First frost will probably kill the upper part of the plant. You will probably be able to save the roots, but next year will have to wait until it forms its "Y"'s.

Take it in BEFORE it freezes. When trimming back, trim above the "Y", wash it well ( for bugs, eggs etc), and bring it in. You can either let it go dormant in a cool spot (it will decide on its own), or continue to let it grow in a bright spot.

If you have room inside, you can wash it off, and bring it inside to a sunny spot, and it may even continue to bloom inside. That's a big MAY. They are not fussy about being moved, but get over it after "sulking" for a little while.

I'm just west of you, and I have brought in several of mine already. Some I have moved to the front of the garage, and when it is cold, I'll bring them inside for the night, and back out for the day. Like you, I like to see the blooms.

Hi John:

Thanks so much for your advice. I will start bringing my brugs in. I have 5 brugs in pots and two planted in the ground. At least a couple of the potted ones still have a lot of buds. I plan to bring those inside and continue to grown them in the house. Would you please tell me what is the best way to "wash them off" so that I am not bringing in any bugs or bug eggs? I have to confess that my plants have suffered a lot from earwigs, slugs, etc. this summer. Thank you again for sharing your experience!

Euphemia

I am bringing mine in slowly here just west of you near Hamitlon too. I still want to see some buds open for the first time so I have my fingers crossed. Mine are all in the ground but I cut them way back and pot them up so it wont hurt if they get touched by frost a little as I cut that part off anyway.

I will hang on until the last moment, I cover the upper part of the plant with a plastic sheet at night.

washing, I think is essential, if you wish to bring your brugs indoors. I use 1 tbl of dish detergent, 1 cup rubbing alcohol, 1-2 gallons of water. This I spray on the entire plant, especially the underside of the leaves. Then I take the hose and blast it off. Many folks recommend setting the entire potted plant in a larger tub of water for 10-20 minutes to kill any bugs in the soil. Then bring it out, and drain it well. When drained, take it indoors and don't water again until the leaves indicate it is thirsty. Don't worry if you blast a few leaves off with the hose, as they will drop anyway because of the changing light situation. It will grow an entire new set of leaves suitable for the light situation you give it. I might even go dormant....moody critters.....like someone I know well...
LOL

samfawzy10.....
You may be more successful if you cover your plant tops with a light bedsheet as plastic has no insulating properties to it and you may loose foliage/buds to the cold temps despite using it.

I hear rumours of it freezing tonight here in our area. Next Friday looks VERY cold. I'll bring mine in this afternoon to the garage.

John, you prompted me to look at my 15 day forcast.... Yikes! I better get my digging foot in gear after work and on my days off before Sat. next week!

Nothing below 40 degrees for a series of a week is my cut off temp. You want to keep them healthy so that no virus or other issues pop up. RA, we attempt to have them all in the brug house here by the end of the month! Matter of fact the house frame is up and we will cover with plastic this week. We have the new spring hybrids started from seeds ready to go in and we have 1/4th of the moms dug up already. Ya need help?

Thank you for all the advice. I hope the temperature will stay above zero at least until the weekend when I can really work in the garden for a bit longer. Now that the days are getting really short, there can only be very little accomplised each day, after work.

John, if I take the hose to the brugs, I suppose the blast will take out the flower buds too? One of my potted brugs has at least 20 buds on it and I'd like to keep them all!

Euphemia,

Some may come off with the hose, but not necessarily all. I have found that the buds stay on fairly securly in a healthy plant. In my case, I want the big guys to go dormant, so I am cutting the buds off to save the plant's energy. LOL

Yikes!! The forecast says it will drop down to 3 degree C overnight and the low for the next few days hovers around 3 - 4 degrees. Can my brugs hold out until the weekend when I can either cut them back or wash them out to bring into the house? Jroot, Ruth Ann? I won't be home tonight until after 9 p.m. and I have to work late tomorrow night. What should I do? Will my brugs frozen to death in such low temperatures?

We are forecast for 1 degree tonight, and lower for the next two. You can bet I have been bringing mine in today.

Will your brugs survive in such low temperatures? Probably not. Depending on the size you might be able to cover them with an old flannel sheet ( not plastic ) and remove it tomorrow. You may be able to drag it up to the garage.

Frankly, I would cut my losses, and dig it up, and haul it into the garage until you have time to trim and pot it.

If it does freeze, it may only lose the upper storey, but that was what you were trying to save. Hmmmm welcome to Canada.

My cold cellar is getting full, and don't even have my fig tree in yet. LOL

{{gwi:566144}}

{{gwi:566146}}

Jroot, I have a Brugmansia Peaches & Cream from you. You gave it to me at the spring swap. It didn't flower, but it grew up beautiful. A week ago I dug it up, placed in a pot with fresh soil and brought to my office where I have a nice spot for it by the window. It is not a sunny window because it has a northern exposure, but after losing some leafs, the Brug seems to be doing fine. I do not have a cool space in my house so I do not think I cam force the plant to go dormant. Is it going to lose energy and get weak if I keep it going through the winter?
You also insist very much on cleaning and washing it before bringing it indoors. I didn't and there doesn't seem to be anything bad on it. I don't have much experience with Brugs (this is the first one), but I take most of my house plants out at the beginning of the summer and bring them in fall and never found anything that scary to justify extensive washing, hosing or the setting the entire potted plant in water. What exactly are you afraid of?
Lana

Hi Lana
What you have done is absolutely correct for the P&C. P&C, unlike many brugs, does not like to go dormant, but does like a rest in a moderately warm spot. LOL .... like me. I keep my P&C in a north west window as well. It does not grow much there, and that is good. Last year, it flowered for me a couple of times as well, and that was a bonus. Mind you this year, it did not bloom as prolifically as usual, just this last month. Maybe the flowering took up too much energy last year. I have transplanted it with new soil, and it sits in my dining room, as we "speak".

What am I afraid of? SPIDER MITES ... that's what. Mind you, they did not touch my P&C maybe because the leaves are a little fuzzy, and the suckers might not be able to get through. Last year, I had an infection of these on my brugs, although mainly on the flat surface leafed ones. Sometimes precaution is a good thing. Sometimes it is wasted time, but one never knows until one has an infection.

It was good to "chat" with you. Best of luck with your brug. It should bloom next year.

I prevailed on Peatpod today and we dug up a lot of the Brugs which now sit under the big Maple Tree near the GH so should be safe from frost for the next few nights until they dry out sufficiently to not grow mold on the surface of the soil when they go in the GH this w/e. We will finish the deed Friday.

Peatpod.....

I have had mine in the unheated greenhouse for the past few weeks,hoping that all the 6 inch buds would open.This morning after a real heavy frost I notice that 1 brug,some of the buds seemed like they had been frozen a bit.I will have to put these in the basement now as I have no other place to put them where there is enough light.My question.They are in buckets and seem really root bound.Should I cut back the roots now and repot or wait till spring?Does it matter if they are rootbound when dormant?

Hi my brug friends:

I just wanted to tell you what I did for my brugs last night.

As I said, I was going to be home late last night, so I appealed to my husband to help move the potted brugs inside the house to shelter them until the weekend, when I can move them out again to either cut or wash (my husband is not keen about gardening so I usually do not bother him with my gardening labours). I told him I would think of something for the two planted in the ground and the one in the half-barrow when I was home. He came up with the idea that we made room for the potted brugs inside the garage by leaving one of our cars out. This he did and I was very grateful (at the time). When I was home around 9:30 p.m. I searched the house for something that I can use to cover the other brugs for the night. I could only come up with one table padding, some thin old window curtains and 3 discarded shower curtains and liners which I kept in case I needed some drape cloth. So I wrapped those three brugs the best I can, one first with the table padding, and the other two with the thin curtains and then again draped the shower curtain and liners over each. I didn't realize that my brugs have grown so big until last night. I was only able to cover the leafy parts of the plants and their legs were exposed. The fortunate thing was: they survived the night in such garments! The unfortunate thing was that my husband left my car out for the night and the windows all frosted over, so I have to spend a lot of time scraping this morning. Tonight it is forecast to go down to 1 degree C. Let's hope the flimsy coverings I got for my brugs will hold out for another night!

About washing the brugs before bringing them in, I can understand John's concerns. I got my first brug cuttings from Cherylpickering at the last fall swap. She told me not to try to grow them inside the house during winter because they were very vulnerable to spider mites. I was not even trying to grow them last winter, as I was just trying to root them, but they still got infected with spider mites, and also with white flies that I did not know wherefrom. Throughout the cold winter, whenever there was a warmer day, I had to take them outside the house to spray them with pesticides. Luckily once they were planted outside in the summer, the problem with spider mites and white flies seemed to have improved a lot, except that my brugs were then bothered by slugs and earwigs!

Your friend Cheryl is right in that brugs are indeed vulnerable to spider mites. However, the variegated brugs do not appear to take kindly to forcing them to go dormant. I have to bring mine indoors for the winter or they die. I have not had a problem with white fly or spider mites on them as their leaves tend to be fuzzier, and the mites seem to leave them alone. I also have a 7 foot cutting with several lovely "Y"'s at the top that I could not get into my cold cellar or grow room, so it is in a corner of my dining room. I want to try to force it to grow taller yet, so it is in a spot where there is a window in the loft much higher than its top. We'll see what happens. So far, I have not noted any flies on it, but I did spray with soap/alcohol/water and then hose off with a good spray on all sides, and under the leaves.

Hi All ... I was just reading the brug FAQ's and am a bit confused as to how a dozen plants were stored in a 5-gal bucket over the winter. Were the plants just pulled out of their pots and stored with whatever soil stuck to the roots or what? I'm not sure if they need any soil added to cover the roots, if they need to be watered over the winter or what. This is my first year growing brugs. I've brought one pot indoors but don't have room for the others unless I use the 'five gal bucket method'. Thanks for help.
Boo

"Last fall, I did a little experiment and put a dozen large trunks (6 feet+ tall, up to wrist-size in diameter)in a five-gallon bucket and stored them over winter in a cool, dark spare room. Eleven of them grew a ton of roots and started sprouting new leaves in March. When I moved them into the ground, they started flowering within a couple of weeks!"

Booboo, when that says 'trunks' it refers to cutting the trunk off the rootball so no soil is in the 5 gallon pail at all, just the trunks/stems/stalks of the plant. These unrooted stalks/stems/trunks grow roots in the water over the winter and then you plant them out come spring.

You can see good pictures of tunks in a bucket on the post in this forum tittled " My bucket of brugs" :)

Oooh, well I have probably messed mine up good. The FAQ doesn't say the bucket has water in it ;-) I read the "My bucket of brugs" last evening but knew I wouldn't be doing the 'bubbly thing'. Then I read this in the Overwintering" thread
"If you have a basement, just cut them back, put the root ball in a plastic bag and set them in your basement. Water only every couple of months and they will go dormant."

So I thought I'd try the 'putting the root ball in a plastic bag' thing. Except my root balls were so large, I knocked all the dirt off and rinsed the roots. So I can't just keep several bare roots trunks in a bucket of water? I need to cut them off just above the roots? ... is that right? How often is it necessary to change the water?

Thanks for setting me straight .. I sure misread the FAQ.

Boo

If it were me, I would quickly plant those (now) bare roots in pots, water once well, allow them to drain then put them in your basement pot and all. Then, water with about 1/2 cup of water SLOWLY, once a month.

Or

Do as I said above but go ahead and cut the stalks off 6" to 10" above the soil line and try the 'bucket'( with water) method with them.

What you did would work for any plant roots that had bulbs/corms/tubers for roots that would store the plant's energy until planted once again but Brugmansia has no way to store their energy in fibrous root systems.

Personally, I have never tried simply bagging my root systems, I always prune them back to the size of the pot I am using pot it up, cut the stalks back to 6-10 inches above the soil ( I discard the tops) and send the roots into dormancy

I took these yesterday, just before I dug them up. The first plant started the season as a 10" stump ( I marked in red where it started from in June when I planted it out) and the second one was 11 feet tall when I measured it the first week in Sept.[my reach is six feet, 8 inches BTW]
(NO, not all mine grow this tall but the majority of the 50 I grow, when cut back this way come up to at least 6', usually with one or 2 straight stalks and tree shaped.

{{gwi:566148}}{{gwi:566150}}

{{gwi:566152}}{{gwi:566153}}

and this is what they lloked like in the GH last fall.....
{{gwi:439752}}

Wow Ruth Ann! ... thank you so much for all the pictures and detailed information - very helpful! I'm amazed at how tall your plants reach. Do you always plant them in the ground in spring? I had five in pots and one in ground which I'm going to dig today and trim and pot like you suggested. The ones I store in my basement will have virtually no light ... I hope that doesn't matter.

I only got blooms on one of mine but it had lots and lots of buds still at the end of the season. Another had several buds but didn't have time to open. Maybe next year I'll do better.

When I cut mine back 6 to 10", I'll be removing some Y's. Maybe they'd be ok to set in a bucket of water in the basement to root?

Thanks again,
Boo

Boo, our power rates have become much higher this year so I have insulated (side, roof and floor) of the GH for the winter to reduce the amount of heat I need to supply and no light will be getting in there at all either. Yes, the plants will remain dormant in both my GH and your basement as long as you water minimally as I suggested and you basement is no warmer than 60F. When I first started growing Brugs I too used the basement to hold mine over and used to drape covers over them to keep the light from the windows off them as it encouraged them to try sprouting and I didn't want that. As it is, I pick all growth off the dormant ones until mid march, then I let the light into the GH and start them on their way.
Yes, I plant all my Brugs in the ground here in Zone 5 and lift them every fall.

almost done insulating......
{{gwi:566154}}

Rather than start a new thread, can someone tell me if I'm on the right track here? First time Brug owner, and I'd like to do the right thing for winter.

Sometime in the next week I should bring my brug into the garage. Am I correct that I don't remove leaves or buds, just let them go naturally? Once I bring it in, I water once a month, just a little? I'm thinking I don't have to do any pruning... am I wrong about that? Am I missing anything about this process? Thanks.

What a nice greenhouse you have! I have a very tiny one in the end of our barn but no heat whatsoever and our temps can get zero (or below) for several nights in a row. And unfortunately our basement is heated and is generally around 68 (no more) deg. so maybe the basement isn't going to work for me - I have no other choice that comes to mind for overwintering these. I have successfully kept begonias dormant in the basement tho.

Boo

I worked hard last Saturday in the rain, and I managed to dug up/cut back all my brugs. I now have various questions and I thank my brug friends in advance for any feed back.

1. With regard to pots that have been washed as suggested by John and moved into the house:

I washed two pots that are relatively manageable and moved them inside the house. They are now placed near a south-facing window. I am hoping that the buds will bloom inside the house for me.

Question: Do I water them and fertize as usual, as if they are growing outside? Once they have finished blooming (hopefully), can I continue to grow them inside without allowing them a resting or domant period? In other words, can brugs be grown the whole year round? The next question is really for Jroot: In the event that they are subsequently infected with spider mites, can I use the same mixture (dish detergent, alcohol and water) to spray my brugs and get rid of the spider mites? The reason I ask is because these seem to be less toxic ingredients that can be used inside the house.

2. With regard to brugs that I have dug up from the ground:

I have dug up two brugs that are planted in the ground. I stripped all the leaves and buds. I cut off all the side trunks and I left the straightest trunk attached to the rootball. I washed away some of the soil around the root ball and I stuffed them into buckets (but these buckets are not big, definitely not 5 gal). I then put more soil back on top of the rootball to just cover it up. I put them in a spare room in the basement. My basement is heated so it will not be very cold in there, but it will be dark if I keep the lights out. I did not trim the trunks down (about 4 ft. tall) because I want them to grow tall and tree-like next year. Did I do anything wrong here? Ruth Ann suggested watering them slowing with half a cup of water every month. Is that all they need? What can I expect to see of these stripped trunks with root balls in the soil in buckets? Will they dry up and look almost dead? Sorry to be asking silly questions, but I'd like to know what to expect so that I don't worry unduly.

3. Cuttings resulted from the cut back and dig up:

I now have a number of cuttings. Again I have stripped all their leaves and buds and kept them tall. These are now standing in 4 inches of water in buckets to root. Do cuttings need light in order to root? If they can root without light, I will move them into the bathroom in the basement which is not generally used and is dark all the time.

I have read about keeping the brug cuttings in a bucket to save space which I would like to try but I am not very confident that I can do it right. Can rooted brug cuttings stay in water until they can be planted outside next year? If it is not good to leave rooted cuttings in water for such a long period of time, I assume I should pot them in soil once I notice there are sufficient root growth. Do I then put these potted brug cuttings into dormant or should I continue to grow them? Early this year I allowed my rooted cuttings to grow until I planted them outside either in pots or in the ground because I just have a few and they were very small. Now I have all these one-year brugs plus all the new cuttings and I believe they'll require different treatment.

Many thanks again for educating me!

Question # 1: Do I water them and fertize as usual, as if they are growing outside?

No, I water regularly, but I do not fertilize. I believe they need a rest period, and they may actually go dormant for you. That is an ideal, ( once they have bloomed for you this fall)

Question # 1 (B) Once they have finished blooming (hopefully), can I continue to grow them inside without allowing them a resting or domant period? In other words, can brugs be grown the whole year round?

From all my reading, and experience, I believe they need a rest period. Even the variegated brugs, that don't like to go dormant, need a rest period, and I cut off the bloom buds during the winter. Blooming takes a lot of energy. I think you would prefer that they bloom outdoors in the summer for you ( at least I do).

Question # 1 (C) The next question is really for Jroot: In the event that they are subsequently infected with spider mites, can I use the same mixture (dish detergent, alcohol and water) to spray my brugs and get rid of the spider mites? The reason I ask is because these seem to be less toxic ingredients that can be used inside the house.

Yes, you can use this indoors in the winter. That is one I use regularly indoors.

Question # 2. I cut off all the side trunks and I left the straightest trunk attached to the rootball. I washed away some of the soil around the root ball and I stuffed them into buckets (but these buckets are not big, definitely not 5 gal). I then put more soil back on top of the rootball to just cover it up. I put them in a spare room in the basement. My basement is heated so it will not be very cold in there, but it will be dark if I keep the lights out. I did not trim the trunks down (about 4 ft. tall) because I want them to grow tall and tree-like next year. Did I do anything wrong here?

No, I don't think you did anything wrong, as long as they are potted up well with no air pockets. Based on your description, I am not sure however. I cut mine the way you did with leaving the straightest for a potential trunk next year. If the roots did not fit, you could have pruned the roots a little. I did, and they seemed okay with that. I usually give them a thorough watering after transplanting, and then I let them go almost dry. The amount of watering depends upon the type of soil mix you have, particularly if it is not cool. You may need to give them more water so they don't dry up, but just enough to keep them moist, NOT WET. The issue of the heat may be another problem for you though, as they may want to grow with the heat, and may start to develop white spindley leaves. If thay happens, you may need to provide a light source. Then again, they may go dormant. I had two exactly the same type, the same age, the same height, the same healthy side by side one year. One grew huge beautiful healthy leaves, the other went dormant. It is like they have their own intelligence and make up their own mind. LOL

Question # 2 (B) Will they dry up and look almost dead?

Yes, IF they go dormant, they will look a little dry, but now shrunken. If they get soft and mushy, there is a problem. If they get really brittle, they are definitley too dry. You have to learn from experience given your particular setting for the winter.

Question # 3 Do cuttings need light in order to root?

Yes, the cuttings are the beginning stages for new plants. They do not have a root system developed in order to store food. They need bright light, although not direct light until the roots are established, but then they need as much directly sun light as you can afford. I don't have much direct light here, so I use florescent lamps in the basement for the cuttings. They seem to like it.

Question # 3 (B) Can rooted brug cuttings stay in water until they can be planted outside next year?

Apparently yes, although I have never done it. I personally believe the plant will be happier in soil than water. You are correct that if it is not good to leave rooted cuttings in water for such a long period of time, I assume I should pot them in soil once I notice there are sufficient root growth. I find that the water grown roots are not the same as soil grown roots. Give me the soil grown roots anytime. That being said, This winter, I may experiment with the water treatment for a few "extra" cuttings that I have lying around.

Question # 3 (C) Do I then put these potted brug cuttings into dormancy or should I continue to grow them?

Personally, I would not let them go dormant. Without the root development, they will surely die. They are different from figs ( which I also have).

Have fun learning. Don't be afraid to make a mistake. Experiment. Try some one way, some another way. That way you will learn first hand, - and that is the best learning possible. Consider your cuttings a free opportunity to experiment. Use caution with some, and try to push the envelope with others. That's what I do anyway.

Wow Jroot.....thanks so much for all that!! I have been reading here.....I apreciate all the posts and helpers! I too, am learning!

Hi All,
I really appreciate all the 'teachers' sharing information. And now for a dumb question.... the ones I cut down to about 10" and trimmed roots and put in pots to store in the basement overwinter - how do I know when/if they have gone dormant?

TIA,
Boo in IN

Boo, you will know when they no longer try to send up sprouts/ new shoots. ( at least that's how I tell)

Will 2 nights in the 40's kill them? I have two and it was in the 40's last night and now they say it'll be the same tonight (yesterday they said 50). So since it should warm back up fairly soon (50's and 60's at night) they should be ok, right?

Roxy I don't think 40's will hurt them . I have had a "cold" front here in Z 9 S LA for the last few days. It hit 40 last night and nothing happened to mine, even the cuttings look fine.
~SJN

Thanks Sultry_Jasmine_Night, I thought so. But all this talk about bringing them in had me paranoid. I forget that we don't really have much of a winter down here.

:)

Hi roxy,
You will probably need to bring them in or stick them in on a covered patio (if they are in pots) or mulch them in the ground when temperatures hit in the 30's. Here it is usually in December or January. Last year I just put my pots on a covered patio and they were fine. I have cactus in pots and they do ok on covered patio as well. You could even string some small christmas lights around the brugs as well to add a little more warmth I use this technique on my key limes and other tropicals which are really frost sensitive.
~SJN

SJN, good suggestions. I was planning on doing the Christmas light technique if I didn't bring them in. But I have a well lit entryway to put them if I do bring them in. So I will wait until we get to the 30's and then make that call.

Thanks!

>>* Posted by: Ruth_Ann Z5 Ont.Can.

>>Boo, you will know when they no longer try to send up >>sprouts/ new shoots. ( at least that's how I tell)

Thanks, and if I do get any sprouts, I should remove them?

Boo

Boo, I remove them them all until mid march here in Zone 5.

Hi I have been checking this forum out as I was looking up info for Epsom salts. Great forum, BUT what are Brugs? Never heard of them. Thanks in advance.

Mapas1:

Brugs are the short form for Brugmansia, otherwise known as Angel's Trumpets.

This forum is all about brugs. They have beautiful trumpet like flowers and are fragrant. Surely you must have seen the picture of one when you came on the forum?

Euphemia

Hello, It's almost time to bring in the brugs although it looks like our Indian summer is going to happen this first week in Oct.
But I have a couple of unresolved issues with lil' John, my Frosty Pink Brug named after it's donator. If your out there, you might want to send a couple of life saver advisories before we lose him! Mind you I would appreciate anybody who has the know how to advise as I would like to know ASAP what to do.

Lil John has the smell of mold in his dirt and I've flushed it with peroxide 1/10 with water. Maybe I should use a stronger concentrate. Can mold live under the dirt? I know fungus' can but can mold?
It sits in a 3 gallon water bottle with 4 big holes cut around it's bottom rim. Big rocks are used to block the dirt from falling out of it. I planned to wrap it with a nice green marble sticky paper I've bought but so far the roots don't look burned from the sun. It dries out faster on one side though. It's lost all of it's leaves in 2 waves. I suspect due to temperature and environmental changes as each time they dropped when I brought them indoors for a couple of nights at a time. Kept it indoors for over 48 hours the first time.

Anyway....the second unknown problem is that the little Y that formed is soft and browned which means it'll have to be cut off, but I expect the problem will continue to move down the stalk if I don't pin point it's problem. It's growing babies off the very bottom out of the soil which I suppose I'll have to destroy as well but just to let you know the health of the plant at this point on the plant.

Is the smell of the mold responsible for this or is the lack of sun and it's outdoor environment OR because I flushed it with peroxide/water and it didn't have nearly the sun it should have for that much water. I did it just before our temps dropped. Maybe root rot developing? PS. The moldy smell was there before the great flush of water was put to it. I truly think the mold was somehow caused by the miracle grow.

PS. I did catch that I should bring it in when it's almost all dry and to water monthly with a cup of water slowly around it's stem.

1)How to get rid of mold?

2) Y's my first baby brug turning brown on it's first Y ?
The lil Y was fine after the flushing and eventual balanced moistness. Water meter on hand.
Thanks for responding in advance and hope bringing this link up to the top will help some newbies find those tips they needed regarding how to prepare the brug for overwintering. -Sandy PS. Sorry if I've repeated myself, I'm a little tired right now. 4am here.

Hi, I am in East Tennessee (close to GA line). This is my first year growing Brugs as well. I have a few ?'s that I could not find (pertaining to my zone, if that matters with Brugs).
First, I have a Brug that was putting off little leaves, than going wimpy...( morning sun than shade) I moved it to a pot in full sun. I clipped off the top as it was mushy. Seen green but it hasn't done anything since than. There is no Y either...is it dead or did it go dormant? LOL What can I do to save it. (it's been like this for a few week's).
Second, why can you not leave the rootballs in the ground covered up? Will they not grow next year? I mean, as beautiful as they are, it's seems like a lot of work to bring them in every year (esp if you have 50 like someone said they did) LOL I just have 3 (which only one bloomed).
Third, One Brug has what you call a Y at the base of the plant. Do I cut it way down there? Can you take a cutting and cut it again to root? (cut on both ends)
Fourth, Can cuttings stay in a greenhouse that is not heated but has light? or in a shed that is not heated with no light? I have a basement but it does get occasional light (pool table and laundry room) at about 68 degrees.

TIA,
Sondra

This works to protect from frost. LOL

{{gwi:566155}}