Mid-Atlantic Gardening: October is Just Beautiful in The Ggarden!, 0 by Gitagal

Gitagal wrote:
Sallyg---

I have had the same problem with about 3-4 Coleus. Just, all of a sudden losing all the
leaves and looking dead. When I pulled them up--there were NO roots at all! Too much rain, maybe?
Looked like they just rotted off--completely....Same thing has happened to some of my Impatiens..
Go figure! The thought of Voles also went through my mind.....But--not sure...

Re my Oxalis--I just put all the little corms in the W-Boxes this spring. They were from the 100's of corms
in the pot Donner gave me at Jill's Swap...So--NO! These fat roots all grew just during this summer...
They are just a dull off-white and solid/translucent all the way through. That is why I though that they must have
some peculiar function in sustaining the small corms--like a water source????
They almost look like the nodes Spider Plants make--just a lot bigger...

I have not yet decided if I will want to deal with the piles and piles of Coleus cuttings again.
Deep in my heart I know I will do it....always thinking of other people that expect them from me....

Sally--PLEASE post some pictures of YOUR Brugs! My Dr. Seuss seems to now be blooming non-stop.
The old blooms still hanging on as the new buds are already close to opening...
Even my small Dr. Seuss finally put out some blooms...This one sits in a pot on my Patio.
The NOID pink one (by my shed) has grown straight up with 2 main stems close to 7'. It has had some blooms--but nothing spectacular. Is this the one you call the "Rose Souvelons" Sally?

Re the Brugs and frost---
Brugs are trees in the South and CA. They can grow into semi medium sized trees.
If you cruise around the Brug Forum, you may find some pictures of these big ones.

NO. I don't think a light frost will damage the brugs per say. Like you said--the leaves may go limp, but also
like you said--you would be pulling the leaves off anyway.
I also remember in the cob-webs of my mind--that we are just one zone away from Brugs surviving the winter.
However--I also remember that this applied to IF you cut the brugs way down to the ground--that the
roots would come backl if deeply mulched.
BUT--You know how long it would take for the new Brug growths (from the base) to grow until they "Y"-ed???

My very first, reliable mentor of Brugs was Shirley ("bruggie") in IA. She knew everything! Friends with Monika...
I pumped her brain dry...:o) But--I learned a lot of nitty-gritty info from her about growing Brugs.
She said that the best time to take cuttings from Brugs is when the days and nights are the same length.
SO--around the Fall Equinox--which is mid September??? Yes?

I have never followed that--as all my Brugs put on such a show of blooms all through October I hate to cut
anything off. Had to do it last year, though...MAN! It killed me to do it!!!!
I am sure that day will come any time now as well---and I will be freaking out....

For any of you that have Sunrooms or a G-House--your Brug will continue growing and blooming all winter.
I have an elderly lady friend (that means older than I...) to whom I gave my Dr. Seuss way back when--thinking mine would
make it through the winter--and it did not that year....I went a whole season w/o a Dr. S.
Then I went back to my friend begging for a cutting. She has a beautiful sunroom and the Dr. was blooming away.
She let me cut off what I wanted--and that is how I have, once again, a Dr. Seuss..

I actually have two of them now.
The original one--from my friend--which came up dead (??) after the winter's dormancy this past spring.
No signs of life----so I cut all the stems back as far as there was healthy tissue. The dead tops all were black inside
like a fungus--or something...SO! I decided that the remaining stem was not worth dealing with--
so I just shoved it aside and let it be. I had the smalled Dr. from cuttings taken the year before. Looking good!
Then--Lo and Behold--the "dead" Dr. started growing leaves all up and down the trunk. I was astounded!

This is the one that was in full bloom by end of summer and now again--non stop.
Brugs are tough "broads".....no silk glove treatments needed. Honest!

Fungus and rot at the end of the cuttings is the worst enemy--that is why I root mine directly in soil.
Been there-- tried that with the water with the H2O2---and the bubbler system--NAH!!! Not worth it!

Just take a good sized (diameter) stem cutting (from ABOVE the "Y"!!!) and just shove it straight down into
a 5" or 6" pot of fresh, clean soil mix. Rooting Hormone is optional.
(Believe me or not--you could take the MAIN stem and root it the same way. YES!)

Keep just moist until it passes the "tug test' and shows signs of new growth--and then stand back!
Treat like any houseplant...godd light...light watering...diluted fertilizer a couple of times and your new Brug will be on it's way!
Do NOT overwater--drier is better--and keep an eye out for mites--if you have any in the house.

Now, Sally--I bet you are sorry you asked! :o) Teee---Heee---Knowledge is good! Tuck it into your "cobwebs"...

Here is my "dead" Dr. Seuss in September....SO worth having this one!