FIRST FLOWERS OF LATE SUMMER 2015

Cam--
Thanks for your interest. New, Exotic plants are worth growing just for pleasure.
I always have "ENOUGH" for stem cuttings. I also have rooted cuttings
of some Epis. Amazing plants! The blooms of one of them will blow you away.

The cuttings are taken from the hardwood stems of the Brugmansias. About 5"-6" long
and just shoved in soil in 5" pots. I do use rooting hormone--but I don't think it is necessary.
I DO mind that there be a node at the top and bottom. They really do root quickly.

In about 2-3 weeks, the cuttings are fully rooted and on their way.
The leaves will start growing in no time and then--the plant is on it's way.

Yep, looks like you have a Brug Factory going on there, Gita. Thanks, I'll be very happy to try one of those Dr Seuss Brugs. Put my name on one, please. :)

Cam--will do! Those pictures are from 2013.

Just FYI--the Brugmansias grow pretty big in a couple of years.
My Dr. Seuss grew huge in just 3 years from the original plant cut back.

You have to either:
--take them inside
--or cut them back to the main stems, discard the cuttings- and takeBrug
in a dark cool basement for the winter.
New growth will shoot out from the cut back Brug when you put it out in spring.

You may get a bloom or two the 1st year from a cutting....or not. The stems have to
"Y" before there will be blooms.
There is a lot to know about growing brugs. How you pot them is one of them.
As in--Pot--into--pot so you can dig it out.
I would say that it can be the prettiest the 2nd year from a cutting.
Nice size--good bloom. Like donner had--except she has some kind of
"magic touch"...mine have never grown that big from a 2nd year cutting.....:o(

I have written a Primer to help people out called "Seasonal care of Brugmansias"
I can mail it to you--it is 2 pages. Something to consider.

Pics:

.....October--2014

1--This is where my Brugs sit for the summer

2--This is what they look like when cut back to take in for the winter

3--Here are some freshly cut stem cuttings stuck in pots to root

4--Here is my Dr. Seuss in September. 2013. I would say this grew out in the 3rd year
from the original, cut back plant. It's canopy was, easily, 7' x 7'.
The Dr. Seuss has a unique way of growing out--like a big beach umbrella. Flat top.
When they get this big--I look for someplace to give them away to. Not easy!


Still interested????? Gita

Looks interesting. Sure, I'd love to give it a try !

OK!
I did not mention how intoxicatingly fragrant the blooms get as evening comes.
You can smell it from yards away. No aroma during the day.
The blooms hang in for about 3 days--then they get yukky and fall off.

The growing cuttings (along with the Primer) will be delivered to you
at the Seed swap in February.
Hope they do well--last year the cuttings struggled....?????

G.

Okay, Gita... sounds good. Thanks ! I love trying new plants, especially ones that are unusual and you just don't see them very often around here.

Gita, I'd love to try again with Dr Seuss please! Which of yours is the most fragrant? (sorry, I know I ask that every fall & forgt by the next fall!)

Mums "saved" from previous years are starting their show, and I noticed this morning that my Montauk Daisies are getting underway also! Thank you Sally for introducing me to fall daisies!!

Jill--Sure! Hope the cuttings make it. last year was horrible! Don't know why?
I think I may have waited too late to cut them back. The plant DO go dormant on their own.

IF you plant them as directed in the primer--pot-in-pot-- (do you have it?). you should
not have a problem. BUT--you have to follow through with all the cutting back
and the digging up of the inner pot and the dormancy thing as winter approaches.
They'll do OK in your basement--ignore it! A slight drizzle of water now and then..
Wrap the dug up root-ball on a grocery bag to keep the cut-off root tips from drying out.
YES! The roots that grew out those holes of the inner pot will all get chopped off.

I usually do the cutting back in mid-late October--just when they are in their prettiest bloom.
Just---Grin and bare it--and chop away.
The Brug will do great planted in the beds--but may not do so well if you dig them up
as the roots will be all over the place.
The Pot-in-Pot lets the roots grow in a compact, compressed bigger pot and
there is less damage.

Do you need the "Primer"??? If you don't have it--I can send it to you.
Believe me--it will help you both!

Gita

I'll take a copy of that primer sometime before the seed swap date, Gita. Thanks !

CAM, if you have a sunny window for a brug cutting, please try it at least once. This plant is very rewarding. The dramatic and fragrant flowers are definitely worth the trouble.

I got my first brug cuttings from Gita probably about 4 years ago. I used to winter-over the big plants, but now I only root cuttings each fall without keeping the mother plants.

The first photo is my 'Dr Seuss' last year. It grew from a 10" cutting to this size in one season.
The second photo is the 'Maya' about 10 days ago. It was moved from the pot to the garden and survived my 2 weeks of absence.

Awesome, Donner. I remember seeing the Dr Seuss Brug at your home... impressive ! Yes, I have a sunny window for it and also a nice cool, dark basement so I'm game to give it a try.

Cool plant! I'd like to try brug growing. May I get a cutting at the February swap?

Overwintering cuttings may be the way to go for me, also. Many years ago I had a couple that I tried growing and overwintering in the basement, but they were terribly succeptible to white fly, I think it was. I think it must have come in with them, as my other plants didn't have the same problem. They'd drop all their leaves, I'd think the problem had been sufficiently treated, they'd grow out their leaves again and - bam, there were the pests back. I think if I have them down there now with all the amaryllises, they might get checked more frequently so pest problems could be nipped in the bud.

Do you overwinter your sunny windowsill cuttings in water or in potting mix?

Gita, thanks, you've given me the brug primer! Pot in pot is a good way to lift them for them winter without disturbing the "core" of the rootball.

It's hard to let the big plant go, but last year neither of mine survived. It saves a lot of space to keep a cutting instead of a big dormant plant, but you have to care for the cutting....

Last fall, I let my brug defoliate and go completely dormant (kept it out until the first freeze), cut off the top half so it could be moved more easily, and then kept it in the dark half-basement all winter. No water or sun all winter.

The top growth didn't survive, but I got new growth from the roots and it's finally blooming. I think it would have bloomed earlier if I had watered/fertilized it enough. :)

This is the easiest way for me to overwinter brugs. I can't keep cuttings alive, so I've stopped even trying. And if they're completely dormant, you don't have to worry about spraying them for bugs!

CAM, some brugs are supposedly zone 7b hardy, but I don't know anyone in this area who has successfully overwintered their brugmansia in the ground. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I remember seeing a picture of a *giant* brug in downtown DC that's probably been in the ground for many years.

Found this blooming yesterday. Very odd. It's my Blue Boy Rhodi

Donner---
I think you should jump in here with some help. How do you do it??????
No one I know can grow a brug that big and full of bloom from a 1yr. old cutting.
What is your secret?

Please describe for us exactly what you do and how you care for your cuttings
throughout the winter. Where do you keep them? Do you fertilize them?
With what?

I think you should be the one rooting cuttings to share from The Dr.S. NOT me.
Would that be too much of a bother, Donner?? Do your "magic"...
So far SallyG, Cam, Jill and Lisa have requested cuttings.

I have had yellowing and dropping leaves problems with my Brugs in the last 2 years.
No bugs the eye can see--but it may have been some kind of Mites.???
I have sprayed with all kinds of stuff--only "Forbid" had any effect.
Maybe I need ALL new soil in the outer pots?
Maybe I need to wash off ALL the soil from the roots in the spring and start fresh?

I really need to find out if these leaf problems can be transmitted to the stems
of the plant? I would not want to pass along cuttings if they were affected in any way.

As i said--last year my cuttings were really lagging behind--mostly the "Maya" ones.
Dr. Seuss seemed pretty OK--but also very slow.

This summer we had terribly hot weather. Brugs do not like this kind of heat.
That can also affect their growing and blooming.

Donner--please let us know if you would root the 4 cuttings for the above people?
I am sure you will have enough woody stems to do that with.
I know i will root some anyway,,,,,I always have....

WHO was it, above, that asked about rooting cuttings in water?
I never do it! Directly into fresh Pro Mix is the best way--for me.
Water gets stagnant--needs to be changed every other day--and can/will make
the cuttings slimy and fungusy. Once that happens--the cutting is a goner.

I used to try to root fresh top growths in water in the beginning.
Bought the bubbler system and all. Never worked.
4"-5" solid wood cuttings do the best. You DO need a node at the top and the bottom.
Then shove the cutting all the way down in a 5" pot and wait. Rooting hormone is OK.
It will pass the "tug test" in about 2 weeks. Grow leaves soon after.

Gita

Asters: 'Raydons Favorite' and 'Lady in Black' (Calico Aster)

Great pic, Judy... gorgeous !

Yes, that's a great Aster combo, Coleup!

I like CatMint's various Asters, too, and the Beautyberry/Goldenrod combo is very striking.

I think the Calico Aster 'Lady in Black' (so called because the foliage when it emerges is a deep maroon and it stays dark throughout) is a great 'filler' plant as it weaves in amongst other plantings so well. As an individual plant it is much less impressive than say, the Asters Catmint pictured. Think I will plant a block of the tall wispy asters with the smaller flowers, white, lt blue and Calico and just let them lean all over each other! What a wonderful addition to a fall wild flower bouquet calico makes.

Gita, I will be able to root cuttings for Jill, CAM, and Sally, and give the cuttings to them when we all go pick up Amaryllis bulbs. Keeping the cutting for Lisa till February is difficult because I no longer have light shelves any more. Maybe you can keep one for her.

I do not fertilize my cuttings during the winter. I think the only thing I might have done differently than most people with their rooted cuttings is that I do not leave rooted cuttings in small pots over the winter. As soon as they outgrow the pots, I move them to larger pots. I do that about 2 - 3 times before they are planted out in the spring. So by then they are pretty big plants.

Because I do not keep the mother plants any more, the soil I use each year is fresh. You may want to consider replacing the soil. The pots I use are bigger than the ones that I saw your brugs in. The pot for the big plant in my picture was over 20” and very deep. Because I am not home to water my plants every day, I use a lot of moisture crystals in the potting soil.




This message was edited Oct 1, 2015 7:19 AM

Lisa can't make it to the pickup party on the 24th, but we'll be finding a way to get her bulbs to her, and we can get cuttings to her at the same time. I have light shelves in the basement but am not always a faithful water-er, at least not until serious seed starting begins in Feb. I do have bright windowsills where things get more attention. I might try to do a bit more with the light shelves this fall/winter, though, so we'll see. At any rate, I can try to grow some brug cuttings until the spring swap but make no guarantees, LOL. But if you are trimming them anyway... :-)

Jill, in that case, I can root cuttings for her and leave them to your care.

I think Ric and I can do either but I am not sure Jamie's BD is the 25th not sure if his wife has any plans that would include us.

What thoughtful friends! Looks like I may be able to get my bulbs/cuttings from either SS gardener or aspen hill.

Thanks, Donner.....

Your Brugs are always so fantastic--even if they started with my so-so- cuttings.

Maybe the bigger pots was the secret to your huge brugs.
G,

Coleup, I love that aster combo! Donner and Gita - those brugs are so beautiful!

1. This bluestem goldenrod was a surprise I found creeping out from beneath a shrub -new to me! Sometimes it pays not to be a good weeder!

2. One of my dahlia seedlings seems to be a miniature with small olive green leaves and short form. Could be influenced from the drought but next year will tell when I give it a more favorable spot.

3. A beautiful abutilon at Laurelwood Garden in Wayne NJ

4. Colchium at Laurelwood.

5. One of several impressive lantanas backed by tropical milkweed - both Silky Yellow and Silky Red planted together. That is the way to do it! Next year! Also at Laurelwood.

I love Laurelwood! They allow dogs so it is a great place to walk around. A little too far North for most of you!

Holly, we're sticking with the original Saturday October 24 date for the pickup party. :-)

WOW! I love that dahlia seedling! It's adorable!

I've never seen such pretty lantanas.

nice pics Loretta. Maybe the Lantana loved that blast of late summer dry heat

Thanks. I think they greenhouse those lantanas. Here are a couple of others.

1. An equally big white lantana behind a goldenrod.

2. An overwhelmed lantana inside a huge salvia

3. A larger view of the salvias.

4. A yellow lantana next to a large salvia

5. Feverfew in bloom.

Wow, that Colchicum is really pretty. Hmm...I might want to get me one of those.

There is just a couple left on Brent & Becky! I have never grown them myself.

I have 2 Pineapple Sage plants that are growing nicely but of course aren't in bloom yet. Too bad they bloom so late - when all the hummers are gone! They get huge, & have those gorgeous bright red flowers. They're my favorite fall plant. Anybody know if they bloom in any color besides red?

How about the LAST flowers of summer???? Even Giants fall....

Look what happened a week ago!
The weekend we had those terrible storms and winds.

Anyone want to guess how many 10-of-thousands of seeds will now
be in this area???
I will dry the bunches out and save some.......the seeds are about twice as big
as the dots here......

That will be a colorful lawn next year!

Carol, I have the first flower on my pinapple sage. The plant is huge and I hope I get a chance to see it in its glory. I also thought the hummingbirds were gone and was going to go ahead and rip out a border that I wanted to change but there he was flitting around. So I'm sure the ground will freeze before I get to do anything.

Oh bummer, the giant has fallen :-( It was nice while it lasted. Maybe you can grow a huge stand of them next year.

One would be enough...again...

If some seeds self-genetate--I will dig them up as soon as i see them and pot
them for some of you guys. The seedlings are easy to ID--as they already have red stems.

G.

My pineapple sage is blooming away too, the flowers are so red. Kind of thinking I should pick some to make Ladygardener's pound cake.