The Grand Finale

I've been working so much lately have'nt been able to spend much time in the garden. There was no way I was working this weekend, the grand finale of the season.


Solid Gold, KBS, Butterfly, & L'amour

KBS was my favorite brug this year. It bloomed all summer. L'amour was plagued by insects all summer and even though the branches of KBS were intertwined with LA it never had any insects.

L'amour & KBS

Butterfly had an insect problem too. She is a pretty little thing even though her branches are almost naked of leaves.

I really like this one too.

Solid Gold

The one in the forefront was supposed to be Whiskers but I think it was mislabled.

Much better than Whiskers I think Loretta. Looks like V. peach or V. orange. Very pretty photos.

The smell is heavenly. I guess this makes all the watering and fertilizing worth it. Hopefully next year my trees will be older and produce all summer. I'm going to overwinter the same way as last year, dug up, trimmed back to 5-6 nodes then placed in water with bubblers.

Thanks, I had cuttings of both of those brugs so could be. I am the world's worse at labeling plants. That's why I wait until everything blooms before trading. lol Anyone know where to buy those labels that are like flags?

The one picture looks like rainbow sherbet......love your pictures and butterfly looks gorgeous...I think Im possibly getting one in trade but not sure yet..yipppeee..hope it looks like yours...Judy

All beautiful brugs, love the colors todether. Looks like versi peach/orange(like Delisa said) rather than whiskers. Whenever I tried to grow whiskers, bugs ate it alive, I no longer try to have that one.

Thanks for sharing pics with us.

You're working too hard!!

I tossed my Whiskers too a few years ago. Mite city. Sometimes I feel a pang when I see a real good pic with the long tendrils.

Your beds are so full of life, Loretta. I am in awe. I love your pics. Your ears sure are nice too.

My Pink Beauty, Rosabelle, Aurea NH and to some extent Butterfly are bug magnets. Do ya'll think that brugs with strong Aurea genes are more susceptable to insects? It seems the only plants that get insects hard to control (mites) are my my pink ones with strong Aurea characteristics.

Gloria, thanks for the empathy, I am working too hard, it is like being a slave. lol But the end is in sight on December 17, God willing and the creek don't rise I will be walking across that stage to get the piece of paper that sets me free.

Judy, sherbet is a good description. Thanks and don't fret, soon you will have brugs coming out your ears so if you don't care for one....you will just toss it.

Kell, Thanks! Do you have a time of the year when everything puts on a show or is your season year-round? Your garden is probably loaded with blooms and smelling like a perfume shop. Fall is my favorite season and here is Tennessee the weather is just about as perfect as it can get.

Loretta

Loretta, they are beautiful!!! Is KBS fragrant?? If so, I'd love a cutting, if you think she could take my heat. I have several L'Amour crosses and they are not bug magnets, but I don't have straight LA. PB isn't a bug magnet here, odd, isn't it, they way they behave in different zones...your place is so pretty, your time and effort has been well worth it!!!

Sherry, I have a KBS rooting for you and hopefully L'amour if it strikes instead of turning to mush.The KBS does smell good. Usually L'amour is insect free but this summer it got mites at mid-summer. Even though it was cut back a bit, the leaves stripped, and treated with a systemic they just would not go away. A few weeks ago I started with Neem Oil and they are gone. Do mites get in the stems? Thanks for the kind words.

Loretta, they are all so beautiful. What a nice garden you have. Love the caladiums and EE they look so good with all the brugs.
Those darn insects sure took a toll on my brugs this year also. I also had to strip many of them of their leaves to get the problem under control. Your brugs seemed to have rewarded you even after the infestation.

Great pictures, Loretta.

I actually use B.Insignus which is a beautifull Pink and very strong scented to draw the bugs from my other plants lol!
It litterally gets infested, I cant even stay on top of it! However all my plumies are bug free as are my adeniums too. The white fuzzy mealies are real bad here in my home town, they like Isabella and Frosty Pink too.
Heres my B.Insignus ;)
I just cut her into about 30 pieces and trade / gifted her away. I still have the base 3 inches thick and about 2 foot high now instaed of 9 foot lol!

Loretta, your beds are gorgeous. Love the plant combos.

Loretta, everything looks beautiful! I've been so bloom deprived this year, it's pitiful! Last year, everything bloomed all spring, all summer, all fall, and into the winter when they came into the basement. This year, very few blooms on ANYTHING until a few weeks ago, then we had another heat wave, and poof, they were gone again. It's starting to cool off again, and things are budding, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that fall will be colorful!

A labeling trick that I learned from Susie a few years ago has helped me SO much. Write the name of the brug right on the trunk with a sharpie. It lasts about a year and even when it fades you can see enough of it to figure out which one it is. I do it to my potted brugs down near the soil, and any time that I take a cutting. On cuttings, write it before you stick them in water, and make sure that the writing stays out of the water. (It fades a lot if it's in the water, and the dissolved ink makes the roots look yucky.) I write the cross on the trunk on seedlings too, when they get potted up into the next size after one gallon. They still have a tag stuck down into the pot, but I refer to the marking on the trunk more than the tag.

Beautiful, just beautiful.
I had a KBS, but it died over the winter. I have read that it is one of the easiest to care for as far as resistance to pests, etc, and a great performer. I will have to try again.
Very inspirational beds.:)
Congrats!

Ronna, Thanks for the labeling tips. I will try it this year to overwinter. Hopefully the winter will hold off and your plants will reward you with a show.

Thanks for the nice comments, it feels good. As for the creepy crawlies I guess there are many factors as to what they like. It was a very dry, hot summer here and it seemed I had more problems with mites than ever before. I watered constantly it seemed. I've never thought about having a sacrificial plant for the insects. lol

The caladiums did very well this year. As for the EE's they always get so big that I have to keep chopping off leaves to keep them under control. The tail end of Rita brought about 3 inches of rain in a few hours and some wind so the garden looks a bit different today. Not complaining though, I feel blessed compared to what some folks went through.

Tanks, Loretta!! I've been picking up Rita limbs today. But, we had a treat, we received a cool snap!!!

Ronna - I also learned the labeling tip from Susie - she wrote right on the brug and I want to label mine the same way; however - I cannot make the Sharpie write on mine - I've used the regular sharpie and the fine Sharpie. Is there another trick to it that might help??? If anyone knows, PLEASE reply, thanks!!!!!
I just cannot figure out why I cannot write with my Sharpies on the brug limbs, I must be doing something wrong....

I tried that too Sherry, and I couldn't do it either!

Do you think she used some special kind of pen?? What a convenience, if I could only do it...

Try a wax pencil. They are available at many of the office supply stores. I love mine. Will write on many surfaces.
The only thing I don't like about it is the tip is wrapped in string. Have to unwind the string to sharpen it. The lead color is a deep blue.

Jackie

I'll try anything - what the holy heck is a wax pencil??? What are they normally used for, so I'll have an idea what to request...thanks!!!

My grandfather used to work at OtisBaker elevator co. or something like that...he called them grease pencils. I think they use them for marking on metal...but they will mark on just about any surface. I would describe them as a "crayon" type texture...if that makes sense.

Wanted to add....great tip Patootie! Thanks!

This message was edited Oct 3, 2005 12:22 PM

Good News!!! Kell, et al, I was cleaning up my pens/pencils and I came across a pen I didn't recognize. Opened it and, wow, it looked like it would write on the burg limbs and trunks and I tried it and it does!!!!

Drum roll please - ta tah: It is a BIC Grip Permanent

I don't have a clue where I got it but I'm going to Office Depot tomorrow and buy at least a dozen. Kell, if you cannot locate one (assuming I do), I will send you one. This is a big deal because it is such a time saver, as well as a very good way to see that cuttings are marked correctly...

Lisa, I use them to write on plant labels. They are used
to write on freezer bags etc. I notice that the wax pencil leaves a more permanent impression than a permanent marker at least
on plant labels.
While they are called wax pencil or grease pencil,
China Marker is what's printed on mine.

Jackie

Just to make sure, I'm going to get a china marker to go along with my BIC Grip Permanent, since I have to go outta town to get either one...I already have a dozen Sharpies and they just will not work on Arky brugs, lol, but true...

Shadowgirl - your brugs are beautiful.....great pics! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks patootie...I googled it to see if I could find some myself...yep...china markers seems to be the common name.

Thanks SherryLike...for sharing that tip. I'll have to remember that when my brugs get bigger LOL they're little right now...maybe 8". They're my very first brugmansia's. So I've been reading up on them as much as I can. :-)

Hi, lisamar, and thanks to you!!! I tried Walmart today and loaded up on the BIC pens, whew!! Who knew?? I'm so glad they worked, really saves lots of time and effort...

Thanks Sherry. I must look around for them. Is this what they look like?

Has anybody tested the china markers for how long their mark lasts on tags or trunks of the brugs?...I would like to try them if they are long lasting...Judy

I never thought to use China markers on the trunks. I'm not sure it would work if the wood was green since it is a colored wax, but on the hard wood, it should work. I'll have to give that a try.

Kell, that one is not exactly either one of mine, but it looks good and I will try to find one to try when I'm out this weekend. The 'best' one I have is:

1) BIC Grip Permanent

I also have: 2) BIC Mark-it Permanent Marker Fine Point Tuxedo Black

So far, I like the #1 pen better, but I could not find one at WalMart exactly like mine, so I bought the #2 pen. Well, the pens are on the racks with the point up, and, I think that keeps the tip too dry. So, I have them stacked tip/point down and it's getting better, but, IMO, not as good as the #1. I'll look again this weekend and see if I can find something better. In the meantime, I hope my #1 pen will work for all my cuttings this season...I will try the wax marker too...

Sorry, y'all, I forgot to check this thread. The sharpie will only write on a brug if the brug is DRY. If it is wet (like when you pick up branches after a storm), it's like a watercolor, and hardly leaves a mark. I stick those to the side, and mark them after they've had a chance to dry out a little bit.

Yes, Ronna is correct and there is also a film like substance on the brugs, like a transparent 'skin' that rolls up in the Sharpie, but isn't as bad with the BIC. Thanks, Ronna, I'm surely going to let mine dry out before I tag them!!