Normally I cut my Brugs for dormancy down to 6-10" tall.
Because I haven't seen this one bloom I am leaving it a little taller ( 20") in order to give it a good start next season.
I am digging a root ball only 5" wide from the center of the trunk.
Check to see how your root ball fits.
If it misshapes your pot, trim off the thicker roots that are too long.
Sift loose soil over your root system, tapping pot firmly to remove air pockets and cover all the roots, then firm the top layer of soil.
I like to add an inch or so on the surface of very dry potting soil. It is loose and allows the water I give the pot in the monthly winter waterings to go down into the deeper soil in the pot nearer the roots. I always add 2 tags to the stem in case one string breaks so that I know what the name of the Brug is.
This shows the finished result of another I brought in and cut the usual 10".
The tops you cut off ( if you have the room you can roo them. The top to this one is about 61/2 feet, too tall to fit in the GH so I would have to shorten it, place it in 1-2" of water and watch the bottom didn't go mushy. I remove all but the topmost leaves on the stem so as not to stress the plant.
I have kept slightly shorter ones all winter in a jar with water and then planted them in the spring. I don't like to have more that one cutting in any container for a prolonged period. I feel the risk of possibly transferring diseases or rot from one to another is too great when more that one cutting is in a container.
The largest pot I ever use is 14"wide x 14" tall for my largest Brugs. That means my largest root balls are just under 7" wide from the stem to the edge so you can imagine how "pruned" they are once they are dug.
I would not prune them this drastically unless removing all the foliage from the plant.
Sometimes I dust the cut roots and/or the cut stems with garden sulphur.
You need to allow the soil in the pot to dry out for a couple of months before you start your 1 cup of water a month over the winter. Also, drying the surface soil or using dry soil on the top keeps you from having mold grow on it.
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