONS of buds. But too cold to enjoy seeing all those buds mature. You will then need to wack them back to bring indoors. Boo hooo
This all depends on your growing enviornment feedings and so forth.
This same plant wintered properly and brought out the following year will reward you with numerous flushes the entire summer.

For me with my brugs that are 2+ years old they bloom through out the summer. Come Sept. and early Oct. they really put out a flush of blooms.
They really do well with our Oregon warm weather days and cool nights. So don't give up. Your brug is looking great. The big show is soon to come...LOL
Oh I also have a versi peach that for the past two years only puts on one big flush in Oct. Nothing all summer long but well worth the wait. Why does it do this you may ask??? I don't Know....LOL
Good Luck and I see just by asking a few questions here YOU now Have TWO Brugs!!!! I wonder how many you will have by this time next year. Just look at Emily....!!!!!! LOL

Jamie, most of my 23... 24 brugs (just bought Snowbank) have Y'd or just about ready to. I think you'll be surprised at how quickly these guys grow.

I do 5 things. Again, I'm a newbie, so this is just based off of my limited experience.

1. I start with excellent soil such as Whitney Farms, add perlite for good drainage, mix in bonemeal, mix in a longer acting fert such as Whitney Farms palm and hibiscus fert, and a handful of worm castings. This mixtures provides a very rich, well-draining soil.

2. I use a large container. Unless the brug has a very small root system, I start with a 7-gallon container. Some of mine have outgrown their 7-gallons and are going into 15-gallons. I have one monster that's moving up to a 30 gallon.

3. Water regularly. When it's hot nearly all need water 1x a day but some that have outgrown their containers need watering 2x a day. I have some brugs that get sun all afternoon long and those guys need extra care.

4. Fertilize regularly. I use a nana fert I picked up on ebay that's 15-5-30 and alternate that with some fert from Al's that's 20-9-20. About once a month, between feedings, I give all of my brugs epsom salts 1 tablespoon per gallon and mix that with liquid calcium. About every 8 weeks, I add more slow-release fert and if the leaves are pale, I'll add in some ironite. I always give my brugs a good soaking right before I give them any fert. I've used messenger once and although I was skeptical at first, every one just took off after I sprayed them.

5. Keep an eye out for pests. Now that the pesky slugs are pretty much gone (YAY!), I still have to keep an eye out for other nasties like spider mites (oh, how I hate them), earwigs, or anything else out of the norm like aphids, scale, etc.

geez Emily, you put me to shame. I better feed mine better and more stuff! I have it all, I am just lazy!

My other addiction is to Alocasias. Talk about fussy plants!!

Gosh, don't tell me that Emily!!! LOL. Susie was trying to give me lessons on the differences, but I haven't absorbed it all yet. I just kind of jumped in. Monkey do monkey see. I have had these 2 for a month, A. macrorhiza 'Seven Colors, and Alocasia Green Velvet variegated and so far so good. I also just ordered lots of them from Naturals Selections Exotics yesterday. If I kill them all I will be so mad at myself.

I just ordered Alocasia cuprea from Naturals Selections Exotics yesterday. I've managed not to kill two of the green shields for over a year now so taking the big challenge. I've found macrohiza to be much more tolerant of overwatering, mites etc than other really, really fussy species like nobilis. It's amazing how dry these guys like to be. Black Velvet is a real beauty and another I have actually kept alive. My favorite still has to be frydek. I've had 2 die on me from crown rot but have two more that are doing well. xAmazonica (African Mask) is another fussy one. Have 3 of them and they're still alive. One just came out of a dormancy period of 4 months and is doing well. I thought it was dead. I've also harvested some corms from my Hilo Beauty and put them in with a couple of my other tropicals. Hilo Beauty is another one that I love and is quite tolerant.

Oh Susie just got a big Hilo beauty. I am waiting on a picture from her. I love them. I best get down to learning about them. I do let them dry out.
This one I really love. If I kill it I will be so sad. It came with mites free of charge so been there and done that.

Emily, kell, 8ftbed, GardenGuyKin, and everyone ~

Thank-you so, so much for the wonderful gourmet menu for my brug...I feel so much better now that I have read all the great advice...I am going to print this thread and put it in the brug section of my garden journal, what a great reference.

Now, emily and kell....what is this about Alocasias??? No, no I don't even want to know. Maybe next year....I am closing my eyes now, so I can't keep reading about this plant that I would probably love....out of sight - out of mind....LOL :-)

Thank-you all so much for jumping in and helping me and my baby Brug.....y'all are an amazing group!!
Jamie