This is my first year growing brugs, and last night I raised a glass of white wine in a toast to my first bloom (a salmon-colored xcandida), with one more bud on the way! I'm so excited...I've been (not so) patiently monitoring the first bud that appeared after the plant Y'ed.

I've got a question for the veterans:

I've started my collection with two plants I picked up on a whim at a local nursery (both xcandida); the one that bloomed last night was a pretty straight tree-form with no real side shoots. The other is just as tall, but with two smaller shoots coming out from the bottom of the plant. This one hasn't bloomed and hasn't even put out a bud yet. Both plants Y'ed at the same time.

I'm wondering if the second plant hasn't bloomed or put out buds yet because of the side shoots? I'd like to be able to cut them to root and plant for next year, and was wondering if cutting them now would help the main stem bloom, or if it would hurt the secondary shoots to cut them now? Both side shoots seem to be growing well. They are probably about the size that the main stem was when I bought them (about 1 1/2 feet).

I wish I could post a picture, but my camera lens is jammed and it is being repaired. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Sarah
zone 8 (coastal NC)
newbie gardener

Hi Sarah...welcome to the brug addiction! You may say "oh, I'm not addicted"...but just wait! It's amazing how it comes over you. Most of us go from 1 or 2 brugs to MANY in a flash. I think this is my 4th year growing them & my backyard has at least 200 potted brugs. Some of those are trial brugs grown out from seed for Brenda at Seed Sprout Nursery, but many are named cultivars I've collected.

But I digress. My opinion is your side shoots are long enough to take as cuttings, but I would want to see some maturity of the wood at the base before cutting them. Really fresh new growth may be a little more difficult to root than trunks/branches that have matured a little. The color of the base of these trunks may chance from fresh green growth to a little different color and general appearance as they mature. As long as you have more than one shoot you'd like to take as a cutting, you could use this as a learning opportunity. You could cut one now & see whether it roots successfully for you, then, if successful, take the 2nd cutting. If the first proves too "green" to root, you could wait until later in the summer or even early fall to cut the 2nd. Or simply wait for both of them to get a little more mature.

Brug cuttings root easily in water, especially during the growing season and into early fall. Most will also root at other times of the year, but might be a little slower & you might lose a few, so my preference is spring thru fall, before they go dormant for the winter.

Happy Brugging!



Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place

They do tend to multiply around the yard. I also have my first bloom today, on Inca Gold. Lots more to open in the next day or two. Woo Hoo...it's begun.

Sally
Zone 5b
heat zone 4
Enfield Connecticut



http://community.webshots.com/user/sallycummings

The first bloom is always exciting. Wait until your plant is dripping with them. Wonderful!

Linda

Thanks for the advice, guys. I think I'll let the shoots go for now (as they are still pretty green) and try cuttin/rooting when I get ready to over-winter.

Sarah
zone 8 (coastal NC)
newbie gardener