I am about to scratch the Brug Bug. After perusing quite a few of the Brug threads, I still have a question about whether to plant the Brug in the ground or keep it in a pot. Some plants bloom better when they are somewhat root bound such as African Violets. So far I have not been able to draw any conclusions about this idea in regards to the Brugs.
The information could have been in one of the threads I read, and I just over looked it or it simply isn't an issue for the Brugs. I dunno?
Is this a subject that has been discussed? Does anyone have any experience dealing with a root bound Brug and what are your thoughts on the matter?
Thanks,
Jerry
Brugs - To Keep Root-bound or No?
Root bound is not so bad in the winter, in my opinion, because they don't use as much water or nutrients due to shorter day length, etc. If they're in a nice cozy greenhouse with optimum light, maybe pot very root bound ones into slightly larger pots.
In the spring and summer get them into pots as big as you can handle or plant them in the ground and watch them GO!
:~)
I have a potted cherub pink that just y'd about three weeks ago. She spends the nights in the workshop and days outside. I stuck my index finger into the soil up to the second knuckle to check moisture and felt a root as big around as my pinkie. I couldn't believe it. If that is how big it is in a pot, the roots must get huge in the ground. I don't know if she's root bound, I didn't feel a lot roots, other than this one. So she will stay where she is until April. Gosh that's a long way off isn't it?
Brugs like to spread their roots as much as possible and they do form a large amount of roots. They will quickly take advantage of whatever size pot you put them in. My first experience with this was with one of my first cuttings. I rooted it over winter and put it into a small pot then in the spring I moved it up to a 5 gallon pot. A few weeks later I decided to give it to my mother and plant in in the ground for her.. figured it would be easy since it had not been in that pot very long.. did I get a surprise. The entire pot was full of roots. I was shocked at how fast it had completely filled a 5 gallon pot with roots and wraped them around in the pot. As stated above.. use the size pot you can manage.. the brug will live up to whatever size you put it in.. the larger you are able to manage, the better... if you can not manage a large pot.. be sure to water and fertilize very frequently.. they love to be fertilized frequently no matter what you have them planted in.
yes... it's all pretty much true.. the above ground section of the plant...will adjust it's size.. somewhat to the size of the pot... even with plenty of water and ferts... in the same full light ... it will grow bigger in a large pot.. than it will with the same conditions in a smaller one.. all of my big containers are shallow... but some go on for 10-15 ft to the side... these will grow thicker limbs.. than a deeper more conventional sized pot... right next to it.. smaller plants will benefit from a smallish pot... just so it gets a chance to dry out fairly compleatly.. in between waterings.. this will also spur the roots to take off in search of water.. bigger roots then will make bigger tops.. and surely more flowers..
**** plenty of ferts... and other growth/flowering addatives as often as possible*** always