Losing interest in brugmansia's or a bad season?

I'm on the fence about this. This summer has been one problem after the other with my brugs. Nothing looks as healthy as it should, hardly any blooms and a horrible mite problem. I have a small yard and want plants that will pull their weight out there. I'm starting to wonder if I'm putting too much effort into brugs without getting much return? The time/money I spend each year to feed, repot, and care for these little suckers is starting to make me a little sour. Then there is the thought of dragging them all back in the garage for winter keepings. ughhhhh

Now a little positive. I really do love the way they look and smell when they do bloom. I like that I can cut off a branch and give it to anyone who visits and they can start a new plant with ease. They are very forgiving plants. They put a smile on my face when I see them bloom.

So what to do? Cut my number way back and start fresh next spring? Move to a warm climate (that's my vote) or write my whole rant off to a hormonal imbalance pms LOL... and hope my mood will improve in a few days?

Is anyone else having problems this season?

Here is a picture when I came home from vacation last week. Doesn't look so bad in the photos because everything was in full flush. The week plus I was gone, go figure. For two days when I returned I was able to enjoy some blooms. Now were back to nothing. GRRRR

Mayan Magic has been a good bloomer this summer.

How could I leave out Rosamond? She hasn't bloomed too much this season. I did repot early in the summer. That may be why? This was the first full flush of the season.

There was even a brug in the yard at my vacation in St. John. It wasn't in bloom so I didn't snap a picture. Here is our own private beach. This shot was taken from the top of our road.

At lease you have some blooming. I have one that is getting buds and one of its buds is about 4 inches long.

Then I have three others that is showing some small buds that are just starting.

Then yesterday someone wrote in a thread that starting next month a lot of DG'ers would have cutting to offer, getting ready for winter.

GETTING READY FOR WINTER I'm still waiting on my summer blooms.

Now this is what I call a GRRRR

Linda

oh yeah, they just look terrible. NOT!
Gone for a week on vacation too boot? Besides the brugs looking good the Tropicana and EE's are having a grand summer. I did go quite awhile without any brug blooms (except PC). Now things are really starting to bud and/or bloom.

I'm sorry Linda ((hugs))) Last season I had blooms from early spring to late fall. This is my first really bad season. I do have several that don't even have buds at all. They won't be coming in this year.

8ftbed if you were here you you'd see what I'm talking about. It really doesn't look nice in person especially with nothing blooming. I also expect more then one flush a season out of my plants. I LOVE them, but not that much. They must perform to stay. I put too much care in them to see a few days of a flush a year. The canna's and EE ears LOVE the heat and they seem to perform the best.

The vacation was SOOOO long overdue that I can't even begin to explain how much it was needed for my whole family. It was a year in the planning and was one of the best times I've had in ages.

This message was edited Aug 4, 2005 12:59 PM

LOL Kristi, if you call your yard small, mine is minuscule. I must say you always pack the best pot. So pretty!!

I agree with you a lot of the time. They can be such a pain!! And such an expensive pain. But you must admit when in full flower they do add that zsa zsa zsu to your life.

Thanks kell you know how I love to do my pots. Speaking of pots- I wish you could see some of my uglies this year. I sure made some bad choices when I was putting my plantings together.

This year I put in Cypress Gardens in my big blue pot. I adore that brug. It turned out pretty good considering it sits in full roasting sun all day. I didn't expect much from cypress Gardens because it was a tiny cutting when I put it in there. It really did surprise and delight me to see some height and such a good flush on this plant. Another reason to add to my list of why I should keep this one.

Yes- They do add some zest to my life and that is what I'm keeping in mind. If not for that, I'd start hacking back right now 98F outside or not. GRRRR... Maybe I should have a glass of wine and lay off the coffee?

datdog I know exactly how you feel. I have had some blooms this year and it has made me even more of a nut, BUT fighting the bugs, (Mites and Japanese beatles) are the worst to get rid of, and the expense of all the stuff you need to keep them healthy, and on a fixed income is not so easy. I will cut way back this winter, and only keep the best bloomers, and seeds if I manage to get some.
What is the orange flower, it is lovely




Doris

I've fallen in and out of love with brugs so many times. There are years when everything goes great and years when it all seems fruitless. Look at your experience this year as a lesson in trialing brugs in your own environment. Get rid of the pest prone and poor preformers and get yourself some different brugs. Don't give up!

Lookin' pretty durned good Kristi. I have had (3) brugs bloom so far, NOT good! First it was too cold, then suddenly too hot and stayed that way, not nearly enough rain if it is to be that hot. Have my first(1' tall) canna blooming, rest have just stayed same size, no blooms. It has been a horrible year, but thinking of cold weather coming, guess I can stand this now. Sure hope to see more blooms on my brugs tho'. My Rosamond is a big plant in the ground, didn't bloom last year, no buds so far this year, now that is something to Grrrr about! It blooms for everybody else????

A lot of mine are not going to see another year, they can be replaced!

DD, some days I feel just like you, but today I'll have 2 that are starting to flush. One is Kell's L'Amour x EP (it just bloomed about 3 weeks ago) and Dr Seuss (3rd flush of the year) so I'm excited about them again. This fall, I definitely will have to cut back, there's no way to get them all in the gh.

I love the way you mix your Canna and EEs around the brugs. Makes a lovely showing.

That is too bad Gloria. Yours are always so pretty! I hear you though. I have 4 -- 15 gallon pots of HG. Never bloomed. Last year they budded for me, what a tease. I left them out last year thinking they would hate the cold, but they survived. Terrible looking bark though. I am going to toss them this week, time to die!!!!

I will be hoping for you Gloria.............

I know how you feel
The North East has been WAY hotter than normal
Last year we had like one day over 90
this year I've lost count
Not normal weather,at least as far as my plants are concerned
Even my passi's won't bloom
I am starting to get buds though...
The only things that have bloomed reliably are CG(of course) and Lake Effect....on and off all summer
EP is blooming now but looks terrible,blooms are all wilted
Hardly any seedlings are budding,even though they are Y'd
I think its just a bad year so don't give up......

I have lost interest this year after losing so many last winter when I had a power failure to the hoop house. Plus this summer has been ghastly hot here and with minimal rain so far. It's been a struggle to just keep them alive, much less to get them to bloom.

RIght now I am in the process of giving most away..I guess I have 30 or so out there waiting to go to a new home. I am keeping some..probably 15 or so.

I was suppose to get seeds and cuttings from Kell, but guess she got busy and forgot to send them..I guess I will see how I feel about things this winter.

Kris

Amen on the water. It is the most valuable insecticide you have. Everytime I water my brugs no matter if they are in the ground or in a pot I water the undersides of the leaves too. Especially during these hot months. My brug bug problems are nearly 0. Not bragging. Just an important lesson I've learned in the last year.

I had several plants at one time that had cupped leaves both upward and downward. Bronzy looking new growth, twisted and gnarled leaves. Just about every bug symptom you can think of. The two Herrenhauser x ? (Larry Locklin) seedlings that I'm so looking forward to were affected really really bad. I dislike chemicals and I just can't get inspired about them. I'll use them only if there is no other choice. Water turned out to be my best defense. The safest and cheapest and most effective. The plants are beautiful and the problem has not returned. I get to enjoy all of the neat little critters that live in my brugs like frogs and lizards and natural beneficials and even a couple of Caterpillars.
I seriously recommend water first and chemicals 2nd.

Sorry Kris, I guess i did. I had a very tough year. But I do not even have you on my way too late list. I send about 2 to 5 boxes a week lately trying to catch up. I am so slow. I have to stop offering!!

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll be hoping that everyone gets to see some pretty blooms before the snow flies! Gloria where did your Rosamond come from? Mine is a great bloomer most of the time.

Vee I'm VERY cautious about what I use in my garden too. You should see the weeds in my lawn. My husband is ready to kill me.
I have the same thing happening to my brugs as what you are showing. Nothing is touching it. I've tossed one seedling that I had high hopes for. I could not win the battle with that one. I did break out my avid so we'll see if it makes a dent in it. I believe I have cyclemen sp? mites.

I hope you don't, Kristi!! They go after the new growth and make it thick and ugly! It seems lots of people are suddening getting them right now. Interesting it is at the same time all over. Last year I had one bad outbreak but Neem got rid of it till now. I wish I could remember what month they descended. ICK!! If anything makes me walk on by brugs, it will be the mites. I really hate them.

Hi, Kristi - it's me - Diane, waving from over here in almost Stone Henge country in Connecticut. Believe me I feel your pain. Last year I had 2 brugs - this year I now am up to 33. sigh. I'm hopelessly hooked. Spent a bloody fortune on pots, soil, fert, a self-erecting greenhouse to give them an earlier start, and insecticides up the wazoo - and I still have had the worst Spider Mite problem I have ever seen! They are EVERYWHERE and I swear a re-occurance of Noah's flood wouldn't kill them. So last week me and Dawna (another CT member) went halves on a bottle of Avid. I'm just desperate now - because my brugs are really flowering well despite the HORRIBLE heat, humidity and bugs. I need to rescue them from Mite Hell. Don't give up hope..maybe if you feel you must, cut down on the number you have a little. Your yard is beautiful and I really think things may get better when the fires of h--ll stop breathing on the Northeast and temps cool down and MAYBE we will get some RAIN (it hasn't rained in my yard in 45 days!). I have been getting up at 5:45am to go outside while it's still cool and water over 100 containers before work. Then I come home at 5:15 and do it again! Come on - hang in there with the rest of us. We will get through this and your brug babies will kiss you with blooms once again.

Diane Krny

Kristi there are just some new seedlings that never snap out of the ugliness. Sometimes genetics and environment have as much to do with it as insects.
Stupid mites .... When I water I hold the fragile growing tips in my hand and blast away. No more cyclamen or broad mite symptoms.
Monika is the one who made me stop and realize just how significant water can be to helping get rid of these kinds of mites. Remember the soak the plant in water at 110-115 for however many minutes she told us about? You can't soak all of your brugs like that because they are too big. The only other solution is to soak those leaves, stems and growing tips with the hose as often as you can.
Be careful of root rot if you use alot of water on very young plants.

I think the weather has really effected the Brugs this year, & bugs, I have had my share of those too. Now I'm fighting earwigs!
I had a few blooms on my new seedlings, a good full flush on an unkown white that was exciting but way to far & few in between.
I have quite a few plants & was wondering if DH is going to grumble much about helping me dig them up & lugging them to the GH.
Now I have several new seeds to start, & I was thinking about not going so wild on the seed starting.
I do love to see them bloom & their fragrance is wonderful.
But don't think I'm burnt out quite yet!
Bj

This season is the worst. Have 30 plus with half in the ground and half in pots and only one has bloomed, EP. Waiting until fall and hopeing to get some blooms due to the heat and no rain. If it does not pan out I will be sending a lot of cuttings out this year. Acre and half of pure pain this year. Watering almost everyday and watching the water bill go sky high. LOL Grass sure looks good though.

I can sure share your frustration. This is the second summer in this home and last year we had a really cool summer and all grew fine. This summer we have been at 90 plus just about every day since the first of July, with many day's close to 100 and above. It seems like every time we get temperatures above 95, several break out with spider mites. Now it is the caterpelliers. My brugs are looking pretty beat up right now. I don't have a one in bloom at this time although I do keep seeing little buds on many of my plants, but they fall off in this heat. I am feeling so discouraged right now.

LOL Diane. Your descriptiopn of your life is mine. LOL I really think the more brugs you have, the more problems come up. I used to think roses were the bane of my existence. Now they seem to be a piece of cake. LOL And they never get mites.

Maybe we should start a I Hate Brugs thread. LOL

No Kell, were not that bad off! I will keep right on pluggin', too dumb to give up on brugs, when they bloom and smell up the place, every bit of work is well worth it. It's got to get better........right?

This is what keeps me going, when they come through and give you blooms. An tis a pa tion, is making me wait.

That looks huge, Linda. I hope it is hot!! LOL

Looks like a "keeper".

Okay I see that I'm not alone. I'm sad for all of you that are having similar problems. It's SO frustrating.

Kell that is what I have going on with a couple of Monika's seedlings ***GROAN*** I can't seem to get rid of them. I know they have some sort of pest because they all had beautiful foliage last season.

Again- thank you everyone for all the great suggestions and encouragement.

Linda what is it?

Tar you've put so much work in and I'm so feeling for you. I'll be keeping my fingers
crossed that you get some blooms soon.

Jerodsmom I hope so cool weather comes your way. What are your normal summer temps?

Bj cook a great cake for your dh and maybe he won't complain too much when it's time to drag them in. Mine is going to kill me if I take up anymore room in the garage.

Diane avid seems to do wonders for nomal mites.

Last year this time, my brugs were flushing beautifully, and this year, I'm looking at them every day and thinking, you're outta here!

But, I don't have the heart to do it...... not just yet........We had company for these past 10 days, and I wanted the air to be filled with their fragrance, but they just couldn't bloom.........it's been entirely too hot, too wet, or too dry, and blooms falling off before they were opened.

Maya gave me a few blooms, and I was happy about that, cause I nursed her back from a near death! LOL

Tis a bad season for our baby brugs, for sure!

Gracie

I don't know about the "too wet" factor. Consider Alohahoya with her daily 1". As long as the drainage is at least fair, I think water is the difference. I'm green and blooming and the area is considered an extreme drought case. Difference is I'm addicted to going out everyday and if I can't (or really don't want to) do anything else, I'm standing around with the hose.

Blaine, I lost many more plants to too much rain than I did to the drought. After the soil is so saturated, there's no place for the rain to go. I could pull the sunken pots out of the holes and the holes were full of water. At least in the drought I could water them.

It must be Carol's fast draining volcanic stuff and mine are basically in raised/improved beds or pots. You know that still kicks my can where brugs are water hogs and can be rooted in water but turn around and suffer from root rot or just plain suffer if the soil stays water logged. Maybe all the water they can get as long as they get O2 as well?

Ada our Carolina Red Clay is the worst perking soil in the US. I think you have to almost dig a trench and put 6" of pea gravel to have anything drain good when it rains like it did spring 2003.
sidney

I agree, another bad year :( Not even half of my brugs have bloomed, thankfully the the ones I bubbled have, the ones in the ground are slowwwwwww.

Do y'all ever wonder if we were better off not knowing how to grow brugs? I remember my ignorance of my first brug in a big pot with nothing but Osmacote and water--it did great!

Yes, I remember 4 years ago, I had brugs in pots all along the driveway, didn't use much fertilizer, just kept them watered, they all had BIG flushes of blooms. I have babied them last 4 years and have had less blooms, more spidermites, didn't know what mites were back then.......... Seems if the weather doesn't cooperate, there's not much you can do to help them bloom.

Hope for much improvement.