Will my brugmansias survive the winter in Zone 7?

I have three pink brugs in pots, which we have to lug into our sunroom in the fall. It would put a smile on DH's face (only temporarily) if I told him that he wouldn't have to struggle getting them into the sunroom. The smile would then turn into a frown if I told him we could put them in the ground, as that would mean digging three VERY LARGE HOLES in the rocky Arkansas soil. We are in Zone 7 as far as I can tell. My question is -- should they suvive the winter here with some heavy mulching? We have to cut them back in order to even get them through the door now. Perhaps I should just root some cuttings from them and start all over again and put them in a SMALL HOLE outside! I found out how easy they are to root one year when I cut them back and threw the cuttings on top of our mulch pile and they rooted!

A lot depends on what cultivar they are.Many Brugs are hardy to 7b,but others are quite tropical.Do you know the names? Lynn

Sorry, no. It has been sometime since I ordered them and lost track of it. It has been so long, I can't even remember where I got them. I have some in FL and they are even hurt by the cold but I don't know about them, as they were bought by my late brother. And by "cold" I mean if the temps drop to freezing, which they can do, and which they did for only one night last winter. Maybe I should just start over and make sure they are hardy for our area.

Jean

You might post over in the Brug forum, they can probably give you some ideas of which ones might make it for you. I don't have any right now, but I've never heard of any that are hardier than zone 9 so I'm not sure how many there are that would be hardy in zone 7. But if there are some the folks on the brug forum would know about them for sure!

There are several in Plant Files that say they are hardy to 7b.Try looking through some of them.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/finder/index.php?sname=Brugmansias Maybe someone that lives in that zone can tell you how reliable that information actually is. Lynn

Hi Ibrabec, Looked in the hyperlink and saw that plant can be grown in Hot Springs Village, which is where we live. Probably depends on what part of the Village they live in. We are in the foothills of the Ouachita mountains and I suppose we have places they can be grown and places they won't survive.

Adding a comment to my original post: When I went on the hyperlink and saw Hot Springs Village, I mentioned it to DH and his answer was, "I would hate to have to dig holes for ours!" (Hadn't mentioned to him the possibility of wanting to plant ours outside!

You would need some mighty big holes!! Another thing that would concern me is if your plants are mature and have never been exposed to the elements in the winter,it could be difficult for them to adjust.New cuttings might be a good idea,just in case. Lynn

Lynn, I agree that new cuttings would be the way to go -- learned from one of our sailing friends -- always have a backup! Besides, I have some yellow cuttings (flowers, not leaves) in FL that we could bring back in Sept. when we go down, and wouldn't need enormous holes for them.

That sounds like a plan and I'm sure DH wouldn't mind at all lol.Lynn

Lynn, Have to keep DH happy, as he does the heavy lifting for me. Right now I have to think about moving some hostas (that's doable for me) that are now out in the blazing sun. Had them in the shade of two trees that were cut last fall and now I have to rethink my bed before they are completely gone. Think I will just put them in pots temporarily and set them in the shade until I determine the new sun/shade ratio of the yard. A gardener's work is never done......but it's so much fun!

Jean-

Do you have a "hand-truck", or know anyone who could loan one to you? My DH bought me one several years ago so he wouldn't have to lug my big potted plants (Banana, Brugs, EE's...) in and out each year. Sometimes I need help with the door and/or taking them up/down the basement stairs but the hand-truck really makes it (somewhat) less backbreaking. This summer I have half of my brugs in pots and half of them I dug into the garden bed as they were rootbound in the pots that they were in. This is only my 2nd year growing brugs so it'll be 'fun' (NOT!!!) lugging them all in the house as I have many more than I had last year (had only 3---now I've got 20 :)

If your brugs are big enough perhaps you could plant your hosta's in the shade created by your brugs? Sorta like 'underplanting'...

Jan

Also don't necessarily trust the zip code reports that people put in for plants that they say grow in their area--they don't necessarily mean that the plant was outside year round. I've seen things like plumerias reported growing in places that are zone 4 or 5, so it seems that lots of people just submit reports on plants they have and are successful with, even if they're overwintered indoors or in a greenhouse.

ecrane3---

You are so very right!!! I've debated about putting that "such and such" is grown in my zone (5b) but on my trade list I try to mention that the item (such as brugs, EE's, glad bulbs...) is not winter hardy in my area and needs to be overwintered as such...

Jan

This message was edited Jul 17, 2008 4:05 PM

Jan, Yes we do have a heavy duty hand truck, however, where the brugs "summer" out in the yard, we have to negotiate azaleas, lots of gravel, not to mention an uphill journey, and up a couple of steps into the sunroom, and we do use the hand truck. When moving the pots, a misstep can cause you to wrench a knee (which DH did last fall moving a rock for me), so I am trying to keep his knees intact!

Ecrane, I know what you mean -- I grow orchids in Zone 7, but they stay inside the sunroom during the summer and several of them make the trip with us to FL in the winter. By the way -- thanks for all of the helpful advice I have received from you on various items. I have never learned so much in such a short time!

AHHHH---gotcha Jean :) Besides, you still gotta 'bend over' to get said potted plant on the handtruck and then bungie (secure) the plant, also!

ecrane, I edited above for a typo but I went to my tradelist to remove my zone listing for certain plants that do not grow 'outside' year-round in my zone---it is/was misleading...especially for newbies!

Jan

Actually Ecrane,you brought up a good point.It never occured to me that someone would say something grows in their area if it was not winter hardy.
This site does list some: http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/page18.html
Lynn

Thanks ecrane and ibrabec for the good advice. When I mentioned to DH that perhaps this fall I would just root some cuttings from the brugs, and start over next year, he could hardly contain his enthusiasm for the idea! I also have two yellow ones rooted in FL that I could bring back next spring or even this fall when we return and keep them in the sunroom this winter. I think the ones in the containers are now probably pretty rootbound anyway and don't look as good as they could. I will mention, too, that these would have to be pretty heavily mulched in AR if they were to survive, as we had one night of below freezing weather in FL and the ones planted in the ground there got nipped. (Too large to cover effectively.) They are fine now, but I had to do some trimming back on them. I have plenty there to start from cuttings.

Very pretty.I just don't have room to bring in any more things every winter,sigh,so I guess I'll have to control myself lol. Lynn