Hello! I have been fortunate enough to receive some brug cuttings. I've only managed to kill a few, but most of them are going to make it fine. I am planning where to plant them all in the spring. Please help! I notice many of you have them in containers. I would really like to put mine in the ground as I already have too many tropicals to drag in the winter.
If you have photo of your brug planted in the ground, please post photos so I may get some ideas where to plant mine. What else do you have planted next to your brug?
I hope to be able to share cuttings next year. ^_^
Brugmansia Gardening Ideas
1 is planted between a 5 foot bay leaf tree and a box wood bush . Another is between a boxwood , plumaro roses . there are 4 brugs in this area all are backed by a redwood fence .
Do you plant your brug next to each other? Are they the same color? On one side of my yard, I have a large arbor with low natural wood 5ft fence on both side. I did plan to dig out some of my DH grass to plant some more flowers. It is a very small section of grass between the fence and the driveway.
Lili, my camera is broken so I can't show you photos, but I can share some information with you. Almost all of mine are in pots because we have plans to build a new house at a different location here on the ranch. I finally got tired of waiting and decided to put the first 3 Brugs in the ground.
In zone 8, most Brugs will die down to the ground in winter, but return in the spring. Because they have to literally start from scratch, blooming will be delayed until late summer. You will have to have a good fertilizing program to get them up and growing vigorously or blooming will be delayed even more. Brugs that require more heat may not return in spring.
To insure having Brug survival, take cuttings in the fall and root in water over winter.
I find in my area, my Brugs have to be protected from the hot afternoon sun. So planting Brugs on the eastern side of a fence, tree or house is ideal.
Unless you are trying to select/choose between hybrids/seedlings... I advise against planting same colors next to same colors and same species next to same species simply as it shows more contrast to have Langenbuscher Garten (orange candida type) next to a pink aurea for example. I have grafted same colors different species types together and the result is just not as spectacular as it would be if I simply grafted a nice Goldenes Kornett to Peace for a good example. You want sharp contrasts in color generally, or at least I do, when it comes to planting Brugmansia out as they can become very large specimens in the ground and too much of the same color in one place just doesn't do it for me. I like aurea species however and thus I plant my container bound plants in the ground or directly in the dirt if I have grown them out to a reasonable size the previous winter... a lot is individual taste. I like coleus, hosta, or ginger planted directly underneath and surrounding my Brugmansia as they add a nice colorful ground cover followed by a few flowers (ginger). Hemerocallis planted a bit further out so they can get full sun is also nice. I've also experimented with flowering vines like blue morning glories planted on a fence (if I don't plant them in front of a hedge) directly behind my Brugmansia to give a bit of shade on one side as well as a nice spattering of color mixed in behind your Brugmansia. Celosia or even purple datura are also nice to mix in. Never mind fox gloves or some other nice flower that can take a bit of shade and still grow fine. I try to make use of fences, hedges, wood lines, etc. as a nice place to allow my Brugmansia to grow fast and strong in an area such as yours where it can get a bit hot in the summer. Here in Belgium, I can grow my Brugmansia in full sun however and have even found that my variegated Brugmansia are able to withstand full sun in our area.
If your like me and also like to start cacti from seedlings then you can also utilize the area you have picked out under your Brugmansia to move your seed trays of cacti seedlings to once they have hardened up a bit. This works particularly well for some of your jungle cacti that can take a heavy watering repeatedly, but I would caution against placing any variegated jungle cacti under your Brugmansia as they tend to be more prone to root rot unless you have them grafted onto a non-variegated specimen of the same jungle type. I love crested, monstrose, chimera type cacti, so of course I am very adept at grafting them.
This message was edited Nov 23, 2008 7:27 AM
WOW! Lots of fantastic ideas. I will be looking up some of these plants to see what they are.
I do plan to take cuttings off them next year so that I can have some if there are problems and they do not come back.
I started out with the idea of not having two of the same color next to each other this spring. Well, it was an idea. By the time I got the holes dug for about 40 for them in my tiny already crowded front yard, I really didn't care anymore. I just stuck them in & said good enough. LOL I found out the hard way that I have mostly single pinks. I had planned on putting them away for the winter with pieces of colored ribbon on them so I would know for next year. By the time I got 3 tags on each one of about 200 brugs, & with frost coming, I ran out of time & was just happy to get them all inside. Another idea that didn't get done. Maybe next year. I'm hoping I can make a list & get the ribbon out in the spring or try to do a couple at a time when I water them each month. Probably won't happen since I rush through doing that too. Who wants to spend a lot of time with a bunch of sticks? LOL
I did plant them about 4 feet apart & had to duck under them when I watered after they grew. They looked so tiny when I first put them in but they really fill out their space fast. I fertilize twice a week when they are growing fast. It is easier to pot up tree shaped brugs with a single stem than bush types that reach out & grab at everything from all directions. And remember to take them through doors feet first.
Linda
Area = redwood fence then 6 ft wide planting area .
Metal shed 2 feet from shed is rose 1 ft from fence 1 1/2 ft n front of rose Bears claw ,
4-5 feet from shed is pumelo 1 ft from fence 1 1/2 ft n front of pumelo is Dr Suez [ yellow]
7-8 feet from shed is another rose 1 ft from fence 1 1/2 ft n front of rose is ginger - noid double white
9-10 feet from shed is a charles Grimaldi [ I think ] 1 ft from fence 1 1/2 ft n front of charles Grimaldi is a different double white and a lion's main [ orange whores ] - then boxwood bush 8 feet tall .
After threat of freeze is gone , I put my dahlia's in pots under this bunch . Most of new plants are put there in pots to aclimate .
This is only about 12 X 6 feet and is bounded by a redwood fence and a side walk
Sorry about the dirty sidewalk and you can't really see the brugs but you can get the idea . My wife lives by the idea - if you can see dirt , put a plant there . See next photo .
This is from the boxwood out - we generally have the sidewalks swept after we finish planting moving pots around .
I kind of like planting similar colored Brugs together.. They don't always flush at the same time and when they do the colors usually start out white and change from day to day so there is usually a large variation of color within each plant..I also under plant some and have pots to move around for additional color..
I keep my miners claim in a pot also . it is a slow grower . [ variegated one on right ] I alternate colors so see bounces and doesn't ignore on because one next to it is prettier .
the one Brug I planted outside ( my first) was just a stick, i planted it in the corner where I grow my vines, and planted zininias, asters, dianthus, liatris, and monarda around the base.. It had full sun from am to about 3pm, and then had partial sun until about 6pm and then shade the rest of the evening. I have since cut it down, it is in three parts in tubs with bubblers, and the base is wrapped in burlap, bubble plastic and mounded with moving pads until this spring.
It was always surrounded by blooms. Here is a picture of her in September, not near as tall as she was in october, and the lower part around her had died down already..
I agree with your wife. There should never be bare dirt anywhere when there are still so many plants in the world that I have not tried. Something will grow there.
Had to show every one my yellow Burg,it is full of blooms and has about 7 long seed pods on it .We had a huricane (Ike) a couple of months back that might have helped all this blooming . Gingerose
Gingerose----that is fabulous-----I am so envious!
Shirleyd
Ginger: All I can Say is WOW! ....Debra
Gingerose
It looks like a Dr Suss - one of the few self fertile ones
Gingerose, that is one nice plant. The winds from Ike didn't break or bend her anywhere?
Gingerose, that is some incredible blooms on there. What zone are you in?
Lili,
I also have a lot and I have had to find places for them. In some cases that meant stick them where I can and in some cases we had to make new beds. Here are a few pics of what we did with some of them.
This one is in a bed that surrounds our pond, Butterfly with butterfly ginger ubder it... (names are a coincidence) It is in front of a very large shrub type plant that was already there.
This is an island bed that was made for brugs. There are actually a couple more in there but I had only taken the pics of the ones blooming.
This is Isabella and Whiskers with duranta erecta (skyflower) under them
This is an example of a disaster! A noid in front of passion vine 'Incense' with a tiny Mouontain Magic under it. The NOID grew much larger than anticipated, and completely blocked the pssion vine which responded by trying to choke it. The tiny MM didn't grow much in the shade of the NOID!
This is a much later pic of the second one. sorry for the blurriness but I think you can get the idea of the combination
This is an example of sticking them in existing beds, The one on the right is the monster that got too big
This message was edited Nov 24, 2008 12:20 PM
Gingerose, that is nice flush on your yellow Brug. Does it die down in winter?
yardqueen, we forget how big these guys can get. This last photo gives some great ideas. I love what you have done with this bed.
This message was edited Nov 24, 2008 11:31 AM
oops, wrong pic... This is the one I was going for. Ther brug on the right is tthe one that was in front of the passion vine. From this angle you can the the vine on its trelis, and also the huge brug was laid over by winds from one of the hurricanes
This is Frosty Pink behaving itself in front of the passion vine and duranta
Well that's more than enough from me... Except to say that I don't know what will happen in the spring, cause all of mine are in ground and will come back. plus I am rooting what I cut off. Looks like DH will be doing more digging.
How tall are the Isabella and Whiskers in the second pic? They look like they might be a little more exposed than the others. I'm asking because I'm trying to decide where to put some of my cuttings in the spring. I have a whole lot of yard and am somewhat concerned about winds that come through with storms.
All the pics are very pretty ladies.
Texasgrower,
I have never had any other brugs to be blown down like that. I am sure it is because it was a bush and had a lot of leaves for the wind to catch it and it was on the corner of the house. I have several island beds, all with brugs that I did not post pics of becasue the only pics I have of them they are suffering in the heat of summer.
The 2nd and 4th pic are of the same bed. I think they were about 4 and 5 ft tall. The tallest one was as tall as me and I am 5'2"
well that is encouraging. Maybe I can put a couple out in the yard. I just know that sometimes we get straight line winds up to 70mph. That is rare. Most of the time they are 50-60. They don't last long as the storm approaches, but with winds like that it doesn't take long to bring down a branch.
WOW! That's crazy wind. I won't have that problem, but I planned on planting mine close to a fence or close to the side of the house. I'll have to look through the colors and height to determine where to plant them.
Very crazy wind. The first summer I was here and one of those storms came through with the staight lines I just about croaked. I had just moved from Florida to escape hurricanes (we took a direct hit from Charley, then 3 more in 4 weeks we had to board up for). I thought oh no, here we go again. The winds don't last but maybe 15 min then die down to maybe 15-25 mph. It's just that initial push I worry about.
My NOAA weather radio is always going off telling us to expect winds of 60mph as a storm approaches. Sometimes it's that bad and sometimes it's not.
We don't have fencing or any real space up close to the house. I will study it some more. But now that I know gypsum breaks up clay I might be able to plant near the house. HMMM. It's all a learning process.
Some really GREAT pic's here ..poor Little Mountain Magic..LOL!!
Kylie
We get alot of winds here, and tornadoes, but the brug I had in the corner just enjoyed the rides.. the vines behind her really helped shelter her I think..
this is a little off topic. How long does it take for brug seeds to germinate?
Fresh seed can germinate in as little as a few days. Older seeds will generally take longer - up to a few weeks. Some may take months to germinate so don't throw the soil away for a while. Empty corky vessel, of course, never germinate. Peeling the cork off the seeds allows you know the exact number of seed you plant and to keep track of the number germinating.
Thanks Betty. I knew I could count on you.
You can use the top of hot water heater to speed germination , but seeds / soil drys out quikly so check everyday . The CO2 from lpg or natural gas helps , but can burn leaves .
Or you can put in oven if it has a pilot light . Even gas stoves with pilot lite can help but using store to cook something can also cook seeds .
I have been germinating on top of my fridge. But these new energy savers don't put out as much heat. It has worked so far. But I may try the hot water heater for these cooler months. I am an all electric home. Thanks tony.