Sally--
We are cross-posting between our D-mails and here....Just sent you another D-mail.
You wanted brug cuttings. I think you should see what the full-sized brug looks like.
Do you have a big garden at your "real" house?
Pat---I love that big-leafed, yellow Coleus also. It seems to grow bigger than many of the others...
Some just do! My favorite is the Alabama Sunset. it is just SO pretty.
Gita
Another Sally here LOL
I've just now found all these beautiful pictures...I guess I've been trying to work, or cooking, or laundering, and trying to find any nice time in the garden too.
Gita, thats fascinating about those oxalis root things. I've never had them long enough or dug enough of them, to to find any, I guess. Love your experimental spirit and want to know if those things sprout for you...
I took several kinds of coleus tip cuttings before the last rainy spell, and they all look good, except one. And one of my coleus in ground has acted very touchy all summer, had wilting which would be releived by watering when it didn't seem that dry. Suddenly losing many leaves. There must be some kind of 'situation' in the root zone...
So pleased with my Brugs this year. Rose SOuvelons has grown enormous and for the last two weeks keeping up a constant display of blooms. Variegated one is about to give a third flush so I'm grateful for this warm sun to help that.
Is it critical to pull the Brugs before frost? I know I'll lose the leaves anyway. Will the first mild frost hurt them other than the leaves?
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!
This was in May of this year---The dead coming back to life....
Maybe I should call it my "X+Zombie Brug?"
Same plant as in the above picture....
OK! Time to go watch Dr, Phil. I seem to have an affinity to Dr.'s....:o)
Gita
Actually Gita...this time your lengthy post was just what the Dr ordered.
tee hee.
Just what I had on my mind and no more really. I agree the fat stems are better for cuttings. The skinny tips on mine all withered over winter last winter. I think they are just too tender. Attached is photo of the now huge pink one which I think is the one you gave me as Rose Souvelons. I'm pretty positive thats the only pink I've ever acquired. It's been blooming a couple and up to a dozen any given day for the last couple weeks. Constant buds. Five feet of new stems on it this summer!
I feel sure those things on the Oxalis are a water storage tuber. The big question is do they sprout on their own, or do they lack any kind of budding cells that allow that?
Please pardon the less than ideal sunlight in that picture. You can see the bush is as tall as that six foot privacy fence and as wide too.
The flowers are ten inches long from stem to end, and open about eight inches on the front. Can you imagine what docgipe could do with one of these babies?
I pulled up that bad coleus; its days are numbered anyhow. It has been ill even last winter in small pot. I think it had an infection which it could never eliminate. The roots here are too small for that amount of leaf- it must have stayed alive on humidity, and in this recent dry weather is showing its pain. There are tiny roots coming on the stems at the base, above soil line. I suppose I could prune it heavily and pot the roots. but not sure its worth the effort.
Sally---
Your Brug is what I had before the pink one I now have--and, YES!--that was a Rose Souvelons.
Gave the original one away to the Cylburn Arboretum along with my "monster" Maya in 2009 (??).
Then I acquired another pink one. This one is a deeper pink and grows more upright.
As far as I know--it is a NOID. That is what I have now.
This one was the first that Chantelle gave me labeled as a Dr. Seuss...She new I was dying to have another one...
It grew and grew the 1st year--but when it finally bloomed outside--it was the pale pink Rose Souvelons.
Then Chantelle brought me another Brug. Well rooted---big---and it was also labeled as a Dr; Seuss.
I was sooo excited! Then--this one grew and grew tall and straight as a cutting and ended up being my NOID.
She had gotten this one from someone in FL that was "for sure" to be a Dr. Seuss. Good sized plant!
It grew and grew--and, it also turned out to be mis-labeled--and is the deeper, tall NOID pink Brug I now have.
This one is a robust grower and a good bloomer--just NOT this year!
I DO think Brugs hate heat--the kind of temps we have had this summer...That is why, in October,
they go bonkers with blooming...The cooler temps suit them better....
That is why I went back to my "elderly" friend and asked for a cutting of the Dr. Seuss I had given her 2-3 years earlier.
Here is the pink one I now have.....It is unique in that--the forming buds are yellow--and open to a milky white--
and then turn pink by the next morning. Very interesting!
Here is the Rose Souvelons I had--what is unique about these blooms is the "gentle ribbing" you see inside the bloom.
Here is the pink one i now have----a NOID! I tried to ID it--without success......
I know they look similar--but they are not,,,,This one is a deeper pink and the plant grows so tall!
To the casual observer--there may not seem to be any difference....
It is totally useless to try to ID a pink Brug--as hundreds of people hybridize their own and name them
whatever they want. There are a zillion pink Brugs....
This one came to Chantelle from FL--ID as a Dr. Seuss--which is NOT pink at all. It is yellow--fading to peach.
That tells you how little people know.....Trader beware!
Gita
This shows you the 3 different colors of the blooms on my pink Brug I now have.
You can see the yellow in the tight buds---then they open to the white--and mature to the pink--all in 24 hrs.
Usually--the pink shows up the following morning after the bud opened the evening before as white.
This Rose souvelons is really bushy this year. And I can't beat the constant bloom. I must admit though i don't care for it's scent- sort of perfumyey, instead of the tropical sweet smell I like so much, that the varegated yellow one has. Yet the variegated yellow has bloomed only in flushes with rest in between--and it also seems to have a lot of older leaves turn yellow and drop when it flushes. Or maybe thats just a coincidence of it getting bit dry or not enough fertilizer. This year its in a more difficult spot by the front of the house. Rose Souvelons has the ideal spot it seems. Morning sun, light day shade, better soil.
Gita and Sally,
Beautiful brugs!!! Did you buy them mature or did you grow them from cuttings? Now I cannot wait to get one! Iit will take years before cuttings grow to a blooming size :-( Just found this grower: http://www.gardensbykasha.ecrater.com/
Donner
Sally--
It is normal for older leaves on Brugs to turn yellow--whatever the reason.
It will not affect their health or performance. Just break them off so the plant looks better...
Donner--
The determining factor whether the brug will bloom is that it HAS TO "Y". No "Y"--NO bloom.
From a cutting--maybe in 2 years it should be able to bloom.
Look at this silly little thing!!!! It is a Rose Souvelons...A cutting taken above the "Y"....
Sally---
Here is a good picture of the R.S. bloom---see the ridges in the bloom?
That seems so typical....I have not seen it so pronounced in any of my other Brugs.
Gotta get ready for work...Donner-----see ya!
Here's why I love October and coleus so much
A Birthday bouquet for my dear daughter from my garden:
and another
And another as glorious as the day!
Pshaw donner- betwen Gita and I maybe Chantell, we can set you up next spring. THis'll give me a push to try a couple cuttings. If you don't have bloom the first year, I'm sure you would the next.
coleup- just can't beat the coleus for beautiful leaves can you?! Great!!!
Thanks, Sally!!! I am so excited about starting to grow brugs. This is such a facinating plant. Look at that huge flower on Gita's tiny little plant! Wow!
I think we could have a BRug thread- but first I have to take my pictures and rotate them...but first i have to go to the post office and maybe the vet, and....
I cut a branch of my Rose one and potted three cuttings. Back later with pic and new thread.
I gave donner 3 cuttings of Dr. Seuss Brugs yesterday. They broke off--so I had a chance to do this.
Will have to do this again--I am not that far from Inner harbor where she works. Half hour?
We had made a dinner date--but first walked the garden--dry and covered in leaves...
Thanks a lot for the dinner--donner--I enjoyed the long talks also.
Sallyg--
Do you really feel that we need a separate Thread about Bugs?
We can just keep talking and sharing right here. Not too many people around here grow Brugs--
so it may be boring to those that don't--and become too limited in opinions to those that do.
There IS the Brugmansia Forum on DG.
Just my 2 cents worth...Gita
On the other hand- long involved threads, people don't alway keep wading thru.
We'll see how I feel later!
Anything goes was the reason I started this Thread.
I like having a place to chat about anything and everything without worrying about digressing
or highjacking. Too much to worry about on those kind of Threads.
"Do I dare to mention this or that--or is that off topic?????" Ugh!
Of course--this Thread will stay as it is--
A Brug Thread will be just for that--and I am sure I will be on it plenty and often.
MAF needs new Threads! It has been too quiet for too long....
G.
Great to see Gita yesterday.
The garden tour was most interesting. Gita packed 10 times the plants in the garden as I thought possible :-) That's passion for gardening! Gita also showed me how to do Coleus cuttings. I hope my Coleus plants are still ok for cuttings by the time I get home this weekend.
When I mentioned Japanese Anemones, Gita said this plant was rarely offered in our forum. I can pot some up if anybody is interested. I have no photoes of this plant on my work PC, but you can google it. I have both the pink and the white varieties.
The brug cuttings are sitting in a bright spot without direct sun. Will keep you all updated.
Donner---
I had a thought re the brug Cuttings.....
Perhaps, while they are still freshly cut, you could put each one in a separate 5" pot.
Why? Just in case one of them would start getting some kind of fungus--it would not affect
the others. What do you think? While you are at it--you could also use some rooting hormone to help.
Good luck with these. as I said--the Dr. is finicky when it comes to rooting.
I will make sure I start some extras--just in case....
Sally can start you a Rose Souvelons also. right, Sally?
Donner--I told you about how big my Maya got and that I had to give it away to the Cylburn Arboretum.
Take a look! WHERE on earth couls I have overwintered this????
Gita
Gita,
Good idea. I will separate the brug cuttings tomorrow.
What an impressive plant! My goodness! The pot wasn't even that big. I would love to get a cutting from Sally -- whatever the variety :-).
Donner
I have three Rose Souvelons cutting looking happy under my lights
; ^)
Time will tell.
The entire bush will come inside (soon!) and there will be more chances for cuttings.
Wow Gita! My variegated just may reach that size next year. It's also going to come inside and today I will take the first round of cuttings from it.
Gita, can you find one shot of the carnage of your stripping her that one year? THose beautiful leaves all over the ground. For a gardener, its almost like bloodshed. Really was carnage in our minds! I'll have to do that to mine soon. Its going to get cool later this week, and frost threatens the next. I might as well get it over with while I am comfortable outside, not shivering.
(I should put out strands of Xmas lights while I'm at it. It always turns bitterly cold the day I plan to do it.)
(Just kidding. I don't rush Xmas even tho the stores really do.)
The Tropical WL are still looking really good.
Guess I will be letting them grow for a little longer.
Nights staying in the 40s for next ten days...enjoy!
OK, Sally!
This was the Maya in August of the year I had to cut her back. Don't know why she grew leaves the
size of which I have never seen. No blooms--they came later....
This was the end of October 2008.
It was getting cold--and I had to find a way to fit the Maya in my basement.
What hurt sooooo bad was that she had just sent out bloom buds all over....
Here is the picture I call "The carnage"-----This is also the year before she grew 7'x 7'
and I had to give her away. Seems like a growth spurt over 2 years--no?
Another picture of the trimmed back Maya in front of the bed where she grew.
This is a smallish bed on my kitchen side....
The next year is the picture I posted above when I had to give her away--no way Jose I could have gotten her in my house.
Cylburn Arboretum came and got her. Their G-House man took a lot of cuttings and rooted them all
and they were for sale for $12 the next year at their "Market day".
The annuals are going strong.
The new mums I added last year are starting to fill in nicely.
Another
Gita- you did a really nice job shaping that Brug after the masscre. My variegated one din't grow a whole lot this year, I think the front bed gets dry easily, esp with the heat we had.
Now my Rose Souv. was in a better spot, better moisture and fertilizer too. It grew like all get out, and yesterday I had some of those monster 18 inch leaves to take off. There were even a couple brand new shoots from this year that were 4-5 feet tall and near an inch where they came from the trunk. One snapped as I worked on it...oh well. I haven't pruned as much as you did, I know some of those branches will wither by spring anyway. I was pretty good on taking the small twigs off as I saw them shrivel up over last winter on the brugs. My picture uploading is not working or I could show it.
Sally,
I have learned one thing about cutting Brugs back.
Of course--you do not wantt o cut below the "Y"'s. but leaving all the "Y"'s tips spread
this way and that is not good. The new growths will come from the tips of the leftover branches,
which means they will be growing too far away from the main stem.
look at my picture again....See all the "Y"'s sticking out all over?
It would have been better if i cut them closer to the base if where the "Y" starts, or even to the very 1st "Y".
Never mind leaving all the "Y"'s be--why?
Does this make sense to you? Gita
Yes it does. and by the way, a brand new branch will Y when its good and ready Even existing Y branches have to make a new Y before the buds come on.
Holly those mums are just gorgeous!
This message was edited Oct 19, 2011 11:41 PM
Hey ALL! I am BAAAAAACK.....
My cataract surgery is over and done with. Next one will be in 2 weeks...
My daughter took me and stayed and took me back home.
The admitting process was 3 times as long ans the surgery itself--just 20 minutes...Done!
They did put an IV in my vein to shoot up some kind of a relaxer--but I never even went to any stage
of La-La land. You hear everything--and see some weird colors and shapes with that bright light
right above your eye (a magnifying glass with a light so the dr. can see...)
They gave me all kinds of eye drops in 2 session before the surgery..About 8 total.
Anti Inflammatory, Prednisone--Endless drops to dilate my pupil--etc...etc....
Taking all kinds of data and putting it on the Computer, askinf a zillion questions, and on and on....
Aina had to have valet parking of the car--as this Hospital is smack downtown.
Mercy Hospital is one of those forever expanding hospital systems. all joined by a nice corridor between all the buildings.
Anyway--recovery was nothing! Mostly listening to this pretend-friendly woman telling me
all I should and couldn't . Explaining to keep using my eye-drops religiously for the next 2 weeks.
NO water spraying in the face when showering---have to wear an eye-guard the first night when sleeping
( suppose not to have extra pressure on the eye from your pillow)--NO rubbing of the eye--just lightly dab as needed, etc.
So we got back home about 2:30PM and I took Aina out for lunch at the Rred Brick Station for giving
up a whole work day to take me to the Hospital and back.
Had a glass of beer each--ordered some yummy Pasta dishes, and then she dropped me off at home.
SO! Here I sit--with my "new" eye no longer accommodating the lens in my regular glasses. All blurry! YUK!
BUT--my right eye still needs the lens. Have to put up with this until tomorrow AM when I will go for a
"look see" apt. right here at my reg, eye Dr. end of my street. They will pop the left lens out of my glasses
and I should be OK that way.
Bracing for a lot of silly questions---"Did you loose your lens??"..."What happened to your glasses???.....
or---"Do you know you are missing one lens in your glasses??"---etc;...etc...
Have to put up with all this for 2 weeks. Then i go have the other eye done and I should be glasses-free.
Possiblu will need reading glasses. Don't know for sure yet.
I cannot tell you yet how my fixed eye works--as my lens is still very dilated...just nothing is clear yet. BIG blurr...
No pain. NO discomfort. In the first couple of hours it just felt like there was something in my eye. That's gone now.
Almost hard to type here--but i am managing...By morning, my eye should be back to normal.
My eye looks absolutely normal. There is no redness, no blood-shot look, and I cannot even see
where the Dr. put the tube/needle into my eye. May be lower on the eyeball--or more to the side.
Amazing!!! I tell you! Just amazing!!!!!
There! Now you have an update on my day. ALL is well!!!! Another surgery to add to my already page-long list.
Thank you all for your well wishes! Gita
