guess I am dong a quick bubble wrap tomorrow! Going to get down to freezing agin.. a final hurrah! Darn it! looking at everything that has to be moved to protect it now that everything is outsided ... it figures! Just going to do a very light wrap over the main areas that have leaves... just enough to protect the new growth.
bubble wrapping for winter
What a difference temps are in this big state. It's 75 here and sunny, I just found one of the Chas. Grim. blooming on the side of the house. I got out some fertilizer and soaked the roots. I had used Messenger a couple of months ago, and the Mess. w/ fert (can't remember name) a couple of weeks ago. Don't know if that's what's making everything grow, but I've pulled everything out of the ghs and won't let anyone in the backyard 'cause it looks awful with all the pots and bags of mulch everywhere. You keep your freezing weather up there, you hear? We mean bidsnezz....
Argh, I pulled everything out of the garage and greenhouse so my friend wouldn't have to water so much in case we get rain and now they are saying 39 here over the weekend and I will out of town for a week. I sure hope it doesn't go any lower than that. No way I can put everything back up before I leave. My yard looks like a pot ghetto too, lol. I like the pipe insulation idea. That sounds pretty easy. I wonder if it would work on Johns giant plumeria that is touching the roof. Its not going to fit in the house or greenhouse by next winter. Gotta start planting and fertilizing when I get home. I sure hope we don't get anymore freezes.
We're looking at the threat of severe thunderstorms, large hail, and damaging winds this afternoon. We took our temp. ghs down because it was sooooo nice now! And yesterday, I planted some of my new brugs (rooted cuttings) because they were too large in gal pots. DH hates the look of all the pots, so I'm trying to pare back so backyard doesn't look like a nursery. We're on solid limestone and have very little good soil....so most things that are successful are in pots. I would think that with a slight freeze, things should be fine with just some sheets covering. Maybe you could cover your plants and then ask neighbor to uncover them after the storm blows thru....
Htop in San Antonio is the person who had the pipe insulation idea.... 'And I just lay the really tall plumerias down in the garage till spring. Take 'em out of the pots or ground....
Thats a good idea. They were touching the ceiling in the garage already now, lol. Well we fly out in a few hours so I'll see you all in about a week. Hopefully won't have to fly in a storm. I have a friend who will check my plants but its too many to try and protect so I will hope for the best. I still have a few in the garage and greenhouse.
Thought I'd add recent photo of the same brugs that were bubble-wrapped last March. We're supposed to have a really wet, cold winter. I plan to try it again, but use pipe insulation on the main trunks, as they're taller this year, and bubble-wrap the Ys. Lot less work. I'm hoping the wrap will keep rain out of top of pipe insulation. Will make a "skirt" of wrap at the base of the trunk for added insulation....and take some cuttings in case Mother Nature decides to re-landscape the garden.....
And this one, aslso bubble-wrapped, down behind the pond in my secret garden....
We're just coming out of a severe drought. Still under watering restrictions. Thank goodness for rainwater tank....
Even if you are only able to save some of the trunk, you are ahead by that much next season when it starts growing. I was looking at moms big one in the ground the other day trying to figure out where I will be cutting and what will get the wrap.
Just a report on my personal experience. For reference DeSoto is in Dallas county, 14 miles from downtown Dallas. Last year I had some 7-8 brugs in the ground that were planted Spring 08. Not knowing what to expect, I took cuttings above the "y" on all of them.
Put them in potting soil and into the tiny little greenhouse 6X8. All of them rooted. Everything in the ground died to the ground. In the Spring every single one of them came back. Now I have twice as many brugs. They have bloomed like nobodies business this Fall. The musa and EE also die to the ground but come back bigger and better than ever. The gardenia (in ground) is blooming NOW, in November. The greenhouse and tool barn are full of plants because we are nearing time for a surprise frost. Last year I wrapped the papaya and it died anyway. Very weird, it has come back as a vine. Not suggesting you don't wrap, just my results.
Christi
Were you able to preserve the Y by wrapping? Mine come back each year but would be nice to not have to wait til early fall for blooms.
Bigbubbles, I have used pipe insulation on my trunks already this fall. Last week actually, when the temps dropped into the 30s. I insulate the main trunk and the Y sections. Then bubble wrap where the insulations meet and cover the tips. Once you have the insulation cut and marked to fit each brug, putting it on is easier than wrapping everytime there is a freeze. We warm up many times during the winter so I unwrap and then rewrap. I also have several seed pods on various brugs, so I wrapped them. I hope to save them.
Well, you know that ole saying, "When the cat's away........" My DH has been gone over a month. I decided to cover ALL the brugs with a temp. gh. Something he would frown on, I'm sure. My backyard now looks like a hobo camp! A little neater than when I took pic, tho. I still have to put some lights in...but the brugs will have a big head start in spring. I did buy some pipe insulation and plan to use that on some large ones in the side yard. Great tip about marking which goes to which brug!
I posted my temporary greenhouses construction saga on the TX forum.
That would work great and you did a fine job. But my brugs are scattered all over my acre of yard. I have a 6x8 gh for the potted plants, including 12 cuttings from my Haight Ashbury hibiscus. So the pipe insulation and bubble wrap will have to work for me.
Oh for an acre again! I'm stuck with a little subdivision yard now, and it's overflowing. Please let us know how insulation pipe works for you this winter.
It's all experimental isn't it? I hope it works and will keep you updated.
I love your temp greenhouses. My subdivision would go whacky if I did anything like that. Maybe that makes it worth doing. . . .:o)
Peony....We back to a greenbelt, and the only neighbors that can see my contraption are next door on one side (we've been friends for over 20 yrs. and I started her on gardening 5 yrs ago). And that's only the very top of the gh that's along the fenceline. We're on a steep hill and we look down to the roof of the house on the other side, so they don't see anything. We live in a country club subdivision with lots of deed restrictions....but no one has ever complained.....maybe because they know we always take it all down in early Feb.
I know the fear of the temporar ystructures being acted upon... the last few years I've erected a dormant cool room on my roof top.. the fire department inspection the other day had them overlooking it.. as it didn't impeade their access or ability to fight a fire here... the neighbors are OK..as it doesn't impact them in any way.. I'm sure the buildings department woud have something to say ..they didn't like any plants here at all ...and I was cited for them some15 years ago... for illegal plant storage... in June..[ some call it a garden ] and I won the hearing on the citation...so they have left me alone since... but there's always the fear...
I build it up out of the 2" thick builders foam.. with an " R " rating of
R-20.. it's keeping the temperatures at 14* above out side ambient here now.. with just a quartz light shinning inside.. later I'll turn on my heater to a no freeze setting... it doesn't run much .. at all ...to keep it from
38* F - 46 * F .. my dormant storage range..... don't know what I'd do with another three dozen tropicals inside the house.. as it's quite filled already.. with what canfit under3 ... 400 watt metal halide HID lighting setups.. two of which are on 8' tracks which the lights move across on.. every minute or two.. .
here's the 10 ' x 12 ' building as it appeared here this year..
I've three growing in the localpark.. I'll try to mulch them.. and cover them in leaves..and bubble wrap till the spring... it's zone 7 here in NYC.. like mothers house in north AL...andshe' able to get most all of hers Iplant there ..to return in the spring
I'm going to try a variety of things this winter and will have cuttings to back me up, if they fail. It's kind of fun experimenting.
We got down to 23 Wed nite last week. I had my brugs pipe insulated and tips bubble wrapped. They came thru with flying colors. Now we'll see how they do staying wraped on the warmer 50 degree days.
That's great! Hope the pipe works. It sure will be easier than b-wrapping all those every winter.
I only had time to wrap a big one and it took two pcs to go around it. I found some shrink wrap tape in garage and secured the pcs. What I didn't do was bubble wrap the 'y's. I just ran out of time. Plan to trim the top and b-wrap the 'y' so no moisture gets in to rot it. We'll see when Feb comes....if it was successful.
I used pipe insulation on part of my Brug. One itty bitty problem with pipe insulation — trunk diameters have to be small. I had to cut and tape the insulation to cover most of the two trunks I covered. If this works and it keeps the trunks alive into next year, I'll have to use hot water heater blankets next winter.
Well, my bubble wrap experiment didn't work so well. I must have done something wrong.
Only the foliage froze, though, so that's something.
You can not save the foliage with bubble wrap.. you are trying to save the main stems from freezing so you have something to start with next spring so the plant does not have to start from the ground. I cut or pull the foliage off when I bubble wrap it.
Yes, that finally dawned on me. In that case the bubble wrap was a good success. Sometimes I can't believe myself.
Pipe insulation.....I had to use two pieces on the big brugs. I slit both a larger (diameter) pc and a smaller one. Put the smaller one on first. Then slipped the bigger one on the opposite side of the trunk and over the smaller one and taped it together. Seems to have worked....so far....
It's a gorgeous day here...going to be 70 this afternoon! And then it gets cold again....
I go a step further- I've wrapped two of my brugs for years now. First with mini X-mas lights then with landscape fabric. The lights are plugged in to a "Thermocube" which turns them on at 35f and off at 45f. It's all automatic. One of the trunks is almost as big a my thigh- I always wonder just how big they can get. The landscape fabric works great- it doesn't hold water but has little holes that let it breathe. They stay wrapped all winter and yes they do sprout a lot under there. The trunks are both about 4 feet. They grow a little in spring and then bloom. It's great that you can get blooms so much earlier than waiting till fall.
Well, I learned something new...again! I had to "google" Thermocube last night. Now I have to have a few!
Depending on application, these thermocubes go on or off at different temperatures. So make sure you get the one that goes on when you want it to. Given that I want to protect tropicals and semi-tropicals, I'd want the heater to come on before the greenhouse temperatures dropped down to 35ºF. There is always a lag time with temperatures dropping slightly lower before it comes back up. I get nervous when the temperature goes below 45ºF.
http://www.apelectric.com/Thermo-Cube-s/25.htm?gclid=CKOKlOzXzJ8CFRVinAod0GKz1A
I've never had any trouble with the 35/45 Thermocube- no need to use electricity unnecessarily. Trunks do not freeze at 32f- it takes a few degrees below that. I do not use a greenhouse- just lights wrapped around the trunk- actually touching the trunk. Lag time is inconsequential. What will happen is the trunk will warm up and start sprouting underneath the cover- ask me how I know. Before the thermocube I use a timer almost every night just in case- they sprouted like crazy. Brugs are actually more of a montane subtropical plant that strictly tropical. I find they like cool weather a bit more than the stifling heat.
It's been 11* F aand now has warmed to 20... just sitting here for days... it 's looking more iffey for the inground experments now.. . Back in November I was thinking they might like a warmer winter.. but we'll see in the spring...
The Cool Room is still doing wonderfully... holding tight together ... and now is at 41* F ... just the target low ... as a cushion to the freeze at 32*F.. winds of 45+ MPH a few weeks ago...and now the still cold .. and it's 15-20 gallons of warm water.. every few weeks.. and we'll see spring in fine shape there...
Gordon, OMG I was thinking of your babies..glad they are fine..It is mighty cold in ny for sure....
MMMMMMMM Yes it is... it's like having alzheimers...you get dressed to go out..then get dresed again...then again..
I should go up and spray some there...as there are still some leaves on them... from the quartz light I have in there this year.. the humidity inside the Cool Room is about 67% today...when it drops I know it's time to water some more... it's real easy to monitor in that way with out checking ...
I've about 8 infloenzas starting on the plumerias inside... and I keep missing the night blooming cereus blooms... I always see them wilted in the morning...but there's another 1/2 dozen buds coming along... so I'll get plenty more chances with them... I've a few morning glory flowers blooming in the window.. and a clearodendrum blooming again..it's about brug seedstarting time here...I'm about filled in on light space so they will all have to move a little further apart to fit more in.. when these get up and going.. so things are going well for the plants...
how are you and yours doing...
Sounds like a little paradise there my friend. My babies are semi dormant now and COLD cold, but they are all alive which is what I want until Spring comes. Can't beleive your night blooming cereus is giving you a show, mine only does it in the Summer months.
oh..on the night blooming cereus..I get a dozen or two flowers in a flush that comes about this time in the winter ..inside.. and a larger one flowering during the summer.. I'd love to have all the flowers in each open together.. but it opens a couple of flowers evry few days/week.. I guess to spread over a number of days the possibility of being pollinating ... of all the plants I winter over inside.. they do the absolute best.. grow the nicest looking leaves and show no stress or acclimation issues .. no insects or problems of any sort.. I've six different types going..
I know mine grows nicely and bigger in the winter. Do you have a picture of the one blooming now? Would love to see which kind it is.
Just moved to zone 7 in Columbia TN this fall. I have some brugs that will arrive down here later in the year. Was wondering if in this zone they can survive planted in the ground with protection? I'm totally new to working in zone 7 since I moved from zone 4b.
Thanks!
MollyD
Molly... Well..mother lives just south of you...down I 65 ...the first thing into AL...she has dozens of brugs in the ground..she cuts them down to the ground...and spreads a few token leaves on them..nothing too protective... hers are on the southern side of the house....but she has no problem with most all of them returning in the spring.. although a bit later than we'd like...ones overwintered inside...or just kept dormant ...perhaps in a garage .. or basement...will be back up and blooming earlier..
any favorites you wish to make sure you make it to spring with.. you can take cuttings of when you cut them back.. root them out.. and overwinter on a window sill... you're close enough to drive down for lots of cuttings of other new ones in the fall.. if you have room to overwinter some..
Molly, are you sure you are in zone 7b? This Tennessee Forestry map show Maury County as being in zones 6b and 7a.
http://forestry.tennessee.edu/urbanplanting.htm
Some DGers have been successful at overwintering some Brugs in zone 7b by mulching their Brugs heavily. The only way to find out if your particular Brugs will survive is to try it. Just be sure you take plenty of cuttings in case the ones in the ground don't come back. I'm located on the boderline between zone 8b and 9a. Even here some Brugs will not return. Mature Brugs are hardier than small ones. So plant your Brugs early in the spring and fertilize regularly. You want a large root system by winter.
Hi Betty,
It's hard to say what the zone is because it seems to vary drastically winter to winter. This year I would swear it was a 5 since we've gone down to single digits. I'm told that most winters this area doesn't go below the 20's. Officially I was told it was an unqualified 7 but that option wasn't offered when I changed my data here. I think that based on the weather records I saw some years we're just like you are there in Tx.
I guess my best bet is to take cuttings and use those to experiment with before I risk my plants. btw Betty you sent me my first Brug seeds about 2 years ago :-) I got some nice plants that bloomed from those seeds. Thank you!
MollyD