She's About 2 #18

Hi, my name is Billie and I am a long time lurker on this site. I too have been badly bitten by the brugs and I am currently growing a lot of seed crosses (mostly from Seed Sprout). If they make thru the winter I will gladly share them for postage:

I have Mon Amour x Mt. Treasure, Mary K x Rubirosa, Rubirosa x Adeline, Bergfeuer x Super Spot (this from Volker in Germany), DDR x Joli (only one & from Volker) Painted Lady x Adeline (but only one).

I just potted up the seeds from Miss B Havin x Seminole Moon and Rubirosa x Lady Liberty.

I am also waiting on some cuttings from Volker in Germany - can't wait to get them.

Tonight I will soak Miss B Havin x Rubline and Painted Lady x Adeline and plant tomorrow.

Hi Billie and welcome! You can be one of our resident brug seeds experts! What are you planting them in?

Just regular old potting soil from Wal Mart and I plant them in old Cool Whip containers. The ones I planted today I removed the seed coat because I beheaded quite a few of the others by not doing this (lazy me).

I am heartbroken that only one seed came up of the Joli x DDR cross (I read the tag backwards before) but I am going outside to stir up the soil (I stuck them in a pot with my Jack's Giant elephant ear) and see if there are any seeds still in there needing assistance. I stirred up the empty pot for the Mary K x Rubirosa and found two awesome seeds ( I split them open and they were HUGE) and just planted them too.

Anyway, I have always had a lot of luck with the seeds.

I ordered some seeds from them a few weeks back. May try to plant them this weekend and see if they will come up

Has anyone is 7a/b had any luck overwintering in the ground here. I have an unknown brug in front of my house and I thought I would lop it off at the ground and pile about 10 inches of mulch on her. How far out from the trunk should I go with the mulch?

This plant has bloomed about 4x's for me this year and it is very pretty (single peach colored) and I will keep the part I cut off to root in the basement.

Also, I tried an experiment with rooting parts of the brug. Since it is related to tomatoes and you can root the little shoots that grow out from the leaf junctions, I tried it with brugs and they rooted too. I just stuck them in some rootone, stuck them in a pot and put them in a shaded part of my deck - happy surprise they took.

Welcome Billie, glad to have you here! Since ya'll mentioned Volker's, I tried Googling and can't find it. Can someone give me a link please?

You don't have to worry about good germination rates from Seed Sprout stock. I usually get 95 to 100% from Brenda's seeds. Excellent company and I hope they will be back in the near future.

His name is Volker Sanders and I think he is known as "dergaertner". I bought two varities of seeds from him and emailed to see if he would kindly sell me some of his cuttings. He agreed and I am getting DDR, Bergfeuer and one other. He mentioned he is taking 5 or six weeks off but I thought I saw a couple of brugs for auction on ebay.

He was going to ship them today so I am very excited.

It is difficult to get the beautiful European over here and the ones from Germany rock.

Correction: the DDR is actually DDR x Bergkönigin and the third cutting is Super Spot.

Hey for once I was not posting on the old thread!!! HA ! I am always a day late and a dollar short!!! We have a new hottie! Hi Billie and welcome!!!! I am so glad you posted since you have alot of seedling experience. We will be picking your brain for sure! Linda Kay , ouchie girl!!! I missed what kind of surgery you had?? Heel spurs?? I looked and couldn't find it! I hope you heal quickly!! And I hope you have some rockin painkillers!! LOL Wolfie post your plant on the ID forum they are brilliant and you will have an answer in a couple hours probably. Looks like some kind of wort to me with that flower shape. Peg that is funny about the floppy brug! I have one that always has some floppy leaves they look like a bald man comb over!!

Billie, sorry to keep asking, but I can't find him on Ebay either. Would you be kind enough to post me a link directly to his Ebay items for sale? Thanks ♥

Thanks for the welcome Lavender! As far as the seed experience I am just lucky - I stick em in and they grow for me.

The first time a planted brug seeds they didn't come up for six weeks. I thought I had killed them because I never had that kind of problem with any seeds before. But as someone else said, I forgot about them for over a week, went out to re-seed with something else and there they were tall and proud.

My problem is taking care of them over the winter. In the past I have been remiss in my parental duties but I swear, that won't happen again (I have a little problem with depression).

The only survivor from last years seeds is a Mt. Magic x Rubirosa cross and it is about 5 ft tall but hasn't flowered for me. She has really long leaves too - about 18 inches.

She also has all her original leaves from the bottom up - should these be removed?

I would have to look and since I am a computer dummy, I don't know how. Is it OK to give out email addresses? I don't know if this is a proper thing to do without his permission.

I will look on ebay and see if I can find him - it was last week when I saw the items on sale and he did indicate to me in his email that he is currently on vacation.

Will check it out.

OK, here's the skinny: He has a Super Spot for bid on ebay. His user name is dergaertner_1.

Hope this helps - you can search by Brugmansia Super Spot and it will pull it up. Then you can ask him a question.

Karen (darkmoondreamer) On your garden gnomes - if you look in the paint section of WM or Michael's they have paint in those little bottles for metal, ceramic for outdoor use. I painted some stuff with it several years ago and they still look the same. They aren't in the sun though and I am not sure if yours are and if they would fade.

That kind of painting is like coloring book stuff and it would probably make a great over winter project.

Thanks Billie! I appreciate the help. And hey, I deal with depression all the time too hon. I am Bi-Polar, or manic depressive. I go through great spells and then spells of depression where I don't care enough to look at my flowers, much less water or care for them. If you ever want to talk just Dmail me. BTW, you can use the Dave's Garden DMail system any time you want to share an email address here, that way it won't be on a public forum for the spammers.

I like your idea of repainting the gnomes!!!! Are you referring to Tulip Patio Paint in the little bottles? I could do that and then clear coat with a protective covering...Hmmmm..

You're welcome Karen. I'm not sure what the brand is but it does say it is for outdoor use.

Did you have any luck with Dergaertner?

Thanks for the offer to talk. I lost my job of 22 years in 2002 and haven't been able to get anything stable since. It really has drug me down. I'm 58, very heavy and can't figure out how to use Powerpoint. Seems for some reason I am now unemployable. Too experienced for start-up positions and not enough software experience for more senior ones. Hmmmmm......

Bless you heart, Billie. I will tell you what though...This little thread in the big blanket of Dave's Garden will be the best support system you will ever know. We LOVE each other will all of our flaws and wonderfulness, and you will find that the girls here all share their personal heartaches as well as triumps. You will see that we share many things here besides our love for Brugs.

And hey Billie? I know you are new here, but guess what? We love you! You are a part of our family here now, and we have alot of love to share!



This message was edited Sep 17, 2008 5:32 PM

Thanks Karen for your kind words. People who love animals and plants have a lot of heart.

Super Spot is one of the cuttings I have coming from this gentleman and I share your admiration for this beautiful brug. But you are crazy to post that site on the web until the bidding is over - I think you just cost yourself some money.

My gardening helps my spirits soooo much. This summer my deck was covered with flowering plants and since I hang multiple hummingbird feeders in my pots on the deck, you should see the little critters swarming like bees. They come in swarms of between 8 and 22 and amuse me to death. By the end of the summer they are eating a gallon of nectar a day. About to eat me out of house and home.

Funny thing, they don't care for the brugs much. I think they are scarred of them.

Dadgum Billie, you're right! I edited my post.....No telling who all reads these threads and I am poor folks who can't afford a bidding war, LOL!

Hey where is everybody tonight? Ya'll need to keep me in line, hahaha~

This message was edited Sep 17, 2008 5:41 PM

Oh Billie,you are so welcome here.We love newbie Lurkers and are pretty pleased you are here. I consider this your coming out party☺☺I have watched bi-polar and manic depression and clinical depression bring down many a wonderful person, and even with all the info out there, businesses certainly are mighty unsympathetic.None of that matters because now you are loved and are an official Hottie! Such courage you have to come out☺☺

UhOH! Frost warnings for tomorrow night☻Phyllis, are you getting frost too?

This is me practicing with my Lawn Cart to wisk my Bruggies in for the night☺Yes! It works! No lifting or lugging,the cart does all the work☺

well hotties, ya'll have convinced me its about time to transfer my potted brugs to the ground. i seriously doubt they have time for another flush anyway. the ones that got thier blooms blown of by ike now have 3 more blooms, welcome billie, i hope u enjoy these hotties as much as i have, anddddddd ladies, there is a link on dg that lists all the ppl in ur particular state. i wondered across it once, but havn't been able to find it again. can u point me in the right direction?

Here is my biggest plant,Aurea Pink ready to come inside☺

Thanks Wolfie and Posyblossom. I have learned a lot since I began my career as a lurker and hope to learn more. Does anyone know about leaving brugs in the ground in zone 7a/b?

My zone used to be considered 7b but is now 8a. We leave them in the ground here and don't cut back until first frost. Then cuttings are rooted in pots to put in the ground the following spring. Just mulch the roots really heavy.

Thanks Karen, I've got to try because grumpy DH won't go for dragging these back and forth too much longer.

My elephant ears will probably kill him - note to self: increase DH life insurance.

Evening hotties,

Welcome Billi, so glad you came out of your lurkdom, I was a lurker for a long time too. When I finally got up the courage to post everyone was so nice, friendly and helpful it did not take long to feel like I was home. My zone is 6b and I am bringing my burgs inside for the winter, maybe next season if I have an extra one I may try to leave it in the ground. Just for a test I love to know if anyone has had any success in my zone. So wonderful you’re doing so well with the seeds. I think a lot of us here are going to try some for next season.

Frost warnings already is that common for PA, I don’t remember having a frost before Oct but I am 1 zone higher

Lu, I love your cart it will make it much easier to move them

Wolfie, for people in your state click on the member list on the right side of this page, you will find there different ways to search.

Thanks Donna☺ That cart is pretty old and rickety,but it is sure saving my poor ole back☺ And no, it is not normal to have frost warnings this soon.In fact,if it really does frost it will be the first time I can ever remember for September. Darn, I was hoping we would have one of those never ending Autumns that are so famous here in PA. Darn! It is making me feel crabby tonight☻ I had to edit for my awful spelling☻

This message was edited Sep 17, 2008 8:54 PM

Karen I will dmail a picture of the paint for outdoor ceramics either later tonight or tomorrow. I’m not home now, chief babysitter again. You do not need a topcoat or sealer with this. The gloss is built right in.

Lu, I would be crabby too. I’m soooooooooooooooooo not ready for a frost

Donna, thanks for the welcome. In my lurking, I saw from the responses how kind and caring everyone is and how united we are by our common passions for growing things.

I don't really see leaving my brug in the ground as loosing it since I will be bringing the top half inside with me. In fact, I might plant a few more and throw the dice and see where it takes me.

And you know, growing seeds really give you a sense of anticipation! Every day could be the day you will see a nodding head poke thru.

Merpeg: I looked at your flopping brug picture sand you really do need to stake it. I also wonder if it is getting enough sun?

Donna, when do you usually get your first frost?Zone 6b must stay fairly warm till late in the season?

I agree with you Billi, if I do a test I will also be making a standard from the top, leaving the roots in the ground.

Thanks Posy...I went ahead and brought them in tonight before the Dh went to sleep...
Put them in the spare room downstairs where it stays much cooler then the main house..
This way i'll acclimate them to the difference and maybe they won't lose their leaves right away..
All three of them have that leaf on a Y.... so maybe.....

BTW we had our first frost last week....grrrrrrr

WelcomeBillie..... my DSS has Bi-Polar and ADHD so I know where your coming from...
I raise him with no meds cause at that time all they had was ritalin..and it turned him into a zombie...
So I just dealt with it best I could...He's never gotten into trouble and I'm his MOM
This thread will help you though the hard times...

This message was edited Sep 17, 2008 8:04 PM

Lu, it is usually around Halloween where I am near the ocean, but it has been as early as Columbus Day. I don’t ever remember one in September, even when I lived further inland.

Hello Hotties!!! Welcome Billie : ) I will be leaving my brug bottoms in the ground..the tops will be in a bucket for the winter. But I have a ? while in the bucket is there a lot of dieback at the tips?

Oh Phyllis,Kudos to you for not falling into that ritalin trap. It reminds me reading medical reports from the olden days the way they misuse that drug. They used to dope kids up with paragoric,an ugly old fashioned way to make kids sleep☻

What a good Brug Mom you are as well, to bring in your Brugs and take no chances♥................maybe I should haul mine inside tonight too,but,sorry Brugs, I am too pooped☻

So even though I am in zone 5b, our weather is about the same on average as you Donna. We live between 2 rivers,down in a valley, surrounded by the rolling hills of PA. on all sides☼and are in quite a protected location. They get frost and snow in the hills that we never get in the valley.

Thanks Kim for the kind welcome. When I soak my seeds and root my cuttings, I change the water every time I am in the kitchen and remember to do it. This could be at least once a day or several times a day (but always at least once).

When I planted my Joli x DDR seeds I left them in too long and didn't change the water and I only got one seedling from 6 planted. (I used my trusty fork today to search for survivors in my elephant ear pot but there were none).

That makes me worried about the big cuttings I will be rooting downstairs this winter since I don't have access to water or any place to dump out down there. Hmmm....maybe I will just put the bucket in my sewing room with the computer and change the water in the tub.