I couldn't believe it when I found this picture of Sunset. It blew me away when I saw the date of the pic - 2004! I had not idea that I had this brug for so long. Way back then, I didn't even know about the "Y" and just cut it down to the ground each year.
Live and learn. I've learned SOOO much since I joined some forums and met some super people who had brug-knowledge.
Teresa, thanks for posting that photo. I think I had take better care of my Sunset. I bought it more for the foliage, but I like the bloom.
Betty, the bloom is lovely and fragrant. I love this one!
very nice lovre color. i hope to get one ,two or some going this yr. still trying. i have all fingers ,toes, crossed and eyes to.lol.
Your an old timer brug queen! LOL *:)
That is a great picture!!
Oh yes! Speaking of "Brug-knowledge"... here's my dear ZZ!
Hiya sweetie!
awwwwwww your sweet Teresa!
But hey, with all those seedlings, how do you find time to post? Is that why your posts are quick one liners? LOL
Common, we want baby pics!!
Baby pics, hu?
Xena x ?
OOOOh Wow! Soooo close! Do start a thread on that one.. I wanna watch it open!
I have 9 seedlings loaded with buds! The anticipation begins..
One broke open tonight.. twangers are nice.. but a few days before it opens.. I'm jazzed!!!
I bought one of these two years ago not really knowing which brug it was. It is now one of my favorites because even when it isn't in bloom the leaves are still pretty. And after dragging eight of them out of the basement, we will be having two nights in the low 30's. I hope the garage will be warm enough for them.
Good luck americanwoman! They do get heavy, don't they?
Oh wow, that is fantastic. My noids are just starting to get leaves. It will be a few months for mine. I love that Sunset. One day I will have one of them.
Yes Teresa just ask my husband. All the way from the room in the far end of the basement, up the stairs and out to the garage area. But when they start blooming, then he likes them. Actually they aren't in huge pots because they were in the ground for last summer and then we dug them up and put them in fairly small pots to bring them in. I knew the roots wouldn't be growing during the winter so that worked well. How low of a temp can they take at night?
The ones that I have in the garage hardly ever get below 45-50 degrees. I know they can withstand a bit of a freeze, but not for long.
Thank you Teresa. It did get down to 34 last night but they are tucked in the garage. I probably was tricked by the warm weather a couple of weeks ago and should have left them in the basement a while longer. It does look like the nights will stay cool but the days in the low 60's so I'll just drag them in and out until the weather settles. Thanks for the help.
We had temps in the low 30's the other night and it did not phase any of my brugs that were outside. Two in the ground and many more in pots. I panicked when I heard how cold it got and ran out to check them.. they were all fine. Must not have been that cold for long. I had one rooted cutting last year that I mistakenly left outside in a late sleet storm. Found it the next day frozen in a coccoon of ice and could even see ice in the soil.. it was growing in a clear soda bottle.. thought it was a gonner.. well, look at it now! Actually, this picture was taken a few weeks ago when we put it in the ground.. it is really getting a lot of new leaves now.
Thanks LhasaLover. Mine spent the night out and I believe it was in the mid 40's. I decided to leave them out of the garage because they weren't getting much light in there. They look just fine this morning. If we get any frost warnings which we probably will, I'll just drag them back into the garage. Your plant doesn't look like it suffered a bit!
Good morning Teresa, I am new with brugs, ggd i Sidney BC got me started a few years ago. You mentioned "Way back then, I didn't even know about the "Y" and just cut it down to the ground each year." What did you mean by the Y? Any info is much appreciated.
April
April, I know how eager I am to get a reply from a post so if you don't mind, I'll try to answer your question.
Brugs exhibit two different types of growth: vegetative and reproductive. Seedlings and growth from around the base of the plant have to go through their vegetative growth cycle before they literally form a Y and bloom. That growth can be anywhere between 3-1/2' to 7' in height, usually around 6 - 7'. The growth is straight up without any branching. During the vegetative growth stage, the leaf margin where the petiole attaches to the leaf is even on both sides of the main vein.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://countrygdn.com/mages/leafspot.jpg&imgrefurl=http://countrygdn.com/infosheets/leafspot.html&h=103&w=137&sz=81&tbnid=SqBuUaIzHlQJ:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBrugmansia%2Bleaf%2Bphotos&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&cd=3
After the "Y" formation one side of the leaf margin at the petiole is offset.
http://countrygdn.com/infosheets/yandsub.html
From this point on, More "Y"s will continue to form and bloom. side shoots above the "Y" will also form flowers.
Cuttings taken from below this first "Y" will have to go through that initial vegetative growth cycle before they form a "Y" and bloom. These cuttings will have a tendency to grow tall and straight — great for turning them into standards. Cuttings taken from above that first "Y" will continue to form shortish stems and bloom. These cuttings will grow every which way but straight no matter what you try with them.
Do you overwinter your plants in the ground in zone 4? If you do, you really have no choice but to cut to the ground before mulching, but if you are pruning before taking them indoors to overwinter, don't cut below the "Y" or the plant will have to go through the vegetative cycle before it blooms. With some cultivars, that could take all season or more. Prune above the "Y" leaving at least 6 nodes at each branch of the "Y". Some times there are three branches to the "Y". I prefer not to prune before I overwinter them in my greenhouse because some have a tendency to die back. I have not been able to stop that. A few die all the way back to the ground. Most come back, putting out growth from below the ground. A few never return! It's inconvenient to have to deal with all those branches, but I don't get as much die back.
GREAT answer, Betty.
Thanks Betty. I did a big oooopppps. I over winter in a cold room. Last year I cut them right back to the soil. So I will know better next time.
