Brugs

I'm cutting back mine. If you want cuttings to root, dmail me. Some are named varieties, others were at some but the labels have been lost, and others I am not sure of.

Please splain what you're going to do with yours, H_M. This is my first year w/ brug's and I'm going back and forth on whether to cut them back or just haul the pots down to the cellar to go dormant/semi-dormant...

Ms. W: I've been researching that very question. I have had one brug for probably 5 years; I just brought it inside and treated it as a house plant and it did fine. Last year I cut it way back in the fall and treated it as a house plant -- it also did fine, and was far more convenient in shape. It leafed out again very nicely. I just read the following on a website that addressed brugs: "In most cases, woody-stemmed tropicals should not be cut back until early spring (unless you can't fit them into the house!)." But I'm going to ignore that advice unless someone tells me otherwise, since pruning was so successful for me last year.

I also have read many reports that it is ok to overwinter brugs in a garage: "Let the plants rest in a cool place (40 to 50 degrees F) with little or no light—they'll get the message that winter has arrived and their leaves will gradually yellow and drop. The plants can then spend the winter in an unheated basement, root cellar, unheated garage, or even a cool closet. Make sure the area is relatively dark (try enclosing the whole pot loosely inside a heavy black trash bag) and that the air temperature stays above freezing." Mine are all in pots, so I'll leave them in the pot. Some reports say to occasionally water a bit.

I'm planning on doing both the house plant and garage treatment.

I understand they get mites badly; I'm mulling over whether to use a systemic insecticide, and if so, which one.

I also am trying to find a heater with a built-in thermostat that will only turn on if our garage drops below, say, 40 degrees.

Well, with your garage attached to the house, you stand a better chance of overwintering them successfully in there. Mine would get clobbered pretty fast if we have a normal Winter.

I'm a bit reluctant to cut mine back because I figure that they'll take forever to flower... just a theory though.

Interesting. The big one I was blessed with last year...just started flowering in the past month...is that "late" for them? Poor baby...left it out too long last fall - and ended up having to hack it down to just above the soil. Watered it maybe once a month - then plopped in back outside in the spring...put on all kinds of growth and then the sunshiney blooms all over. Someone on a thread was saying they planted them in the ground - mulched well (please don't quote me) - and they came back the next spring. Amazing, eh? As for the buggies...I BATS'd mine.

Wrightie: I cut mine way way back last fall, and it is now probably 8' tall. I don't want it that tall -- I'm not sure what to do to keep is smaller. I left it in a window over the winter, and it leafed up nicely shortly after I cut it back to just a bare 1' stalk -- quite amazing. So I'll do that again. But I have read to cut it back in the spring. It just is too too big (and ugly) to cope with over the winter.

Chantell: Mine only started blooming in September as well. I don't know if there is anything that can be done in our climate to speed it up.

Well .... food for thought.

Job interview at 2pm - think good thoughts for me, please!

REALLY REALLY sending positive gamma rays your way. LOTS of them.

Sending good vibes galore your way wrightie!!

do belated work for this like for birthdays?

She's probably already at work at the new job. I feel very positive about this. Nice weather bodes well.

THANKS, EVERYONE!!!

Sheesh, I was there from 2 - 5:30 -- longest interview ever. I *think* it went well. Will keep you posted!

So excited for you....great job (no pun intended)

3-1/2 hours!!!! Wow -- say no more -- they must have loved you! That is fantastic! (Do they need any employee benefits professionals?)

Hi, Everyone,

I have now had Brugs for about 5 years. There sure is a lot to know about them--BUT--they are fairly indestructible. My greatest mentor has been "Brugie" (Shirley in Iowa) who has guided me through all the beginner woes of this plant. She is very generous with her knowledge and tells it like it is. No "fluff" about her. There are many others as well. Just go to the Brugmansia Forum and search.

I am also facing a dilemma right now. I have 4 Brugs. I usually plant them like a 3 gallon pot in a BIGGER pot. The inner pot has holes cut out all around the sides for the roots to grow into the big pot.
This makes it easier to dig out the smaller pot from the big pot and keep it dormant in a basement for the Winter. Not to worry if you will sever some roots. If you save the whole pot, as is, you should root prune it every 2 years in the Spring.
Storing them dormant is easy. Anywhere will do, as long as it stays above freezing. Just stop watering it and it will be fine. Yeah! A cup of water every month or so helps to keep them from getting bone dry.

You can also take cuttings. They do not have to be long or big, but any size cutting will root. From 5" to 3 feet.....You can root them in water (change it often) or plant it directly in a clean, loose soil mix. . Use a rooting hormone for the latter.
Here's something to consider. Cuttings taken from above the "Y" will grow into shorter, bushier plants and bloom sooner. Cuttings taken from below the "Y"--(like a whole stem) will grow taller and bloom later.
It is up to you.

My cuttings last winter got Aphids on them in late Spring. Bummer! All the leaves fell off before I realized what the problem was. I sprayed and it helped.

At this point, I have a "Rosamond", a "ForeverMorr" (one of Brugie's crosses), a "Rose Souvelons" and a "Peach Parfait" (VERY similar to a "Maya"). It has variagated leaves and the blooms come out white and then turn to a cream and then to a peach color. One I lost, the most fragrant of all I have had, was a "Dr. Seuss". It's cuttings just did not root for me. I will miss that one! It was soooo fragrant.

OK! Enough about Brugs! I am not even sure I still enjoy having them. The whole thing has become a bit "Ho--Hum".......

Gita

Here's my Rosamond which also bloomed in September for the firs time. The blooms are huge and the plant is a robust grower.

Here is the same Brug with it's first blooms in 2005.
Nice close-up!

And here is my Dr. Seuss that I no longer have.
I would park my car, coming home in the evening from work, and the fragrance would just envelop me. SO awesome!

Beautiful Brugs Gitagal! I wish I could report that we've had luck with ours. A friend from a chat room sent us a cutting three years ago and although we've been successful keeping it alive, alas, have never had one bloom :( This was a tough year for it though - had plans to plant it in the gardens and although we got the pot close to the gardens, it never got planted. Thinking we would have had better luck with it if we'd just left it on the deck - kept forgetting about it - wind knocked it over a couple of times and with the drought and a few missed waterings, the poor plant didn't take kindly to the "abuse"! Not giving up though, will cut it back once more and bring it back inside and try again next year LOL

rcn48,

take some branch cuttings instead. As soon as they have rooted in water, pot them up in 5" or 6" pots until planting time. They grow so easily! Just watch for bug problems.
I am always amazed how fast they grow once you plant hem outside!
Just remember the "above" and "below" the "Y" thing.

YES! This year was VERY bad for Brugs, They just do not fare well in this kind of heat. This was across the Country.

Gita

Gita: Why did you lose your main Dr. Seuss plant (I have one too)? Was the problem overwintering, or something else? I have up 'till now treated brugs like house plants, but they take so much room that I'd far rather keep them in the dark garage.

Happy,

My Dr. Seuss in 2005 was so HUGE (like 10' high and across) that all I could do was take cuttings and hope to root them.. The original, hguge plant was dug up and discarded--sad, but I do not know anyone here that even knows what a brug is!
A couple of the cuttings made it and I planted it again in 2006. It grew big--as always. Came Fall, and I took cuttings again. gave the mama plant to a kid at my local Farmer's veggie stand. He was a Horticulture student in HS and very, very interested in plants. He came and got about 3 of my BIG Brugs so I would not have to throw them out.

Being in the family of these farmers, he had a Greenhouse and the plants all did very well. Every time I went to the Stand, I would ask him, :How are the Brugs doing?" and he would always say, "Fine". Then he said they still were in the greenhouse and I told him that all the rooted cuttings he took should be outside the whole Summer. I believe he followed my advice.

I KNOW he, probably, has a growing cutting of the Dr. The problem is, he no longer works at The Stand. Got a job in a huge Nursery as he needed a better paying job and insurance. I know I can send a message to him through the family members that still are at the stand and I KNOW he will give me a Dr. Seuss plant for the asking.

Anyway-getting long-winded here.....
To make a long story shorter, NONE of the Dr. cuttings made it through the winter for me. The started out OK, but then rotted out. Funny how different varieties root differently. So, I lost any chance of having it again. It is a most beautiful and fragrant Brug though.....:o(

Happy, if you have room in a dark garage to keep the whole plant--by all means do so. How tall did yours grow? Did you have it in an above ground pot or in a bed?

I really, really do not want to bother with Brugs again, but I cannot help it, as when they bloom, they are just too lovely to not have.

Here's one more shot of the blooms. In the hot weather, they really turn orangey. Can't you just smell them now?????

And here is the disgraceful end to it on trash day!
Good bye!

Last fall I only had one brug, and it was tall. I don't know where I read to do this, but I cut it down to 1' and stuck it in a window. It came back beautifully. I don't have a place to put them in windows this year -- our cats would eat them -- so I think I may put them in the garage and cut them back in the spring.

Gita, would you like a Dr. Seuss cutting?

If you examine the stems a bit, you will note that the flower blossoms only form above a "y" split in the stems. Does that help at all?

Put another way, a young brug usually just grows straight up like a single stick, without any branching. Then after a while (sometimes not in the first year even), one new branch appears, pointing at an upward angle. It is that branching that is referred to as the "y." Until that happens, the plant won't flower.

Since you describe your brug as a poor pathetic thing, it may be that it hasn't branched yet . . . .

rcn48,

Did the above clarify it for you? Thanks Happy and Wrightie.

At some point in time, the single stem growing upward simply splits in two stems and from that point on, each stem will split again and again.

You know how you can make the "victory sign" with your fingers? It makes it look like a "V". Well, in Brug land, that is called a "Y". As soon as the stem "Y"'s--start looking for bloom buds.

Cuttings taken from anywhere above the first "Y" split, will grow shorter/bushier and bloom sooner as they do not have to spend the time to "Y" --they already have!

Stem/trunk cuttings--or a cut off, robust sucker from the base will grow well also, but they will have to achieve enough upward growth before they will "Y" and only then they will bloom. Because of that, they will also be taller. SO! It IS your choice!

Please Google Brugmansia and I am sure it will lead you to many nice and informative "Groups" on this plant.
ALSO---Go to the Brug Forum and read the "sticky" posts at the top. Anything you need to know will be explained there--I am sure.

I looked through all my pictures trying to find one where the "Y" would be really visible, but there was none. I know I had some. I wonder WHERE they got saved?????

Information IS out there! Just go get it!!!!

Gita

I can't resist posting another picture. This one is a close-up of Bruggie's "ForeverMorr". This was a cross of the "Rosamond" and "Butterfly". Nice long tendrils!

And--How about just one more of Dr. Seuss?????

Thanks for the information, will try to get a picture this weekend and post. Rick is in NC for the weekend and I'm frantically trying to start and finish my arbor/steps project - a surprise early birthday present for him :) A friend who was supposed to help had to work so I'm tackling it all by myself! I think the guys at Lowe's yesterday thought I was nuts - had done my research and went in with a diagram of what I needed to complete the project. Requested that they cut the PT lumber for me - I'm not handy with a skill saw :( Very nice salesman told me they usually don't do that because the cuts aren't accurate - may be as much as 1/4" off?? Laughed and told him I would trust him - their "cuts" would definitely be much better than my own! Unloaded the lumber, got a quick start on it and then had to drive 2.5 hrs to a friend's funeral :( Can't wait for daylight so I can get started and hopefully not be interrupted by thunderstorms predicted today - don't get me wrong, we NEED rain, but why did it have to happen today? No fear, I have all day tomorrow and the weather is going to be beautiful :) Will start a new thread when the project is complete, that is unless the whole thing turns into a nightmare and I end up with a big mess LOL