Need help with potted Isabella

12 years ago

I moved into an apartment, and was only able to bring one brug...my Isabella. I have it in a 10-gallon clay pot on my patio. It was not in good shape when I got it here, after being in a 3-gallon pot for so long before I moved. I had to cut it way back to get it to live. I planted it really deep and gave it time to make some roots, and now it's coming out...finally! I have timed release bloom fertilizer on it, and I just gave it the first shot of Miracle Gro. I've never grown brugs in pots, so I need to know how often to fertilize it, and at what strength.

Also, the pot is WAY too heavy to bring indoors in the winter, so what do I do to protect it? I know it will probably die back here, so do I cut it back and mulch heavily in the fall? Will the roots be o.k. in the pot, or should I try to dig it up and bring it inside? When I grew brugs in 7B, I cut them back, put a ring of chicken wire around them and stuffed it with pine straw, but that was brugs in the ground. I don't really know how to insulate the pot.

I appreciate your help. I had to leave so many plants behind, I'm really trying hard to hang onto my last brug. I did get one cutting to root, so as soon as it's a little more established, I'll be trading for something else..probably would like a shredded white or Charles Grimaldi, but that won't be for awhile. I just put it into soil, and would rather wait until it has better roots.

Comments (4)

crocuscottage
12 years ago
All my brugs are in pots due to the winters here.
For feeding, I use several things, depending on what I can get.
I have found a mixture of Holly Tone & Milorganite to work very well, using two or three handsfuls every couple weeks. The Milorganite supplies iron, which helps to give the brugs a nice rich green color. The Holly Tone is acidic and helps to maintain the ph of the soil below 6.0, if the ph gets above this area, you can get iron deficiency (yellowing).
My preferred feed is Miracle Grow 20-20-20 (what I call Triple 20). I feed at the label rate for OUTDOORS every 7 days, as I am watering two and sometimes three times a day.
I will also give a handsful or two of Milorginite along with the Triple 20, again for the iron, once a month.
I would try and get your baby inside for the winter, perhaps someone can lend you a dolly to move it?
pagrdnr
12 years ago
It would also be a good idea to get it into a plastic or fiberglass pot, because once it fills that terra cotta pot with roots, it is going to be difficult to keep it watered.
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dirtygardener73
Original Author
12 years ago
Wow, that's a lot of watering and feeding! I never really fed mine that much, but I guess using organic fertilizer, you would have to. I just got a large 10-gallon plastic pot from a friend who moved, so I will definitely be transplanting it. The terra cotta pot is nice, but I can definitely not handle moving it. The terracotta pots will have to be brought inside, though, or they will freeze and crack, so I'll just empty them and plop the plastic pots down inside them for the winter. I'm sure I can find someone to help me bring it in.

Another person suggested a slow-release fertilizer plus once a week with 20-20-20. I don't want to overfertilize it, because it still isn't thriving, although it's growing well. I'm trying to make it healthier. I don't have to water it much, since this is the rainy season in Florida, and it rains every day.

It's in very deep shade right now, and I'm not even trying to get it to bloom. I just want it to get healthy enough to survive the winter.
sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
12 years ago
Clay pots have to be watered more because the clay will soak up water unless the pot is coated inside.

Could you put it in a foam pot (one of those look alike stone pots)? It would be easier. You can root prune your brugmansia to fit in what ever pot you wish. I would probably stay with at least a 3-5 gallon during the growing season if you want it to bloom well.
I am in NE FL and mine are iffy if left out in pots in the winter. In the ground, they die back and re-emerge in the spring just fine.
For winter, you could root prune back to a 2 gallon and then keep it inside actively growing near a window or cut the foilage off and keep it in a cool darkened room.
If you cut back and keep it in a darkened room, then you should water very little to avoid root rot.
If you have no cool dark room without heat I would probably keep it in a sunny window and water it to keep it actively growing instead.