My very first buds appeared maybe a couple of weeks ago and have been getting larger and there are a lot of them. I am in 8a so I knew I had some time but probably not enough. Okay so last week one night it got down to 30* and the leaves are history, but the buds are still there but I don't know if they are ok or not. It is not supposed to get cold again like that for several days. But I touched a couple of them and they feel empty. Is that what they are supposed to feel like or did the flower freeze inside and wither up? What do you think?
Carol
I knew it was a race but...
Oh Carol. I bet you are so anxious. I think they are fine. I am always amazed when I feel the calyx and it is empty. It takes a while for the bud to fill it out inside. I sure hope you make it in zone 8a!
I'm in zone 5 and my brugs can take a short time at 30 degrees without hurting the buds. Generally the calyx (cover) matures and the bud fills it up as they grow. Some calyxes will feel empty, but give them time and one day when you look through it with the light behind it, you will see how much the flower is growing. You can take a flashlight and put it behind the bud at night and see what is inside, too. Another thing you might notice with some is that the calyx will hold water. Nothing wrong with it, but it feels strange.
So generally how long will it take for the buds to open? I am sure that another freeze will come along in the next couple of weeks. Maybe not....
Would it help some buds to develope faster if I removed some of the smaller ones. I know that there will not be long enough for them all to open and I would like to at least see one since these are my first. It is an unknown pink so I am anxious to see if I can get it identified also. But most of all I just want to see it bloom.
Hey! That's a good question! I'm curious too.. I've got some tiny buds I could get rid of.. That's what we do with peaches and such.. so why not brugs??
I know disbudding helps some flowers to be bigger, and it just makes sense that if there are less if them the ones that are left would mature faster...
I doubt that it would make much, if any, difference. If cold temps come along, wrap her in blankets for the night. It might just save a few blooms to look at. I believe Monika wraps her brugs in newspapers and ties them so they won't blow off and it saves the brugs from frost/light freeze. Too much work for me. LOL!
I wish I had done that when we had our frost, it might have saved my leaves for a while. I cut off most of the frost burned leaves and they look a lot better. The blooms won't be pretty as they would with green leaves to frame them...
You probably can tell about the buds still being good if they aren't mushy. I just felt mushy this week end. I am going to try something this year that I haven't tried before. I cut several off above the y. I am going to get some kind of cloth, maybe a type of mesh, and wrap what is left above ground. Hoping it won't get killed all the way to the ground. I don't have a hope in the world that it won't but I am going to give it a shot and see.
You know Jim, I saw some frost proof netting like cloth last year at Home Depot. I wonder if it works. And it supposedly breaths some too. It sure would give you a head start come spring.