I have some very young cuttings which have rooted outside...they have leaves coming and I know they have rooted..Now with me in zone 5/6 do I bring them in to keep them warm and growing or leave them in the breezeway with low temps....my thinking is that since they dont have a good root system yet that the cooler temps may keep them from getting good roots to survive...I cant lose these babies....any thoughts from our brug pros?...Judy
Input on what to do....
Hi Judy! I have mine in a cool environment around 50 degrees, and I let them root all winter in bubblers, the containers I have are in the same cool environment and I strip the leaves and spray for bugs, water occasionally and just let them go. Some leaves will grow and maybe a bloom here and there through out the winter.
Dan
Dan, I will be using the bubbler too but for the cuttings I just got about 3 weeks ago they just have small roots..I dont want to lose any of these and if I water them with the pretty cool air Im thinking they may not grow anymore roots...I guess Im probably trying to get an ok with bringing them in but there are quite a few ...Judy
are these bubblers like the ones in fish tanks? Do they cost much to run over the winter?
Heck no they arent expensive...just go to Walmart or some other discount store..by the hose motor and stone and go at it..you can even split the hoses and make more then one bubbler...you find everything in the fish department...Judy
Judy,
Go to the propagation forum and read a thread titled "my bubbler." It will be toward the top of the forum because people are still posting to it giving ideas.
Carol (yardqueen1948)
I would bring them in Judy but I have no experience in your zone. But brugs are most vulnerable to rot in the early stages. That is when you lose them. If they are only 3 weeks old and small, I bet they would not handle going dormant for they have used up all their stored energy just trying to root and live.
Sounds like you got some hot ones! You could also grow them for a couple of months to get them big and strong and then put a few out to see if they handle it well.
Kell, I brought them in and they are on my dryer..not alot of light but I will watch them and see if they look alright as the days go by...we are always learning arent we?....Judy
Just think how boring life would be if we stopped learning!!
You know quite cheaply you could rig a shoplight over them and use a cool white and a warm light in it and they would be happy.
Dont think I havent thought about it..lolol..the only thing is that that window shines right into our french doors to the bedroom..I had rigged up some growing loghts in my breezeway and the first night the brightness lit our bedroom like I had 3 lamps on..lolol...no way to change it since those picture windows in the breezeway keep the plants nice and healthy during the day......ohhhhhh all the things to do to make our plants happy....Judy
I turn out my lights off at night. But I meant put a light over the baby brugs you have on your dryer if that is that is where you will keep them over winter.
Kell, they will be on the dryer but the window in back of the dryer is across from my bedroom...I guess I could turn the lights off at 9 since thats when we got to bed....I would usually leave my lights one from 6 in the morning to 11 at night but maybe my hubby can rig up some lights over the dryer and turn them off earlier...it would also give them abit more warmth since my one cutting I got seems to be too cool and the soil seems to get a little mold on the top....Ive dried it out abit and it seems to be better....Judy
Judy I would bring them in. Especially them being in pots they would really be affected by the cold weather if left out. If they were placed on concrete that would make them really get cold toes.
So plants in pots get colder on concrete? I didn't know and I am glad you mentioned that because my greenhouse floor is concrete and so is the floor in DH's storage building where I thought I might put some plants that were a little tougher. It has a skylight in it, not a lot of light but perfect for dormant plants. I will need to put something under them?
Carol
Judy, I bet the light would help a lot with that fungus. I hear if you spray some lysol lightly on the fungus it will make it go away. LOL And not hurt the plant. Begonia people do it for mildew on begonia leaves. I turn my lights on when I think of it, about 10 and off when my husband goes to bed, around 10 and all do well.
Gee, I have lots of plants on concrete. In the summer it can make things too warm. I had never heard it makes them cold in winter. I was hoping it made them warmer in the winter by retaining the heat in the day and releasing it at night. Shoot.
I wonder if could Lysol my bee balm......?
I have my plants on the concrete floor in my breezeway all winter and none have died from it...I have my temps at about 50 but this year I will tone it down to 45 and see what happens..and Kell I forgot about the Lysol...I checked the dirt yesterday and its drying out now...I just wont water it so much and see if that helps....
and when hubby gets home from hunting Ive got a list of things for him to do..he may just pack up again and head up north to stay..lolol...Judy
I have never tried it myself Betty but only because I keep forgetting to buy Lysol. I have some begonias that mildew loves so I do want to try. Do a small part and see and let us know.
LOL Judy, I have to start looking pathetic to get my DH to put up the hoophouse. He sure is not moving in that direction.