I wasnt sure how to begin to see if this has already been posted.
Here is my situation:
I planted two cuttings early this year - one in one pot and the other in another pot. One pot is double the size of the other one. The brug in the larger pot is three times the size of the other one.
1 - The bigger the pot the larger the brug can get
2 - depending on the brug, will determine its growth rate.
The one brug is a Charles Grimaldi, while the other is Snow Bank. The Snow bank is the slower grower in the smaller pot.
Do I need to repot to a larger pot?
I have two other brugs that are planted in the ground and one is much bigger than the other. But I was thinking it was due to location. Now I am thinking its because they are two different varieties?
Can you tell - I am new with Brugs :)
Thanks for any help you can bring.
Sherri
How big can a Brug get in a pot?
I would let the plant determine its own growth rate. I get myself into trouble over potting my brugs sometimes. Look at the rootball and see if it is getting rootbound or if the roots are coming out the bottom of the pot. If so, then pot up a size or two. I would rather repot more often than deal with root rot. People have a lot of different approaches on this. This is just my two cents lol.
I would think that CG is naturally a faster grower than snowbank from what I have heard/read. My CG is robust and hardy I don't have snowbank so I can't compare that one. Maybe some others who have it can say for sure.
I think Snowbank is slow to get started, but once it does, it grows rather fast; or at least mine has.
What I do if I start to think a brug is becoming rootbound, is pull the plant out of the pot. Usually, unless you have crazy heat like most right now, if you start getting yellowing leaves, it means the brug is rootbound. But, that's just been my experience.
I have had Snowbank for 2 years..........this is its 3rd year and it FINALLY is doing something. It bloomed a couple the first year, and a litle last year, but it has a few buds now. What surprised me was all the "shoots" it is getting all up and down the stem. More than what my other brugs have. It is about 4 feet tall right now. It is in a 16 inch pot.
My humongous potted brugs are probably at least 8 feet tall. 2 of them are in 24 inch pots and 1 is in a 20. I think I will need the chainsaw to prune them back this fall. LOL
Dewalt cordless sawsall, Anna. That's what I used last fall. Seriously, I did. I don't have either of the above mentioned brugs, but from my reading experience, Charles G. is a smaller plant to begin with and well suited for pots. Course, all my brugs are "well-suited" for pots cause I can't dig much anymore and they are not hardy here. I pot mine up slowly when they are young, because I want a nice thick root ball. I have an Alex in a 2 gal pot and it needs to be potted up again. My final pot (as big as anyone wants to lug in an out) is a 25 gal tub with cord handles... (don't depend on handles for carrying) .. oops, yes I do have 3 small CG's not doing too well right now. They were cuttings from a DGer last fall and they've been struggling all season... some due to my neglect, I'm sure. Pink Beauty is well over 10 feet tall now and p.versi is competing with her. Maya is on the deck, above the gutters on the house. Maybe I should get the tape measure out, just for fun.
Be careful of over-potting if you are in an area with lots of rain or if you tend to overwater. Overpotting can easily cause root rot if they are too wet. I
This has all been helpful information.
I didnt realize when some of leaves get yellow - it can be rootbound. I have an unknown planted in the ground, and it gets yellow leaves. Just one here and there, and I just remove them. The rest of the plant does ok. I get concerned when I see yellow leaves.
The cuttings of the CG and Snowbank I received came the end of last year, and I thought I lost them both due to the unusual frost we had in California. I nurtured them and now they are looking well. I have been struggling with insects though. But I think I might have that under better control.
The CG has just bloomed - one flower - WOW it is GORGEOUS. The Snowbank has two buds on it. So I guess I am doing ok.
I do want to check the roots of the snowbank - cause if it is root bound - I want to set it free so it can flourish. I wish I had more room to plant in the ground......
I received some Isabella, Monster White and some unknown cuttings a few months ago - and they are all coming up great. Almost ready for pots :)
Thanks for all your input.
Sherri
Can you imagine what we would look like if we never lost a hair from our head? Brugs have to shed some too. It's just the way it works. Granted, sometimes there are other reasons for them dropping leaves, but I don't get too concerned if I can't find mites and if I know they have enough fuel. I either blame it on the temps or the age of the brug and normal leaf drop.
That's a pretty bloom, Sherri.
Okay, measured last night. From dirt level to top of leaves biggest in pot is Pink Beauty at 8.5 ft. Guess I over guessed. The one I put in the ground this year is not as big as it was in the pot last year, but it is robust at around 5 ft, it was the one I "sawsalled" at dirt level last fall. I've also noticed it doesn't lose as many leaves as the ones in pots. I don't get overly concerned at yellowing leaves as long as I've inspected for disease and mites... I agree with Brugie, gotta lose some old to get lots of new. It's almost mid August and the versi is loaded with buds and I noticed the first Pink Beauty bud this morning.. Maya has bloomed off and on since early June and has the biggest bud flush, yet. The little Alex I got last Fall is Finally getting over mite infestation (fingers crossed). I doubt I will see blooms on him this season. The one in the ground shows no sign of buds, but I'm hopeful. It is pink and was loaded last year. It's really an exciting time outside, too bad it's sooo hot out there.
I had hubby take this just a bit ago.......I dont' think they have grown much since then (10 minutes or so.........LOL) Wish he would have told me he was gonna snap it.........I look ill. :>) Anyway, I am 5-4,so you can kinda tell they are BIG, even tho I am not.
Oops, forgot to add that the one on the left of the photo is coming with a whole slew of buds again that you can't see in the pic.
Oh Anna, you look cute "tucked" in there amongst the lovelies! I'm shorter than you... (They keep trying to make me believe I'm 4'11", but I KNOW I'm over 5 ft!) Your brugs look marvelous! So healthy and full! It's nice to see them flush and flush again. I hope the one in the ground has enough time to bloom before frost.... it hasn't "Y'd", yet. Don't you just love the scent? My deck was just engulfed in brug smell last night! I fear the blooms will be "melted" by the time I get home this evening....I'm down-loading some pics this a.m., I'll post a couple (of the brugs, not ME, lol)
These biggies are outside my bedroom and when the windows are open the scent is almost overwhelming! Wonderful, tho. Hope yours blooms. I tried giving them some Epsom salts the other night..........we'll see if it makes them grow bigger! Just what I need............bigger plants. LOL
I need bigger ones too, Anna. lol - I gave them a sprinkle of salts a couple weeks ago... I water so much, hope it helps restore the minerals or whatever it's supposed to do. Took this a couple nights ago...Pink Beauty- 8.5 Ft. - the big leaf toward the bottom middle was 28 1/2 inches long.... there are buds forming ... yippee!
I do have 3 blooming, Maya, Peach Versi and this little girl - a seed I started in spring 05 a cross of something with Equador Pink ... this morning all the blooms had turned to pink and will probably be mush when I get home...
The heat wave is aweful from zone 7 and up. For zoners 6 and minus. May I ask how is your average temp. day/night likes currently? It seems Brugs only bloom when the temp. is cool? Am I wrong?
Lily, it's been high nineties into triple digits during the day and high 70's at night for about a month, now. I think they need the heat to grow, and do bloom profusely, during the heat. You can see on my pic the pink bloom in the middle had turned from white to pink and was already "melting". These were fresh blooms last night. In NORMAL summer temps here, these blooms stayed white for 24-48 hours and then pink and pretty for 2 or 3 more days... I bet they are gonners when I get home. My car thermometer said 104 when I grabbed a sandwich at noon.
On the cooler weather; once the weather cools, the plant senses the onset of fall and possible death, then produces flowers in effort to reproduce itself... (circle of life). So if I have a brug that hasn't bloomed by now in the season, I have the hope that once the weather cools, maybe they will be afraid of extinction and produce...I'm no expert, but that's what I think.