I have a friend in Tucson, wondering how brugs would do there, so hot and dry.
How do Brugs do in Tucson??
Some may grow well while others languish. It's not so much the heat, but the lack of humidity that sent me Brugs into hibernation last summer. Your friend may be able to avoid this by installing misters, even cheap ones might work. The best ones to try would be the ones listed in this compilation. Scroll down toward the bottom to get the lists.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/797671/
I live in Tucson and have several brugs. They do well but need lots of water and cannot be put in full sun. Filtered light under a tree is good or morning sun. I do have a real problem with spider mites however from the hot dry conditions . My Charles Grimaldi has done very well. Linda
Yep.. spider mites are my problem here too. What do you do to control them. I wash with water and use soap spray. I am always looking for an easier solution.
Since spidermites affect more than just Brugs and with the number of plants I have, I try Neem Oil first. It works by suffocating the mites so they don't become resistant to the neem. In temperatures over 85ºF, it does have a tendency to scorch the leaves, but you can avoid that by spraying really early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
I do have neem and use it also. I spray it at night. LOL my leaves get scorched anyway. We have been over 100 several times already this year and it just fried everything it was so sudden the plants were not ready for it.
I am in Tucson and bought a brug last summer that bloomed a few times before winter. This year it seems to wilt midday, even in filtered shade. So far the buds drop before I get flowers. Any suggestions?
polymer moisture crystals when you repot it.. morning sun, afternoon shade and water.. repot into a larger pot.. they form huge root systems fast and it is probably root bound.
Mine just 'survive' once the heat comes, but Spring and Fall are heavenly for the brugs in this hot dry climate.
Thanks- I did repot it this Spring, in a half whiskey barrel. I wish I'd added the moisture crystals at that time.
Lots and lots of water. Mine will wilt some in the midday but recover as the evening comes on. They are also very heavy feeders if you want flowers. Linda
I spent several months in Phoenix visiting my daughter, son-in-law, & granddaughters. We had good luck growing brugs on the patio....by midday they were getting the full force of sun, with some wilt-down & burning. My son-in-law installed an overhead cover and they perked right up. As Linda said they do have extra water needs growing in AZ. compared to most zones.
I noticed it has set a whole mess of little buds again...giving it an early morning water and mist and that seems to get it through the day. Keeping my fingers crossed these won't drop.
Watch out for grasshoppers! I just caught one on my mountain magic.. it has eaten all but one bud off! One now very dead grasshopper! We have very few of them but why did it have to eat the stem of each bud? I had 5 buds forming and now 4 of them are on the ground and one is starting to open.. glad I caught him before he got to it.
Tammie, wait until the grasshoppers start to eat the entire Brug or large seed pods. I had a lot of grasshopper damage last year. All the pastures around here are knee deep in grasshoppers. They are back again in hoards. Any remedy for them would have to be county wide or large. Getting rid of them in one spot leaves an area for others to spread into. I'm going to have to use systemic and hope for the best.