Can someone tell me what I need to do to save my brugs? This is their second year but the first time that I planted them in the ground. How do I go about placing them back into pots to bring in for the winter. Can I prune the roots? And if they are too tall can I cut them back a bit or will that mess them up? I did store them in a cool, mostly dark room last winter, watered them sparingly and they all came back. I got tired of standing them up all the time due to wind so I planted them in the ground. They are doing beautifully. I believe I only fed them twice and have never sprayed for anything. Sometimes I have found that you can take TOO good care of plants. I live in SE Michigan so storing them in the garage is out of the question. I need suggestions because with this last flush they are just too good to lose. Thanks in advance!
Help On Overwintering Brugs
There are a couple of ways to keep a brug over. To pot, you can dig it before frost and root prune as well as top prune, leaving at least six leaf nodes on each branch and you can remove unwanted branches. Now you have cutting material. LOL! Or you can cut the trunk off at ground level and put trunk in a bucket of water to root using about three inches of water. You can cut it up higher, leaving some of the trunk (about 8 inches) and dig it to start a new plant while rooting the top in water. If you are pressed for space, you can just start cuttings, but those already mature trees can't be beat. Good luck.
Thank you so much Brugie. At least now I know I have some choices.
You're welcome. There are probably more answers to your question than just mine.
There was a detailed posting about Oct. 15, 2006, to the Brug forum that showed how to cut off the trunks and keep them in water over the winter, with the aid of a bubbler. I am going to try it this year, keeping a few brugs in the conventional way as a backup. If it works out well, it will be a tremendous saving of energy and time, and may be better for the brugs. You might want to look at that.
Susan in Minneapolis
Thanks Susan. I'll have to see if I can find more about that method.