Tropicals & Tender Perennials: finally a couple Blooms in the Basement, 1 by bettydee

bettydee wrote:
The biggest Brug killer in winter is a combination of cold temperatures and wet soil. This is the perfect breeding ground for the fungus that causes root rot. Brugs do better with a little benign neglect. I always seem to lose the ones I baby too much.

During winter dormancy, it is import that the root systems are strong and healthy. The energy stored in the roots is what is going to keep the plant alive during dormancy. Cuttings that were started late fall or early winter don't have much of a root system so the mortality rate can be high. The best thing to do with newly rooted cuttings is to keep them growing during their first winter. Provide temperatures over 50ºF. 50ºF should be the minimum temperature. Fertilize lightly and keep them under light to get good strong stems. You still have to keep the cuttings on the dryish side of moist because it is still possible to get root rot. Warmer room temperatures help against this.

Of course, you can go beyond benign neglect. I did that last year and the result was the loss of over 75 Brugs.

I started having a variety of health problems early August, 2010 that required hospitalization and couldn't care for my plants. I was able to talk the gentleman who helps me with the ranch to water my Brugs for me, but he couldn't do it often enough to keep many from dying. During one of those hospital stays I injured my back for which I had to have surgery late May, 2011. Because of a rare genetic problem, I have to avoid most pain killers and I ended up back in the hospital several more times this past summer. I mention this because it has a direct baring on the loss of over 75 Brugs. This was a bit too much neglect. What makes it more painful is that I bought them all. I'm out several thousand dollars worth of Brugs.

The loss this past summer actually had its beginnings last winter. We had a near record cold winter for this part of Texas. We had a rolling blackout early, early one morning. By the time I discovered the blackout, the temperature in the greenhouse had dropped to below freezing, probably for several hours. This is what my Brug looked like last March. All the Brugs along the outside edge died but most of the others came back. Because I couldn't care for them properly, they started summer in a weakened condition. Then in the summer, the combination of a record drought, hot weather and lack of humidity, my Brugs went into summer dormancy. Most lost all their leaves and branches. When it was all over and I counted up my losses, I had lost over 75. I overwintered a few that appeared to have some living roots. When I pull them outside later this month, I will have to check the roots again because so far only one of those has sent out new growth.

My back has recovered although I will have to rely on help to move the pots for me, but I will be able to go out and water and fertilize the survivors by myself. I mourn the Brugs I lost especially since many favorites were among those lost. The survivors are truly tough.