Last year I buried some large brugs that were in containers but I only buried them maybe half way just to stablize the plants since they would blow over in the slightest wind. I really want to plant my brugs in the ground to help with watering issues but don't want to have to dig and and spend tons of time potting everything up in the fall. i get really tired of running out of potting mix.
My question is, if I just plant the whole container( with drilled holes) in the ground will the plant be to busy settling in making roots or will I still get a nice display of flowers this year? Most are in 3 gal pots at the moment but some of their roots haven't yet filled out the containers.
Thanks
Dott
Burying containers ?
I plant mine this way because I need to dig them out to toss them easily. It will depend how far in the growing process they are, young seedlings needing more time to bloom. I do not think it matters if they are in a pot or in the ground, in fact the ground ones for me grow faster than the ones in a pot and flower faster too.
I do not even make extra holes in the pot anymore. When I saw the huge roots that come out of the drainage holes and grow into the ground when I leave a brug pot too long in one place, I realized they will come out of the small drainage holes and do fine with out the added work of making bigger holes. But if you get a lot of rain, you may want to add holes for added drainage.
I don't drill the holes anymore either - last year I had a lovely rose that got hidden, in a black plastic pot, under a huge butterfly plant. This spring when I found the rose, I tried to pick it up and it felt like it was in cement. Long story short, I had to use an axe to get the rose out of the ground. I replanted it and recently returned to the hidden area and there were 6 separate rose plants from the one I removed. That made me think about the brug I left in a pot in another area and when I found her, she had done the very same thing. IMO, those extra holes are a waste of time...I've done SOOOOOO many brug things that were totally unnecessary...but I learned...
LOL. Me too Sherry. Brugs are cast iron, you can starve them, thirst them to the point of almost dead, misuse and abuse them and all you have to do is be nice for a week and they start growing again. LOL. I have kept a few brugs in 4 inch pots for over 2 years and though they looked pitiful, once potted up they rewarded me with incredible growth and bestowed upon me great flowers for my belated kindness.
Brugs really are like weeds! I just had a volunteer in the front. It was growing in a 1 inch separation in the cement and was 4 feet and so lush!!! I had moved the potted plant it was leaning on and it starting swaying in the breeze and had a definite lean. Tom saw it yesterday and said "You can't have that growing here!!!!!" And with that he yanked it. I was so sad. I thought if it had that much spirit I should let it be.
The only tricky time in a brug's life is when you are rooting them. Once well rooted they are hard to kill. Unless of course it is a special one, then it may die without notice. LOL
So Sherry, who did your grands want to win American Idol? Was it the guy who ended up winning?
Hahahaha, Kell, of course we are all Taylor Hicks fans, the new Elvis, you know!! He will be in Arky soon for the Wal-Mart annual meeting and there is no doubt, if the meeting was not in Springdale, but Little Rock, I'd be there. His recently recorded single is #6 and it won't be released until June 13, can you believe that??!! Yes, in order to remain in the will, the grands voted for Taylor.
Every single word you posted re brugs is true, right down to the special ones dying, it the way it works for me. I have the most wonderful garden, so far (I never count my chickens before they hatch) and, guess what - I have not watered with buckets a single time, I have put out zero insect stuff (except for one Million Bells(?) that arrived COVERED in red mites), I used epsom salt once and fert once and the rest of the watering has been via hose. Amazingly, I have brugs wintered outside that are on their second flush, Eternity, via Susie is one of the best ever, and, to think, last year, I wasn't impressed, proves what a silly girl I am. Pink Favorite who started her first flush, 2005, on June 23, wintered outside, has been blooming since the end of April. Several of your seedlings, L'A x EP, I think, wintered in the ground are on their second flushes, as well as about 6 others wintered in the ground, amazing, to me anyway. When they started coming up, they looked like swiss cheese - i said sorry girls, make it on your own or it's bu-bye and guess what, they are the ones the flushed early, I've used zero bug stuff and the only fert comes outta the water hose and only a couple of times of MG and once with soap and water, but I wash them with the hose frequently which is what I always did until I got this idea that I should do exotic stuff to get the brugs to do what comes naturally, which, like you said, is not the case at all - if you are halfway nice to them, they are wonderful and so easy - UNLESS, of course, it's your first double pink. You've helped me lots Kell, and this year it shows, thanks!!!!!
Thanks for the info. I will get working on it today. All my brugs are just starting to take off. I will be keeping my seedlings in containers above ground this year since I'm not growing to many.
I am hoping for lots of suckers this year so I can get some nice tall standards for next season. I have a really long driveway I want to line with brugs as the backdrop with long flowering plants underneath. So this will be my practice year since I deffinately want to sink the pots for the driveway line.
Dott
Dott, I bought a bunch of 15 and 25 gallon pots and use those. I have both put a smaller pot inside the big pot and just planted the brug right into the huge pot. Let me tell you, I have not had a 15 or 25 gallon pot blow over! LOL I grow the brugs into tree shape and plant lots of annuals beneath them. Doing them this way also makes the brugs look much bigger. :)
They will grow better in ground whether in a pot or not . The roots have a steadyer [ sp ] temperture and can go looking for something besides the side of pot .
I started with - you can bury the whole pot [ paper ] , Then it's an ugly plant and someone else wanted it and was easy to dig up .
Other wise [ ugly plant - flowers , leaves - etc ] they stay there till I find something better to replace it .
I leave the holes MT till I put something back in it when I give a plant away .
Hi everyone, it's 8ftbed with a temporary lurking pass on Mom's account.
This is a good thread and what I was doing/saying last year which was my first with brugs. But I don't spray pesticides and junk on the rest of the yard so they didn't get it either. I had wild flushes, in pots and ground and had some 8 footers.
I had contemplated washing my hands of brugs though since I'd done everything and storage for me was going to be a pain. I still ended up keeping some favs. Dug them, cut back some branches and stuffed them into 7-10 gal pots. Started a couple of cuttings just in case. The whole mess went in the hoop house with 2 little space heaters which kept it between 45-50 degrees at night and they leafed out and stayed green but I wasn't encouraging growth. Then late Feb we had a -12 degree air temp and I discovered the hoop house dropped to 19. Everything was brown and I figured dead but just left them alone and would toss during the spring clean up. Everything has come back from the roots! Milk and Honey I thought was gone but has finally sprouted. Everything else is already potted or in ground. Butterfly, Harlot, CG, and a couple of others have Y'd and setting buds. The only bugs I've had were somehow I got aphids in the basement on a couple of cuttings I was sent and a few seeds I started. Couldn't control them or get rid of them so fine - I stripped all the leaves and took them outside to the hoop house. Problem solved.
Good luck to all and have a great summer. Grab a beer and a hose and shoot in the general direction with a healthy splash of fish emulsion one in awhile. :)
8ftbed... aka blaine
LOL Blaine. So great seeing you again. I hope your life is good. Wish we could see some glorious pics of your garden this year. You are missed!
Hey Blaine - ole buddy! gosh I miss you! Glad you "lurked" on in for a visit...
That Razzmatazz coneflower you gave me last year made it and has it's first buds - YEAH...and thank you again..
Diane Krny
You all have been wonderful helping me out. I am taking a break at the moment to grab something to munch on and to make sure my little one isn't filling up on snacks while mommy is playing in the yard. Maybe all this work will help my watering duties.
New question if I may. I had already drilled 1 inch holes in the side of the pots a few weeks ago. How will I protect the roots from drying out during their overwintering with the holes in the side. Is there a way that works better than others?
Thanks again.
Dott
I experimented with Butterfly like that last year. Last fall when I lifted the pot, I packed a litte soil in the holes, jambed the holy pot into another about the same size and set it in the straw in the hoop house with the rest of the gang. I did have to prune and thin out the top. She was way way too big for her pot when I cut it out of the ground.
blaine
(Hi Diane and Kell! Ty!! Diane, you're going to luv, luv, luv that cone)
I am not believing this, Blaine is back, what a pleasure to see you, I've posted very little to this forum since you left, so this chance meeting is absolutely delightful!! Do Jnette and Randy know you're back, they will be very happy....I spent 6 months with American Idol and now that it's finished for the season, I'm hanging out more...hope your wife, mom and family are all well and that you are 110%+!!!!!!
shhhhh, no blabbing Sherry :)
This is just an adhoc, interloping session. ;)
I renewed Mom's account THEN asked her about it (is that the cart before the horse thing?) to which she said she quit coming back when I evacuated. Unfortunately I had to have her pword inorder to renew online and as long as I was in.... thought I'd splash about a bit. (bfg)
Anywho - I did Idol too but quit when it Chris got booted and left Jammin Yamin and Elvis wannabe.
Nice to hear from you and wish you all the best as well
blaine
This message was edited Jun 6, 2006 1:37 PM
Hey Blaine!!! I am so glad I wandered into this thread and saw you posting! We do miss your beautiful pics! and Posts.. Good "seeing" you!
You should come back Blaine at least just for the summer. Things are exactly as you fled them, and I mean exactly. LOL It would be like old home week for the summer.
This message was edited Jun 6, 2006 3:31 PM
8ft, do you know chunx?? If not, he surely fits nicely. I think his mom is ill and I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks, but he is your type, what ever in the world that means, I'd say fun, saucy, knowledgeable, breezes in and out...about Idol: I loved what Simon said when he asked Taylor if he was drunk, Taylor of course, said no, then 'Simon said' that he looked like a drunk daddy at his daughters wedding, doing an Elvis kereoke impersonation - we think that is so funny, and true for some, but those of us in the know (wink!! wink!!), know that Taylor is going to surpass the king...the entire bunch, Idol, class of 2006, were well qualified...
OH WOW Sherry, them is fighting words. LOL
I'm with you Blaine! I was shocked and discouraged when Chris didn't win Idol. Elliot has a good voice but looked like he was in pain when he sang. Taylor's voice was good when he was belting it, but the 'dancing' was...... well, let's just say I agreed with Simon on the dancing. All in all I enjoyed this season the most.
Glad to see you back.
Mary
Idol: Mary nailed my view exactomundo! I started getting anxious when they booted Pickler (who should be in a TV comedy series or movie IMMEDIATELY). Chris is set for life now and as soon as a CD hits the store, it's in the garage, volume cranked up and Bud will be flowing.
chunx: nope, don't know him and I see there's lots of new blood which is a good thing. Guess it keeps all the tried and true information repeated and at the top of the forum as new folks come in. Sure gave me path when jumped in the pool.
summer: eh, I don't know about the Kell. So tempting but this place sure eats up some time. :) I could really be in a pickle now. I'm picking up my garden buddy on 16 Jun - an 8week old Bulldog (I should stay around long enough to talk bully with Judy :) ) Then I got on a bully forum to educate myself before the boy comes home and THAT place is just as addicting.
DOTT: you can blow dandelion seeds at me for hijacking your thread. Sorry. I think I have two recent pics though and one actually has a couple of pots of brugs in them. Since they've got the spray paint for plastic out, I went whole hog this year and have painted most pots white with a blue band. Then found 1.5" pvc fit over those 24" green metal fence posts with the flat piece on the ground end. So I've made hose drags with white pvc and painted a blue band.
Here's another recent shot. The Golden Lotus color is washed out in the light but them, and Autumn Damask rose, the first clematis out front and some Iris were all blooming when my little variegated iris decided to play.
That's ok Blaine, looks like everyone is tickled to see you back here. I remember seeing your screen name 8ftbed before. You have a beautiful ful garden. I also bought some of the plastic paint last year and painted all my containers green. I figured when I placed the pots in my beds the green would disguise them better. I do love you ideal of the pvc for hose drags. I am always knocking parts of plants off when I hit them with the hose's. I have 2 150 ft hoses and they are hard to handle. I still can't reach everything with them and have to drag around a watering can to some places.
I think I am going to start a new thread with a before and after shots. I have been so busy since yesterday morning digging holes for those pots I haven't had time to check in much. Off to start a before and after thread.
I hope you hang around Blaine.
Dott
Great to see you posting, Blaine. We miss you. Great pictures.
Blaine posted: Then found 1.5" pvc fit over those 24" green metal fence posts with the flat piece on the ground end. So I've made hose drags with white pvc and painted a blue band.
Blaine, please 'splain the 'hose drags'. I'm all ears, sounds great but I'm not sure if/why I'd need it, but I love new ideas which I park in my brain for future use, stop lol, I do so have a brain!! Thanks!!!
not what I heard. :p
maybe I should've said 'hose guides'. Anywho - a picture is worth a thousand words they say, so I'll grab a couple shots when I get home and post tonight or tomorrow.
Sherry, I didn't forget... just forgot if I had actually posted.
I didn't take a pic of a bare stake but all home centers and nurserys I think, carry these green stakes that are for wire fencing. They're kind of flat with little tabs along the rib to hook the wire fence under. Then at the bottom theres a flat triangular piece welded on and when the stake is driven into the ground, the flat piece stabilizes it.
1 1/2" pvc pipe just slides over those stakes. So I cut 24" pieces of pvc; used the rustoleum plastic paint to paint my band, then put an end cap on top. Cheap, extremely durable and with the plastic paint you could color coordinate seasonaly, yearly, whatever. :)
Here's a series of shots around the yard with the stakes guiding my hose around the bend. (I found I can also set a beer on top (if level) when I need to twohand something)
~~~ 8ftbed / blaine ~~~~~
This message was edited Jun 12, 2006 7:52 AM
west side
east side
from north 40 through the fruit trees at the back door
slightly different angle and the sun came out on a front view angle
Beautiful yard,Blaine.
This message was edited Jun 12, 2006 11:48 PM
Gosh, it took me several looks to find the nifty, color coordinated, hose stakes, because your lovely gardens are so beautiful, healthy that I was totally distracted. Your plants obviously love their home and you surely know which plants will thrive in your area/zone. You are a clever, talented gardener, I just love your place and your gardens!!
Gosh Blaine, looking so GOOD! You really have the touch.
Thanks all
This will be my (our) last post again.
I've been contacted by Admin to NOT use this account because it causes problems with more than one person using the same account. I seem to remember some married couples that shared an account.
No matter. I've asked them to close this one as well.
Happy planting!
blaine
What a shame. The best part is being able to see your lovely gardens yet again, and having the opportunity to wish you and yours well. You and your mom where such delightful gardners, you will truly be missed!!!
Oh, he's back, so fun to see your garden again, I was so bummed when you left and knew the parade of garden images would stop!
Seems to me that if they have their money why do they care if more than one person in a family uses it?
Guess it's their program.
blaine, it was good to see you back I always loved your pictures of your beautiful yard.
Ruth
Hey, Jnette!!! Missed you and glad to see that you are still kicking. I guess I miss Blaine as much as anyone that's been here since I joined DG. Such a nice, fun, talented gardner and, wow, his mom was too!!