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andrew_scott77

Newbie Brugs grower here.

Andrew Scott
13 years ago

I just started growing brugs this spring and am hoping that someone can give me some help. I had a friend from Vancouver send me cuttings of 'Frosty Pink, and an unk. yellow. They were about 8 inches long and I rooted them in a glass of water. Within a month, I had them planted in pots. I have now transplanted two of the three times and am thinking of planting all three of them into the ground. I realize it is late in the summer but I am not sure what else to do. I have been feeding them with a 9-3-6 fertilizer. At first, I was feeding them at every watering but I have slowed down and feed maybe once a week. Now as I said above, I am new to growing these beautfull tropical bushes but I did read that cuttings that were taken with a "Y", would bloom sooner. Is that true? @ of the three were taken with the "Y". I also read that Dave had said that he puts his into the ground. I was thinking that is what I would do. I am trying to change my front bed from an herb garden with a reblooming Iris border in the back to a Tropicalesque garden. This year I bought a musa 'basjoo' and I was planning on dividing it next year so I can plant 2 more clumps of them. I want to space them far enough apart where I can put my brugs in between the bananas and also I want to sink some of my potted plumerias.

Can someone here tell me what I am doing wrong? I am posting a picture so you can see my 3 brugs. The one in the back is the tallest. This one was a "Y" cutting and this is also the tallest brugs. The one on the left I need to knock out of the pot and seperate the two cuttings. I put 2 together so I could save my pots but the one cutting which also is a "Y" cutting only has grown two spindly branches. The other tall brugs was turning yellow but I suspect it was because it ran out of room for its massive root system. Man, I have never seen a tropical that has grown as fast as these brugs! It even beats out my hardy banana! The other brugs is yellowing. I want to actually sink this one into the ground. Dave also had said that you can plug the holes in the pot and make slits along the sides of the pot and then just plant the whole thing. Maybe this will help with them blooming? I would really like to get flowers this summer. Even if I only ended up with one or two on each brugs. I don't even know which is the yellow unk, and which is the 'Frosty Pink'.

I was also wondering if anyone her has a brugs called Peaches and Cream? Logees greenhouses used to sell it quite a few years ago, and sadly that don't carry it any longer. I bought it when it came out but at the time I didn't know too much about them and it died. If anyone has this brugs, I would really like a cutting. I could possibly do a trade, or I would be willing to pay for it. Actually if anyone has any cuttings they want to get rid of, I would really like a couple more. I want to add orange or another color to the mix to really make my tropicalesque garden nice and vivid. Thankis for any help. I really aprreciate it!

Andrew

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:531308}}

Comments (9)

  • roper2008
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Andrew, I'm am newbie to Brugs this summer too. I understood that the
    cutting had to be above the Y to bloom same year. Not that the cutting
    had to actually be a Y. Your plans sound really nice. Are you going
    to dig your tropical plants back up before it gets cold? I hope someone
    with experience will respond to your post.

  • diggy500
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello Andrew and Roper

    the brugs in the picture look fine..just be patient..
    And do not put them in the ground at this time...Next spring after they've had they're "sleep" and after the last frost,go ahead and plant them...but i find they bloom faster in pots..although i am just north of Montreal..
    I have about 30 in the ground and another 30 in pots..

    Also change the fertilizer you're using to one with a high middle number..but don't fertilize after mid august..
    give them time to ready themselves for the winter..

    Cheers and good luck..
    diggy

  • karyn1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi. You are confusing branching/forking with a Y. You'll know when a brug has formed a Y by looking at the foliage above the split. The base of the leaf will be uneven where it attaches to the petiole. Cuttings that are taken above a Y will usually bloom sooner then those taken from below because once a brug has Y'd subsequent Y's are faster to develop. I have a few brugs that are just beginning to form a Y. I'll post pics later today so you can see the difference. It's easier to see it then to try to describe it.

    I fertliize 1x/wk. In the beginning of the season I'll use a balanced fertilizer but switch to something with more phosphorus and potassium to promote blooms. The high nitrogen promotes vegetative growth. I also give my brugs micronutrients a couple times a month and discontinue feeding about 4 weeks before the end of the growing season.
    Your foliage looks healthy but they look a bit lanky. Are they getting enough sun? You want at least full am sun. Some brugs can take sun all day and others need protection from direct afternoon sun.

    I agree with the previous post that it's too late in the season to put them inground. Alow them to go dormant this winter and sink the pots next spring.

    P&C is one of the more common variegated brugs and shouldn't be too hard to find. You are best off looking for cuttings in the fall when most of us trim our plants back for winter storage.

    You'll probably get blooms this season. Just give it a bit more time. Some years it feels like I'm waiting forever for blooms.

  • karyn1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here's pics of a Y. The first are where it's just beginning. The last is an older Y with new Y's developing above.

    {{gwi:531318}}
    {{gwi:531319}}
    {{gwi:531321}}

    These are just where the plant has branched and have nothing to do with a Y. Eventually Y's will form on all the branches.

    {{gwi:531323}}
    {{gwi:531325}}

    Uneven foliage base above where a Y has formed compared to foliage below a Y.

    {{gwi:531327}}
    {{gwi:531328}}

    I hope this helps.

  • Andrew Scott
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Karyn,
    My tallest cutting does have the "Y" in your third picture. I have all my brugs in full sun. The morning sun is the stronget though. The smallest of the three is the most compact. I should have taken individual pictures of all of them so you could see them better.

    How do you know when to prune them? I wanted to prune all of them so they would have branched out better but I didn't know if they were going to bloom or not so I just let them grow. Now I know what fertilizers to use.

    I keep my tropicals outdoors until about the end of November, even my tropical fruits. Some years I have to bring them in earlier but it is normally anywhere between the second week of November to the end of November. last year we didn't even have a hard freeze until December but with most of my tropicals being in large tubs, I got tired of dragging them in and out. I live about 10 miles away from Lake Erie so I do have the advantage of living in a microclimate.
    I will keep reading posts here throughout the fall anmd winter to be more prepared for next spring. I didn't even know this forum existed!
    Thanks everyone!
    Andrew

  • karyn1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The only type of pruning you do to a brug is cutting it back to one main stem and removing all the lower foliage to make it look like a standard. They aren't pruned to make them look bushy. You do cut them back when you get them ready for dormancy. If yours has formed a Y and you have unequal leaf bases then you should have buds developing. Is the Y hidden by the upper foliage in your pic? I have some that are dropping buds almost as soon as they develop so the plants have Y'd several times but have yet to flower. It might well have to do with the unusually high temps we've been having. They bloom better when it starts to cool off.

    You are lucky to be able to keep your tender plants out that late. Mine usually have to be in the greenhouse by late Oct and we occasionally get an early frost. I'm terrible and often leave everything until the last minute when I hear that a frost is predicted then it's the mad rush to move everything. lol A brug isn't going to suffer if it gets hit with a frost. It will just kill the foliage and maybe the newer soft growth that gets trimmed off when you put them away anyway. They are actually hardy in zone 7b with a good mulch and come back from the roots. I'm in 7a and they won't survive here, even in a protected area with a heavy mulching.

  • mnwsgal
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks, Karyn, for posting the photos of ys. I have several of them on my in ground plants so expect to see buds forming soon.

  • Andrew Scott
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am happy to say that one of my brugs is going to bloom. I noticed yesterday that I had a bud forming on one of the 3 plants. I think our summer here wasso hot that it may have effected them blooming.
    Andrew

  • gottahosta
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Andrew, congrats on your new bud! That is so exciting. And wait til you smell them at night!

    ~Brenda

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