This was in my basement all winter under a light fixture. It has a Y at 14 inches. Did I stunt it's growth? Shouldn't it be taller? It was never fertilized all winter. There is one larger leaf and the rest of them are smaller. It's a cross of Perfect Harmony x The Chief. Of course, now that it has a Y, it will be upstairs so I can watch it.
Grown from seed? Take a look at the leaves above the Y and compare them to the leaves from vegetative and flowering regions found on this link.
http://www.abads.net/Anatomy/
If the leaves are asymmetrical, you have a "Y". Otherwise, those are side branches off the main "trunk" and the "Y" will come later. I've seen some Brugs produce shorter Ys during winter than during summer, but ultimately, it's determined by genetics. It would be fantastic if you had a small bush with triple blooms like The Chief, but orange like the mom.
Thanks again bettydee ! I think I'm going blind looking at my plant :) Maybe it will drop a few leaves since I brought it up from the chilly basement, then I can see what is going on.
If those are branches, I hope the trunk can support it.
Anything I can get to bloom is fantastic for me :)
Well after looking at this plant for the last two weeks, I finally figured it out. It has 4 branches and 2 of those branches have produced "Y"s. Those leaves are asymmetrical :) Now I'm watching for buds.
The overall height is just under 20 inches. Perfect for me.
I do hope it stays short for you, but to get a better idea of "Y" heigth wait to see how high new basal growth, or growth coming up from the ground, get this summer.
Betty dee Thanks for the web site. It help as this is something I was never sure of. I bought my brug in May of 2007 3-nameless yellow. Fell in love with the fact that they both bloomed in my sun room in Feb. 2008. I now have 2 'Monster white" the original "oid" yellows, an "oid" white and a 'Charles Grimaldi'. In may I look forward to recieving an 'Ecuador' pink a 'Inca Sun' and one more that I can't remember the name at the moment. I just flipped over those blooms.
Now a question. I was told I could over-winter these in their pots in the garage so the 3 nameless ones were put out there. Late Feb I brought them in the sun room and they looked terrible. Got tired of looking at sticks and whacked them down to the soil. Once all the snow finally melted I was going to stick the pots out on the patio just so I have more room in the sun room. Two of them had begun growing up from the soil and are both now about 6" high. Is this normal for a brug? The third one I figured was toast but is has also started growing but only at about 2" high.
I just wondered if that was sheer luck or if that was normal.
cececoogan,
In regions colder than zone 9, it is normal for the tops to die down to the ground, but as long as the soil doesn't freeze, the buried portion of the trunk will send out new shoots. Many Brugs will do this. Others, the more frost tender ones, may not return. That is why it is a good idea to overwinter back-up cuttings, especially from above the "Y", inside the house or in a basement.
The down side of this is that Brugs have to start from scratch and go through the vegetative cycle before they produce a "Y" and bloom. On some Brugs this may take the entire growing season to before the "Y" forms. Some of the shorter growing cultivars may produce a "Y" earlier while others may not reach the end of the vegetative cycle before winter begins. There is nothing you can do to force a Brug to bloom before it reaches the end of the vegetative cycle. Brugs are heavy feeders and you can help them get there by feeding them on a regular basis. This may mean twice a week during the growing season. Any fertilizer will do. Using the Recipe in addition to using regular fertilizer seems to help and that's because, the plants are getting a bit of fertillizer every day.
Welcome to Brug addiction! LOL.
And what would the Recipe Be? I' clueless. Yes the original were only about 4" high when I rec'd them and didn't bloom until October 2007, that was why I wsa so shocked and very happy when two of them bloomed again in Feb. in the sun room.
May I pop in from time to time? I have gone over board for these beauties. In fact I got the sun room BECAUSE of these beauties. (DH was tired of sharing the living room with trees(he says) and had it built for over that next summer,
Pop in anytime. This is a friendly bunch. LOL! I got my greenhouse for my potted citrus trees, but Brugs have taken over. Last fall, my DH planted some of the hardier citrus in the ground so I'd have more room in the greenhouse for my Brugs. This is a link to the Recipe:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/956114/
Thanks what is Tree Tea Oil? where do I find it? or bloom buster? Is that a commercial fertilizer'
DH says those all sound like something that would be written in Jerry Bakers book.
Tea Tree Oil is a natural fungicide and can be bought at any drugstore. Wally World might have it. Bloom buster is a fertilizer high in the second number which stands for phosphate. There are other recipes that use something different. At this time of the year, your Brugs need to grow. From what I have read Brugs don't really need a large amount of phosphate. Besides phosphates don't travel much and tend to stay on the surface of the soil where the roots can't get to it. Those DGers who use it, use it later on in the year.
Wentn out this morning and got what I didn't have (namely Tea tree oil) and mixed some up for the brugs and gave them all healthy doses. two questions though. #1 does it matter if it was light beer? All hubby drinks is Bud Light. Used it anyway but I was just wondering if it mattered. #2 What is that wonderful aroma with it? I expected it to smell somewhat gross with the ammonia but hey it doesn't? Is that the tree tea oil or tea tree oil or which ever it is.
I;m excited to see how this does. I figure around July I'll change to the Bloom Booster instead of the MG for tomatoes.
Thanks for all the hints and advice.
Cherie
"#1 does it matter if it was light beer?"
Use regular beer if you want fat buds!! LOL!!!
LOL so are you saying it does NOT matter? Fat buds would be okay with me.
I've used that recipe twice now. It may be my imagination but the plants seem to be putting on extra growth, could be just that time of year also.
Would that mixture be okay to use on a Hardy Banana? I wouldn't think it would hurt it but I'm not confident enough to just use it without hearing a "go for it" ya know?
It's been used on quite a number of other types of plants with success. New growth could be a combination of getting food on a regular basis and it being this time of year. Happy Gardening!
Thanks betty.........I'm gonna just try it. If the banana plant dies I'll know it wasn't any good for it. Maybe I'll pot up the pups first for comparison and "just in case"
Banana trees are also heavy feeders so what you give your Brugs you could probably give your banana.
Found buds ( 3 !!!) on one of my brugs in the basement. It's been sitting there all winter under the light.
The buds are on Jean Pasko x The Chief. Wonder what color they will be.
Oooh exciting!Be sure to post a pic for I ordered a Jean Pasco but it hasn't arrived yet. No-so-patiently waiting.
I wanna see..............
