Freeze coming what to do

I have about 30 to 40 containers on my porch. One side is covered on top the other is an arbor with corkscrew vine entwined on it (which i realize is gonna bite the dust). It's still a little too early to move everything to the garage. Would clustering everything together and covering with a blanket help? Mostly I have brugs, dats and tropical hibs. What do you think should I have a mass exodus to the garage or try to tough it out through this one?

Anne

Hi Anne, I live east of you in Palestine. I have plants in pots that until this year lived out the winters on my front porch. The house is brick so it absorbed the heat and it was always up to 10 degrees warmer than the outside air. It also kept them from frost. I would water them so the roots would be insulated from freeze and then cover with sheets. I now have a greenhouse that I hope works as well. I also have learned from others on this site that small Christmas lights ( not LED ) put around the the plant and on top of the soil add extra warmth.

The brugs do not like the freeze. There is one woman In Odessa, TX that bubble wraps her brugs up to the Y and then a foot or so on each branch. You will still need to protect the roots in the pot. Maybe bubble wrap that also.

So to answer your original question, I would huddle them together on the protected side of your porch, water roots, not leaves, real well. Then if you can get some Christmas lights I would put those around your brugs. Then cover them with sheets. I think this is just a one or two night cold snap. It should warm up again. You could probably put them back out again. Just in case your brugs takes a bad hit you might want to take cuttings of each.

I have my first brug in a pot too. She is five feet tall and just now Y'd. Too big to bring in and too big for the green house along with all my other pots. I will put her in the workshop which has some insulation. As long as the inside doesn't get below 40 she'll be alright. Hibiscus tend to be a little hardier. I had hibiscus in Florida that would survive freezes that were just a night or two long. The key to that is watering the soil and roots. My daturas have always been in the ground, so they died in the freezes but dropped their seeds and then come back that way.

One more thing I do is put leaves on top of the soil in the pots. They help retain moisture and add extra insulation to the roots. I have a cypress vine in a pot that died back to the leafy covering the last freeze a couple of weeks ago. It has neww growth already. I just watered it real well.

I hope this helps. There will probably be others who will have methods of protecting brugs and dats who will reply to your query. Try them and keep what works best for you. I wish you luck. I'm trying my green house out for the first time. Cross your fingers for me. :)

I just bring the plants that I don't want to take chances with into the garage, then take them out when the danger of frost is over.
We usually have to do this 5 or 6 times each winter, but it is worth the trouble in order to keep your peace of mind.
Josephine.

I'm with ya. I do the same thing. On the porch, off the porch. That's why I'm hoping this greenhouse will cut down on moving all the plants. It's a lot of work. I only lost a geranium over the three years I've done it that way on the porch. Most of them tropicals believe it or not. Or annuals that I didn't want to die, like impatiens and petunias.

I'm going to put propane heat on mine tomorrow and Sat. plus a few well placed Christmas lights for back up.

Jeanne

I agree with TXgrower. On the porch under a roof ~ I pull my plants up against the wall of the house and cover with sheets. It protects from frost and hardens the plants to the colder weather ahead. I hadn't tried the lights but that is a good thought. Glad you mentioned not to use the LEDs as they will give off no heat. Watering the roots well is also good. If the plants are too big to move on the porch, you can lay them on their side and cover. There is a certain amount of heat that the ground will deliver also. I have moved most of the tender plants in and will move a few to the plant shelter and then all that will be left is the nail biting and worrying. 8

Why oh why are the brugs loaded with buds right before a freeze? Grrr...

My versicolor peach is full of buds for the first time in the 2 yrs that I've had it. It's bloomed a couple of them that I haven't seen until they were a day or two old and fading (been working late). Now this, double grrrr. The covered portion of my porch faces north, I'm moving all the large ones from there to the garage, no electricity, but southwest side. The ones under the arbor, also on the southwest side, I'm wrapping with blankets. I'd run an extension cord from the house for Christmas lights but my heater died and I don't have the $ to buy a new one so can't let what heat the Wal Mart brands will give out the window. Here's hoping that it won't stay in the thirties too long.

Anne

Hoping your pots aren't huge! I have to drag these ones to move them. They always seem to bud out at the last of fall. I really like them but wonder why I bother. I intend to plant in ground and mulch. Then, I won't feel obligated to move and cover. Good luck with your peach, I know you would love to enjoy those blooms before winter.

I have a dolly and a couple of friends to call upon. I think just getting them off the north side is the better idea. Thanks a lot for the suggestions.

Anne

I'm sure your garage will stay at least around 40 Anne. Wrapping them and watering them will be good for them. It's more important that you stay warm though.

I am planting my brugs in the ground in the spring also. I'll still worry but not as much. The watered, mulched soil will protect the roots. Then I'll just bubble wrap so I don't have to cut back to the ground in the spring and start all over.

Are those seeds Podster? My brug has yet to flower let alone produce seeds. What brug is it? My cherub outside has small holes eaten into the leaves. I never see the critter that does that. I am going to spray it with Neem Oil Sat.

I rake the leaves around my brugs and then pile hay on top of that. They all came through like champs last year. Those are the ones planted. I specifically got this type of garage for my plants. Now if things would just hold off till I can get the funds together in time to get electricity out there.

Anne

Anne, put leaves and hay on top of the soil of your pots too. I do that with all my potted outdoor plants and that along with the water saves those roots.

If it helps, I am going to use a Mr. Buddy propane heater in my greenhouse. I couldn't afford electricity for it this year so gas will have to work. A woman on another thread swears by propane heat. The Mr. Buddy can be used indoors so I know it will be safe in the greenhouse. Many commercial growers use propane too. A small Mr. Buddy and a 1 gallon gas cylinder for a $1.50 at Wal Mart may help your garage this winter. Or a 20 gallon for $25-30 for a longer winter. But the little bottles on low can run up to 8 hrs.

No seed pods ~ those are flower buds and they are loaded. NOIDs I have a yellow, a pink and a white. I refuse to get hooked on them. I bought a yellow at a flea market and was given the other two by a local gardener.

Expecting it to be in the 30's by tomorrow night and this is blooming today.

Christi

Dr. Seuss

First year for brugs and have these three seed pods. Yipppeeee!!!

Most of this is root hardy but it sure is sad when the frost comes and everything lays down.

Oh Lou I would be sick knowing a freeze was coming with those blooms. Is there a way to cover and protect them and the pods? You have a beautiful yard and I know you enjoy it.

I see the difference between the flower buds and pods. The pods look like okra and the buds like green beans. I would like to have either. I hope to have pods someday from flowers if they get pollinated so I can try to grow some from seed.

Ah, the trials and triumphs of growing brugs. Don't you just love them. It's to late for me podster. I am already addicted.

Worst problem I am having is....tada....SCALE. Can't catch up with them.

Off to the bug files to see what scale is. be back in a flash.

I will be away this weekend so I will be making preparations tomorrow. Got the greenhouse cleared of the hoyas this past weekend and the plastic on, so it's empty and ready to go. I will move all the pots in there. I don't think it will be cold enough to warrant running the heater. I hate running it while I am away anyway. My neighbor has kept an eye on it in the past but still it makes me nervous. My brugs are full of buds too, but I won't be here to wrap them so they will get zapped. I thought about cutting them down for cuttings tomorrow but I probably won't since I am running low on room. I have a couple tropical hibiscus I need to dig up tomorrow too. It is always sad when the first frost hits. At least winter doesn't last long here. Up north it went from Sept to May. After Christmas it will be time for me to start seeds and get ready for the next spring.

:) Kim

ok my skin is crawling. I can honestly say I haven't seen any insects. The leaves look clean accept for the holes.

Bryan isn't far from here. We are supposed to go down to 38 Sat. I'm not going to run the heater unless we are in the low 40's by 11pm. Otherwise I will use the Christmas lights. Sometimes the country gets a little colder. I'm sorry your buds will get zapped Kim. I would be sad. But I do remember snow the last two springs. Last March and April of 2007. Our winters are shorter but it's those surprise spring hits that get ya. Then there are the ice storms. I haven't been through one here but I hear they can get bad.

Yea, not last winter but the one before we had an ice storm. It was crazy here. Last winter we had snow one morning. But it was gone as soon as it hit the ground. Usually it doesn't stay real cold for too long, just a few hours in the morning. We had 35 and 36 here already a few weeks ago and nothing even blinked.

Kim

In that last freeze my cypress vine died back to the soil line in the pot and some canna leaves burned but that was it. Everything else I had on my porch covered with sheets. I never really know what it is going to go down to here so when they say 38 I prepare for 32.

Last year we has a couple of 28 nights with highs in the high 30's. Thank God that doesn't happen often.

We had an ice storm two winters ago that lasted several days, but ice is a surprising insulator. I didn't have as much damage as I thought I would have. I keep all but a few potted plants in a greenhouse heated by a vented propane heater. The large pots that remain outside have dwarf fruit trees that require chill hours. I normally wait till the last minute to get all my pots in. This year will be not exception. I had Bermuda grass invade my greenhouse two years running. I sprayed it with Round-Up late last month and am still digging up roots. I didn't spray last fall and by mid-winter, every time I went into the greenhouse to water plants, I came out with a rash.
Christi, that photo of a pink tinged Brug is not Dr. Seuss. Dr Seuss is a gold/orange Brug. It's leaves are huge and have large serrated edges.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2903/
Whoever that Brug is has a really nice shape to it. Try covering the in-ground Brugs with sheets or better yet old blankets. It would be ashame if those seedpods froze.

In Florida they set the sprinklers when a freeze comes for that very reason. It insulates. They do that to strawberries and citrus. My friend did it one year in her yard and it looked like Alaska the next morning. Pretty actually.

Wow, this thread has been busy!

This year--unlike every other year of my entire life--I'm all set for winter. I've never had it done so early. And I don't like it at all! I'd much rather leave things out and keep enjoying my garden outside.

Up next to the house is good for a lot of things. Works for me when I'm short of indoors or garage space. Especially if I can put them near a window. I have (annual) wax begonias on a protected patio, just below my dining room windows. I've never expected or tried to overwinter them, but they just finished their 4th season. Warm-weather plants like coleus and caladiums don't make it there, but a lot of tender perennials and annuals will. My rule of thumb is, if it's hardy or semi-hardy in the Houston ground, a warm wall in Dallas will often be sufficient. If you're not sure, the Christmas lights are a good idea for added protection.

What EYE wanna know is, how are y'all getting your brugs to bloom? I have 10--all new this year, most from cuttings but a couple were large plants. Some have Y's; some don't. Some have the leaf asymmetry, but never did get around to Y-ing. Out of all of those, only one--a baby from Kim--bloomed this entire season. Poor little thing--its flowers were almost as big as it was! But that was the only one.

I do not have the same problem with daturas, so I'm mystified. Did I mention that I also have green tomatoes (same family)? Our spring crop was a total failure because we had such a cool April. So NOW they are covered with fruit that won't ripen in time. I only wish the brugs would do the same. Those I could protect.

I put my hardy brugs in the ground about 6 weeks ago, and will bubble-wrap those that are borderline in this zone. At this late date, I don't expect those to do anything except adjust. But the ones still potted are coming inside to a sunny window, where they grew contentedly and even Y'ed last winter. So I'm not giving up hope for flowers. Any suggestions appreciated.

pbtx, those having the asymmetrical leaves were cuttings from above the "Y" on the mother plant and should have continued to bloom as they grew. Brugs are heavy feeders and need fertilizer about twice a week or more if in pots and if they get watered every day. BUT many don't really enjoy very hot weather and tend to go somewhat dormant during the summer. That's what mine did this summer regardless of how much fertilizer I gave them. They did start to grow and bloom again until late September when the night time temperatures began to drop. I will have several blooming in the greenhouse.

Those with symmetrical leaves have yet to produce a "Y".

One winter my three (Brug) children got frostbit back to the soil. It took them too long to regrow so will wag them in to a plant shelter for frosts. There they may lose a few leaves but won't hurt the trunks. Pretty blooms Christi. Giving them up to old man Winter is the hardest part. PBTXlady ~ mine have had a few spotty blooms and when we got REAL rain and cooler temps they are taking off. We have been too dry and watering just isn't the same (mine are potted).

It will be sad once that first hard freeze hits but easier to put this summer behind us. Someone mentioned Cannas earlier... when they get frozen back to ground, fight off the urge to remove the dead foliage. It will act as a mulch and insulator to get the roots thru the winter. Also, if you have Lantana, don't cut the stems back till spring. They have hollow stems and winter water will funnel to the roots and rot them.

I get the holey Brug leaves and try to ignore them. My gardening efforts will never be perfect anyway! LOL But this irritated me earlier this summer. I had buds and some bad boy had the intestinal fortitude to graze on the Brug buds! Never did catch him! Xcuse the photo...

Veronica, mine do get watered from my drip system every day in the highest heat of the summer. The rest of the time it's 2-3 times a week. I didn't think about that making much difference. I did know that they often don't bloom when it's really hot. But we had a relatively cool August, so when Pink Favorite Y-ed and bloomed, I was sure hoping some of the others would follow her example.

I've only been fertilizing once a week. They do keep growing and got pretty big, so I thought that was enough, but I will try stepping it up.

Is there any reason I can't keep them actively growing in the house? Or would it be better to minimize the water and fertlizer and let them go semi-dormant over the winter?

When Randy brought this plant last April it was in a pot and already a bloomer. I have a couple that I have raised from seed and they have never had a bud.
In fact, all 4 of them that have bloomed were from Randy. All of mine are directly in the ground and I am nervous about the weather.

Christi

My Dr. Seuss, Variegated Peach and a Pink are all in buds right now. Fixin to lose them. I'm going to get the hay for the mulch tonight.

Hmmm... I have a Dr Seuss... from Randy. It hasn't bloomed or budded. :(

I think that's one that I decided to bring inside. Its hardiness just looked too borderline.

You can keep them going in the house as long as you are able to provide the light intensity needed to get them to form sturdy branches. If the limbs start to get leggy, they need more light. You don't need expensive equipment. Using both cool and warm florescent bulbs, keep the bulbs an inch or two from the top leaves and leave the lights on for at least 16 hours. You will have to be on the look out for those dreaded spidermites. I don't know how they manage it but they love Brugs indoors.

I keep mine growing in the greenhouse. I'm trying to get my DH to let me raise the thermostat to 50ºF to see if I can get them to grow a little faster. At 45ºF, the temperature I've used in the past, the go semi-dormant. A few bloom, but grwth is very, very slow. I also plan to use a weak solution of fertilizer several times this winter to see what happens.

Wish me luck with my Audrey Hepburn I have in the ground. I plan to bubblewrap tomorrow. She is full of buds and blooms right now.

Alright Betty, good luck. Let us know how it goes with Audrey. We are supposed to hit freezing tomorrow night. I have my propane heater ready to go in my greenhouse. I will have my brugs in the workshop though. We will be hitting the 70's soon for daytime highs. My Cherub just Y'd so I will see if she blooms.

Hope it works out for Audrey, Veronica! Let us know.

All this talk about freezes. We do NOT have a freeze warning here, as far as I can determine--or does someone know differently? I read that it's supposed to be in the mid- to high 30's Saturday night.

Do I need to wrap the brugs for that? It's going to warm up during the day, and I'm concerned that the bubble wrap will burn them.

bettydee, I keep my greenhouse at 50ºF which seems to be the magical number. My tropical hibiscus, smaller brugs (most not in the ground will not fit in my greenhouse any more) bougaivillea, geraniums, impatens, etc. keep blooming all winter.

I'm thinking the bubble wrap needs to come off during daytime???

pbtxlady, it is forecast to be at freeing here in San Antonio (8b) which means it will be at about 29ºF at mi casa.

I placed that foam rubber stuff you put on your faucet pipes during a freeze on my brugs one year on the whole stems and Ys (when we had the ice storm) securing it with wide weather proof tape. It worked great. However, my Mother became very ill and I did not take the time to unwrap them when it warmed up a lot. The stems rotted some. I have 6 in the ground which are huge (full of blooms and bloom buds) and some of these overwintered last year. Some died back to the ground, but are 10 feet tall now. They are above the edge of my house roof. If I protect them some way, they will be too large next year; if I let them freeze, they will have to come up from the roots and re-Y in order to bloom early. I have 5 in containers. They are all too large to put in my greenhouse this year. Oh, what to do, what to do ...

I thought bubble wrap was pretty pricey. Where do you buy yours?

Tammie said she got her bubble wrap from friends. I am saving up what comes in catalog orders. I bet if you gointo gift stores and ask them to save waht wrap they get from orders they would. I have a gift store here that does that. Of course this is great if you have all spring and summer to collect. Right now that pipe insulation sounds ideal.

Yes Pod the wrap has to come off during the day. I can see myself now running from plant to plant next winter, wrapping and unwrapping. Or maybe I'll buy some pipe insulation a month at a time and stock it up for next winter. I will be planting about 8 brugs next spring.