Has anyone done root trimming on brugmansia to repot? And what were the effect? Did it slow down the growth?
My Brugs are dormant at the moment in their pot, I have a very short season to grow them, and I wanted to try root trimming before breaking the dormancy period. They have all flowered last year, except for the one I planted in the ground.
I want to start them off in March, so any help would be appreciated.
Brug root trimming?
Is there a reason why you want to try root pruning? I haven't tried it yet, but will be doing so on 5 Brugs planted in 24" pots. I don't want to go up to a larger pot and the Brugs have been in the same pot for 2 years now. That and to refresh the soil are usually the reasons for root pruning. Worn down soil and roots that have completely filled the pot slow down plant growth. So removing 2" of roots and old soil, all the way around and the bottom of the root ball and replacing it with new soil re-energizes the plant. It's not necessary to remove all the old soil unless the plant shows signs of root rot and you have to trim dead or dying roots.
bettydee , precisely why, I want to trim the roots, to replenish nutrient and give more room for the roots. My pot is fairly big right now and hard to move around.
I've done root trimming on fuchsia I knew they wouldn't be bothered , but wasn't sure for the brugs since they take a long time to flower, didn't want to stunt them. All the Ys have dried up, and wondering if they'll take as much time to form them again this year. But the trunk is fine. Thanks for your reply.
It may be just me, but I've been a firm believer on root pruning and think I see great results when I repot most of them every year. I do it pretty drastically myself tho I won't tell anyone else to do it! My thinking is that they need all the room for root growth and new soil as they can get, and many times I throw out huge hunks of old roots. If the old theory of potting up for more roots comes into play, I do it cuz my pots aren't getting any bigger and will hold more water in the summer without such a huge root mass.
burn, If the "Y"s are gone, the vegetative growth basically starts from scratch. That is why keeping that "Y" alive is so important if you want early blooms. Where did you store you Brugs this winter?
violabird thanks, I'm a firm believer in root trimming as well. My pots are to heavy for me, Dh has to use a dolly to move them around. I was a bit concerned about brugs, because of the amount of time, it take for them to bloom. But from what bettydee just said, seem they will have to start all over again, since I've lost the Y on them.
Bettydee, My pots are stored in the basement, it was the coldest place I could find for them to survive the winter, there's a tiny bit of light down there. My bigger brug grew about 6" and has a few small light green leaves. I have given them some water from time to time over the winter. But some might have needed more because they were in clay pots. I'm kind of disappointed in the fact, they have to start from scratch, oh well the ups and down of gardening I guess.
DH is suppose to build me a temporary greenhouse on the deck. I asked for it for the beginning of March, almost there. No greenhouse yet, but as soon as there's one, they will all move in there.
This is a Candida Yellow.
