Hi olympia_gardener! I'm going through the same thing here with the weather in my area & my potted Frosty Pink. Providing there's no underlying factors like mites, disease, nutrient deficiency, etc, it's most likely too hot for them. From what I understand, they will drop their leaves if the temps are too hot. My Brug is kept outside in the morning sun & then moved to filtered sun once the temps climb over 88 degrees. When the sun begins to set, it puts its little leaves up in the hallelujah pose as if it's overjoyed it's cool again LOL. This is my first yr as a Brug owner so I'm still learning the ins & outs of caring for these magnificent plants but I'm more than happy to pass on whatever I learn in the hopes of helping a fellow gardener :). Stay cool & hope your wkend is enjoyable!

Hi, MissMudpuppy, Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am new mom to Brugs too. Read as many as I can from this forum. TG, they are happy and growing well so far. No mites or any pests I know of. When I saw few leavs on the ground, I thought might be some kids picked them. but last night when I was watering them, one of the leave just fell off when I touch it. So I knew it fell off by themselve. Boy, it is so hot and humid here. Not just Brugs have problem, my other plants leaves start to turn yellow too.

Howdy Annie :-D (hope you don't mind me using your name)! Sorry for the late reply. Hope all is well with you (?). Was watching TWC & saw it's supposed to be in the 100's again for your area. Yikes! Will keep y'all in prayer. Read your page & am truly humbled by the extensive knowledge you've garnered in your gardening adventures. I'm like you, learning everything about caring for my Brugs from this forum; I can say Brugs now because my parent plant sprouted a baby & it's already a ft high within 3 months! Yay *happy dance*. So happy to hear yours are growing well & aren't experiencing any of the pest issues most of us are. My other plants are experiencing the same issue as yours: leaves turning yellow & dropping off. I know they don't have a virus, etc & they're getting proper nutes/water as nature dictates so I think they're just stressed out from this intense heat. My veggie garden hasn't been doing too well this yr either but I'm not gonna stress it. Have a great day! ~ Angharand

Don't forget,brugs are SUB-TROPICAL plants,not tropical. They are native to S.America,BUT,they grow in higher elevations,where it's much cooler than at sea level,remember the snow on top of Mt.Kona in Hawaii,and you can't get any more tropical than Hawaii. So,too much heat,and they will droop and lose leaves.That's why brugs in Florida and south Texas ect. really suffer from excessive heat and drop their buds in mid summer. Above 85* or so they will start to suffer,and most brugs bloom their best closer to autum when it starts to get cooler.

Hi, Angharand, Rudy, Thanks fo rsharing your Brugs. experiences with me. I regularly spread the plant with fish emulsion which will take care most of common pests problem. After I discover the leaf drop issue, I moved all my Brugs from 2gl size container to 5gl container to give them some leg room. They are in recovery mood now. I guess the time is not so good... it's been hot hot day everyday here. Hot temp. is not a good time to repot the plants, I forgot about this. I guess my Brugs are not very happy with me now. Oh, well, mama made mistake. I hope my Brugs will forgive me.I moved them under some shade to recover. From what I read here, Brugs are pretty tough plant, I think they will grow new root and recover soon. One of my Brug has "Y"ed so I can't wait to see any flower buds, hope soon.
BTW did you grow your Brug in ground or in a pot? I suspect my Brugs' drop leave has something to do with too wet soil which cause stress.

Mine has dropped most of its leaves, too, and it was getting up to 105 or so, much cooler now, thank goodness. Olympia, I've never had great luck with brugs in pots. They wilt pretty fast and seem to be stressed more. I had one in a 25 gallon tree pot once and it didn't really thrive until I put it in the ground. If you're in zone 5, you probably can't do that, though. Maybe a thick mulching will help.

eahamel , you are lucky that you are able to grow Brugs. in ground. I wish I could do too which will save my back from drag it in and out in fall and spring time. This is first time I grow Brugs. so I treat them like new baby. But once I have better feel of what they like/dislike, I might start to try something different. But in zone5, under 2 feet of forzen ground, I doubt thick mulch will help much.

Mulch in the pot, I think.
Many container folks seem to forget to use a mulch.

My potted (mulchless!) Brugs look terrible- the heat about did them in. Next year I am going to put them in the ground in the spring- digging and undigging can't be any more trouble than this watering three times a day thing.

Hello olympia, Rudy, & cearbhaill. Hope y'all are doing well.
olympia: My Brugs are in a pot for this year just to see what works & what doesn't in my climate before putting them in the ground. I have to worry about Nor'Easters in the winter, 65-plus mph winds, & a ft or more snowfalls. This yr back in March we had warmer than usual temps in the 60's & then suddenly there was a frost & it killed a lot of the plants. We get a lot of freezes then thaws then freezes again. Not good. I think next yr though I'm going to HAVE to plant my Brugs inground because their pot has become way too heavy for me to move without a hand cart. I use fish & seaweed on my Brugs & they seem to enjoy it. I have noticed after using it that the pests leave it alone (for awhile anyways). Do you have a favorite brand of seaweed emulsion? I've been using Neptune's Harvest. Have your Brugs recovered yet from repotting? Glad to hear yours "Y"ed! Looking forward to seeing pictures soon (if you can)!

Rudy: Thank you for the clarification about Brugs! That explains why mine is so "happy" when it's cooler out. It's putting 4 blooms out now & a mess of new leaves but I guess the real show will come in the fall. Really looking forward to that!

cearbhaill: How are you doing today? Thank you for the tip about using mulch in the pot! Mine's doing well right now with the exception of some leaf wilt when it gets over 85 degrees. You're in Eastern KY so I can imagine how HOT it's been for you & your plants :(. I hear ya about putting them in the ground though come spring - I'm watering mine almost every day & it drinks over a gal of water each time. Usually I collect rainwater for it but it hasn't rained here in over 2 wks.

Have a great day everyone!