Hi. I'm new to Brugs, but bought one last year from the Thomas Edison winter home sale which happens one day a year when they sell cuttings from some of Edison's original plants. My brug needed pruning, so I cut off some of the excess of the limbs and stuck them in the ground with some water. My neighbor who grows brugs told me that the bottom of the cutting needs to dry out before planting it so that the bottom won't rot. She had me pull my brand new cuttings out of the ground and lean them up against the house in a sunny place to dry out for a couple of days first. This sounds counterintuitive to me, as I have great luck with most Fla. plants by just sticking them in the ground and keeping them slightly moist in the beginning.
I would greatly appreciate any thoughts you experts have on this. I don't want to lose these cuttings and they're looking awfully wilted leaning up there. Thanks!!
Louise
Does cutting need to dry out before potting?
I only root them in water but if it dries out and scabs over, how is it going to absorb any water after you plant it? I have never heard of drying them out in the brug forum.
I did just what you said, Chrissy........took a flashlight and went out there and grabbed the dear darlings and put them in a vase of tepid water for the night. Should I remove all of the badly wilted leaves now?
Thanks to you both! The moral? .....follow your gut feeling and do what your inner gardener is telling you to do. LOL
Going for the mister now..........thanks!
Maybe your neighbor was thinking of plumerias. You do have to let plumerias callous before planting, but not Brugs. I've immersed the entire cutting in tepid water if it becomes limp.
If the bottom of the cutting has scabbed over, I'd make a short fresh cut.
Good point, Betty. I'll bet she was confusing the two, as she has both in her yard.
Woodspirit - I decided to cut down the length of the cuttings, so I did make a new cut on each, as you suggest. They are all in water now and I've misted the "leaf remnants" and the couple of small leaves that were left again this morning. Since the small leaves aren't looking wilted, I just might be in business, thanks to you nice helpers!! Am I correct that I should change their water every couple of days? That's what I do with my coleus cuttings.
Thanks again!!
Louise
Oh, Yay!!! Thanks!
This is the brug forum?????
I know!
Hey there, Clemen! How nice to hear from you! I came to the experts with this question!!! AND, I got plenty of good advice here. Very cool. I'm also drooling over some of the cultivars I've seen on some of the threads here. Gorgeous! Brugs are such unusual plants. I just love 'em!!
Louise
So Missy stick around, I just love the brug people, they are so much fun, and I am telling you to go to the ???? ones, we are a great bunch!!!!
This message was edited Nov 4, 2008 10:20 PM
Hello,
My name is Cindy. I keep reading about Brugs being cut back for the winter. I've had mine about 4 years, it bloomed for the first time last summer, then it bloomed 1 bloom in the early spring, and nothing since. Could someone tell me why? And why are they supposed to trimed back in the winter? What do you do with the main trunk?
People trim them back for the winter because in many zones they have to bring them inside, as they won't survive long periods of below freezing. Other than that some just clean them up and make them look neater. I've got a Day Dreams that is hitting the top of the shade structure - I'll probably cut that back to a more presentable look.
These plants also like a lot of fertilizer in Spring and Summer. The experts have been known to recommend 2 times a week, with a fertilizer that has a lower middle number.
Mary
Cinday, I agree with want Mary said. In your zone, you Brug may suffer some freeze damage. Don't prune now as the outer branches and leaves will offer some protection to the inner core of the plant. In spring, prune to shape, removing the dead branches. If the plant is still small consider covering it overnight when freezing weather is forecast. The bigger the plant is the hardier it is, to some extent.
Another possibility is that without much fertilizer, your plant may have mostly vegetative growth which will not produce blooms until the branches (assuming it is growing as a multi-stemmed shrub.) produce "Y"s.
Very helpful information! Thanks to you all. I'm a sponge soaking up all this advice.
Louise
When should I take cuttings? Then what do I do? I don't have a hot house.
Good reminder. Thanks, Chrissy!
My brug in the back yard is about 5 feet tall before the y, with no branches until the top y. Should I just leave it like that? Here's a shot of it in "the jungle" which has now been cleaned out. Things went wild there while we were away for the summer. This brug is a cutting that a friend gave me right before we headed north last spring. When I planted it, it was about a foot high.
Cuttings root best in the spring and anytime when the plant is actively growing. You can still take cuttings to overwinter. If you want blooms earlier next year, take cuttings from above the "Y". You also root tall cuttings several feet in length. Remove all but the small leaves. Place small cuttings in jars or small plastic containers. Fill the jars with ~ 3" of water and add about 1/2 tsp hydrogen peroxide. Place the jars indoors where the cuttings get bright indirect light. I have the best success placing the rooting jars near a notheast facing window. Place the buckets of tall cuttings in the garage or a room in the house. The best way to overwinter tall cuttings is to use a bubbler set-up, consisting of an aquarium pump, tubing, a gang valve, if you have more than one bucket, and one airstone per bucket. What you would be doing is to aerate the water. This keeps the water cleaner and may help the cuttings root faster.
Donnie, 'In your zone, the plant won't survive if it's in the ground. You can either dig it up, pot it and overwinter the potted plant indoors or heated greenhouse or take long cuttings to overwinter inside. Since you have a small "Y", it wouldn't take up much room indoors. You have the beginnings of a good standard shaped Brug.
Cutting it up means having to start over next year.
This message was edited Nov 6, 2008 12:16 PM
Thanks, Bettydee! I'm in zone 10 down here, and my neighbors seem to take cuttings year around. I didn't know about adding the hydrogen peroxide......will do that to the cuttings I took off the other Brug. If you have one really long trunk like my 5' one, what would happen if I cut it off about halfway up? Would a y form at the top of the trunk part that is left? Thanks!
Eventually a "Y" would form, but any new growth would essentially be starting from scratch. If you want multiple cuttings, cut the entire trunk a few inches from the ground and take a cutting(s) from the bottom portion of the cut piece. You would end up with a shorter standard next year or if you removed much of the trunk, a bushy Brug. The shorter cuttings would have growth closer to the ground.