This is my first time to try growing brugs. I have about 20 cuttings that are well rooted and have quite a few leaves. I am actually kind of amazed at how well they have done considering the fact my cats have knocked them all over twice now!! My questions are .....
1) When is it okay to move them to bigger pots ? I am going to put the majority in containers until next season and until I learn more about what works for them in my area.
2)Right now our nights are getting down in the 60's, that's not too cold for them is it? If not, then what temperature is considered too cold?
3) What is the "norm" amount of sun required for these plants in my area? Does it lessen/increase depending on the temperature?
Thanks in advance for anyone's help and advice on this, it's much appreciated!
Rhonda
Some Questions...
I don't worry about mine unlit it gets in forty's . If my pots are not on cement ,I put a couple of cement bricks between them .
The bricks suck up heat during day and release it at night . They also suck up water and release it slowly . If it gets what I consider to hot , spraying bricks and concert with water cool them quickly .
It's also easy to check for misc bugs - snails , slugs , earwigs etc . Just pick up , move or look for slime trails .
The bricks also act as an indicator for me - if green stuff on them everythings OK , if they start getting white stains , I am getting to alkaline soil .
So you put your brug pots actually on the bricks Tony? You should write a book as a handyman gardener. You have so many home remedies. What do yo do with your brugs over winter Tony?
Rhonda, if room is a problem for you, you might want to keep them in as small a pot as you can over winter. If not an issue, and you are going to keep them growing over winter actively, go ahead and pot up a size if they have filled out their current pots but only 1 size. I am always more careful in winter for they do slow down on their own and you do not want too much wet soil around their roots. My porblem here is not so much the cold but that with all the rain for days. Hard on all my plants as it goes on and on.
I keep most of my brugs outside all winter. It frequently gets down into the 30s and they do fine. When it dips below 32 they still do OK thogh if it stays there for more than a few hours I get my top leaves freezer burned. Even a sheet over them helps that though. They have done OK down to 29 degrees with some leaf burn but only for a few hours. I can get some stem die back too if it lasts more than a few hours. Though in your zone it will get colder. I would move them in when there is danger of frost so you get no damage at all. Do you have a GH?
How much sun depends on how hot it is. Where I am it stays in the 70s so they can all take full sun all day. But where it gets real hot, they prefer just mornig sun and some shade later in the heat of the day. Also some brugs can just tak emor eand some less. If you move them around in pots at first you should get an idea.
Good luck to you! We will need pictures.
Thanks for the great information, both of you. What you said makes total sense!
No, Kell..I wish I did have a greenhouse....I'd do a lot for a green house...work extra, build it myself, sell a child....lol. Naw, couldn't sell one of the kids....that would be less help with hauling all this stuff into the greenhouse!
And I will definately be sharing pictures. I have so enjoyed all the excitement I see when someone gets their first "Y" and their first bloom!
If you happen to have an extra room in the house make it your greenhouse, I kept a lot of my brugs in spare bedroom untill I had a room added on with LOTS of windows.
Have you visited the Greenhouse Forum http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/greenhouse/all/
I wouldn't advise building one of the PVC pipe greenhouses but the cattle or hog panel hoop type house looks interesting and it's not expensive.
Judy
gee luv. where are you going to put all the cuttings you requested LOL
lol...I am hoping to overwinter them in either my garage or house, kareoke.....but you can definately put me on the "not quite as many" list =) I have the feeling I am going to be learning a lot of lessons this winter! My family has been watching the progress and have all laid claim to different ones including my kids! But that has only made it more fun for all of us, I think.
If you want to dole the cuttings out to people who don't have any first, that's totally understandable !
That reminds me.....would it be okay to ship out one of those cuttings now that it is good and rooted? And if I did....how would I do it?
I wrap mine in several WET paper towels then put the root end in plastic bag, loosley wrap newspaper around them and if they are small send in Flat rate box.