In preparation for our wintertime coming we've been putting pots of soil around our planted brugs, intending before frost hits to go underneath those pots and cut the plant down, leaving 6-8 or thereabouts inches of the plant left in the ground. Will then lay down heavy mulch and cover that bit left stickin' out of the ground with a pot overtop and anchor that pot to the ground. I'm going to wrap a towel around some of my 'special named' ones before putting the pot over top(even if this won't help one whit, it will make me feel like I'm a better mama if I give them a blankie before their long slumber.) ha Last year we had 5 planted brugs and we did this[well, minus the towel][also minus the potting thing] with them and only 1 did not come back and I've since read that the Versicolors are the least likely to make it through winter while still grounded{in certain zones}, and the one of ours that didn't make it was a versicolor.
This year, we have quite a few more grounded brugs than last year... so we're hoping that the protection we'll provide along with sheer luck will be enough that we'll have a good 'come back' rate with ours when warm weather heads back this way again.
Oh, about our putting the pots of soil around our brugs now-- in a few weeks there'll be roots in those pots, so by the time we have to cut the plants down for winter... not only will this leave a plant in the ground with nice strong roots, there will be the same named brug all potted up and well-rooted, and put in a safe place for the winter, too. (just in case our care OR our luck ain't that good) haha
Going to take cuttings offa some of those(for sharing - will post a "I have available" list soon), and will keep a few for more "just in case" security ha... will also leave some plants intact--- just to see if we can keep a few living during winter and maybe even get a bloom or two.
Must say that this is our first time doing the pot around the plant thing... THINK I read this somewhere a while back and thought it to be a great idea but have forgotten where I saw it, and have been unable to find it again... Brenda --- for some reason I'm thinking it was a post you made somewhere telling folks about this method?? Was it?? Or do any of you recall seeing anyone mentioning doing this before?? Would love to know how this idea got into my ol' noggin'. hahaha
I recall seeing (I think it was) Ms Batt post about using this method to grow new root systems above ground but then she cut them off at the original soil line and brought them in if I recall correctly.
Debra... a friend of mine who lives in Carolina near you cuts his Brugs to the ground and then places a garbage bag of leaves over the stump area and has really good success with his. We tried it here one year but we have such a fluctuation in winter temps that the Brugs would start growing back under the warm bags and then the next freeze would kill them again. I think it was too much for them with growing and freezing every other week.
The rooting above ground with the pots was not my idea but I did post it on a couple of sites. I don't know who to give the credit to. I may have even got the idea here and then posted it else where. I suffer from that CRS stuff...LOL I had full intentions of doing that this year but instead we just started early digging them up for the greenhouse. We are almost through except for a very few. Next year only a few of my pets are going into the ground. We have decided to grow most of them in large containers in the shade houses. This past year we spent too much time trying to weed, mulch and use round up. It is gettting to be too much. I think for as many as we grow, container growing is going to be much easier.
Debra, my CG lives in a large pot & has 2 trunks. About 3 weeks ago I cut a notch near the base of the shorter trunk and placed a 1-gal. pot around it, filled with potting soil. When I move the big pot to the garage for the winter (around the 1rst of Nov.), I'll sever the layered trunk and hope there are sufficient roots in the smaller pot to keep it going until spring. Either way, I want my main plant to have just 1 trunk. My thanks to Ms. Batt for this idea.
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
Ruth Ann - It was Ms. Batt's idea? Well, is a neat one which will work out well for us here I'm hoping.
The people we purchased our first 3 brugs from last summer told us for winter to leave a piece of the plant sticking up from ground and mulch and cover with a pot... I didn't(don't) see purpose of leaving a few inches like that, but hey figured there's a reason or they 'thought' there was a reason-- and it did work out nicely for us, so almost afraid not to do it that way again this year. ha
Brenda - Bag of leaves, huh? May do a couple of ours like that just to see how it goes. Yes, I can imagine what a pain it is for those who dig up all their brugs every year. Containers are the way to go if one has a large number to have to uproot and pot up every time cold weather's 'bout to hit. We have a lot planted, too.. and while we intend to dig up some... most of ours we're going to leave in the ground. Figuring that with the orginal roots in ground protected, and the 'plant with roots' in pot we'll have in safeplace for winter, and the cuttings we'll take -- surely we'll wind up with at least still having ONE of every name that we have now when warm season comes 'round.
Patrick - Ahh, you saw the idea was from Ms. Batt, too? Well then here's a 'thank you' to her even if she never sees it. But now that I have seen that name I'll go look again and try to find the messages where I read about the above ground rooting thing with the pots.
But hey... I was at least "right" in my recollection that it was something I saw Brenda say somewhere, so at least one of my brain cells was working looks like. ha
I'm in Zone 7 myself, and while most versicolors WILL resprout for me, they're slow growers and rarely ever flower before frost comes around again---therefore, I'll be taking all my versis indoor this winter.
I have had excellent results with the pot-above-the-ground method, especially when I actually put the pot in place in the spring or early summer. (Learned from experience!) Even putting the pot in place a month before frost produces enough roots, on most brugs, to give a shock-free transition from outdoors to greenhouse.
Well hello Ms. Batt... what a surprise, didn't know you were anywhere on the place. ha Glad for your input, thanks. Guess you've seen then where I've sung praises about this potting method "of yours".
We've already done a lot of ours(a couple already even have startings of rooting) and will be potting up the rest of 'em within the next few days... we've still got a ways to go before frost hits, so I'm thinking we'll have fairly good roots on all of them by the time we have to cut and take inside to safety. Love this idea and expecting it to work out very well in our efforts to 'save' our brugs from winter temps. Plus, beats fire outta havin' to dig up each and every one of these things, AND gives extra plants of the names as well.. yep a great idea indeed. Thank you... glad I saw about this wherever it was I read it.
OK all, I have been reading about this, and can't understand it. When was this written up? Can I look back and see how it is done? I mean, if yu have a long branch, do you put the pot over it open side down? or cut the pot in half, and put it around the branch and than fill it with dirt (after making a hole in the bottom for the other end of the branch to go through?) Would appreciate a visual clarification. Thanks, Selma
There's a picture in Jarie's gallery of the idea with a milk bottle, and I also went back and found this thread, posted by Judith (Ms. Batt) on it. I can't remember if it was mentioned in any other threads or not. And, if I remember correctly, the milk bottle idea was also Judith's.
Lynne
USDA Zone 9b
Heat Zone 10
Bradenton, Florida
