Angie brugs are pretty hardy seedlings but they do need some special treatment prior to sowing. Soak the seeds overnight in water. After soaking you want to peel off the corky covering. The seed is actually fairly small. I just press the seeds into the potting mix, barely covering them. Keep the mix moist but no soggy. This time of year bottom heat will help in germination. I keep the pots covered until they begin to sprout. Once they've grown the first set of true leaves I transplant into individual 4" pots.
Good luck.
Karyn

I'm no expert, I just started my 1st brug seeds a few weeks ago, but I would do exactly what Karyn said except I heard light aids in germination so keep them in a window or under lights. There are many recent posts on seed starting so you will find a lot of info if you look through the past couple of weeks posts :)

Hi Angie and Karyn
I just started a tray of brug seeds also, got a bunch of seeds and a whole pod in a swap. Growing them from seed is new to me, but I'm not new to brug plants. I started my seeds on Saturday, also using pro-mix and they are on a heating mat, with a plastic cover. I'll be watching this thread carefully, :) to see how we are all doing with them. I'll put them under lights if and when I get germination, and then transplant them into larger pots. In the meantime, my other brugs, "frosty pinks" are in the basement over wintering.
Alberta

Sounds like you are going to have a lot of baby brugs. When I start fresh seed that's still moist I don't bother soaking and peeling them, only dry ones.
Karyn

Thanks so much for the advice! So glad to hear that they are hardy little buggers! Whew! I am very excited to give these a try and I will check in with my progress also.
Here are the ones I will be starting:

Patricia Watson
2 Pink-unknown
Peach
Yellow Suaveoleno (right spelling?)
Red Sanguinea
Mystic Morning
Coral Glow

Some of these I only have one seed of,so that's why I decided to ask you guys,I figured you really know your stuff and would direct me in the right direction!
I will go through the last couple weeks of posts,I looked last night and I guess I was just so tired I missed them! :)
So Alberta,you will be a first timer with me? Cool! We can definitley compare notes! :)
I will get these babies soaking and once I get them under the lights I will check back here! Thanks again for the great advice and if anyone else has something they would like to add I am very interested in hearing your opinion / experience! :)

Congrats on your seeds!!! I think once you get them peeled that are just like any other seed.. I don't use any bottom heat and my germination so far about 99%.. I do believe it does take mine a little longer than those with the bottom heat..
Best of luck!!!
OH and Welcome!!! I hope to see you around...
Kylie

Thanks!:) Your experience is very encouraging,this isnt going to be as difficult as I thought! Oh I cant wait!
Do most of you keep them in containers? I have seen alot of pictures where people keep them in containers and they look like they dont mind at all! I know I will have to bring them inside for the winter,so I assume this would be preferable to planting them directly in the ground and having to dig them up. Or do they do OK that way also? Oh I have so much to learn about these,but I am very motivated to grow them! Oh good,DH is home with my dixie cups! I can get them soaking now! Yippee...I will be back! ;)

Welcome Angie, I know you from a round robin seed exchange. I have a feeling you will be collecting brug cuttings before to long!LOL
Theresa

Hi Theresa! I just winter sowed some of the fantastic seeds I received from you via the swap,Thanks! I cant wait until next years! :D
Oh, I am sure you are right,this is just the beginning!:D

Hi Angie-
Just wanted to add my 2 cents! I received my first 2 brugs. when I lived in NY. When winter approached, I dug them up out of my garden,& brought them in the house because I didn't want to lose them. They got buggy, so I finally gave up & tossed them out in my garden, & haphazardly covered them up with soil. Next spring, they sprouted, & grew fantastically! they were under 2 feet of snow all winter, so they had a good blanket of protection. Their roots grew thick & long, & the plants were covered in hundreds of white sweetly scented flowers. When I moved to NC, I brought seeds from those plants. In the spring when things warmed up, I loosened the soil, raked it smooth, I broadcast hundreds of seeds through out my yard, & covered them up with soil. (No soaking, so seed peeling, no pampering) I will say, that they don't seem to like being thinned, it slows them down, but they did catch up. check out my page of the photo of my yard that year, with white brugs in bloom. I'm sure with all your tender loving care, you'll have more plants than you can handle, & will be back here looking to share the millions of seeds that they produce!
Happy Gardening!
Kathy

Angie,
I'm looking foreward to compaing notes. The seeds I sowed were an unknown yellow from a large swap, don't remember who the sender was, but I'm hoping they do well.

Kathy, I went to your page to veiw your brugs, but nothing there. What am I missing? :D

Theresa

Kathy I couldn't find any pics either. Wow, I could just imagine what a whole yard broadcast with brug seeds would look like.
Karyn

Hi! Kathy I would love to see that picture! :) So are you saying that I maybe able to leave them outside over winter? I have Datura here that has never came back after winter so I figured the Brugs wouldnt either.Any advice on that would be awesome! :)
Speaking of Datura,my first one ever was the infamous Jimsonweed,well I had no clue what it was when it appeared in my flower bed out front.It grew to be the size of my garage door,no exaggeration.It stopped traffic,and being I live on a main road,that wasnt a good thing...lol..lots of horns beeping! Anyway,I didnt take a pic,because I assumed that was just how big they got,I wish I would have though, because none of the others have grown to that size since! :(
This year I am growing all kinds of Datura,and now of course the Brug bug has bitten me! Oh what a wonderful season this will be for me! Thanks so much for your support and advice,I cant wait to share with you guys! :)

Agirlsgirl it's too cold in your zone to leave brugs out over the winter. Zone 7 is pretty much the cut off and that can be pushing it. I'd love to be able to leave mine inground year round. Now wouldn't that make life easier. Oh well.
Karyn

That would be nice,but I guess it is also nice to have them inside when the weather is yucky out.I have read that they dont excell in the house,but having them around has got to be great! :) They are worth the work to bring them in,just knowing that the next year they will be there ready to show off again! :D We are selling this place and looking for more room,I guesss I may just have to look for a four or five bedroom instead of a 3 ! :)

I keep very few brugs going in the winter, just my variegated ones and some doubles. I keep them under HID lights for a minimum of 14 hrs a day. They don't do nearly as well inside. The foliage is so much more colorful and stronger when they are outside. The rest go dormant in the unheated GH. You never have enough room. We have 5 BR's and could use a couple more. lol
Karyn

So if I stick them in our garage,unheated,for the winter they will go dormant like my lilac and bulbs do? I keep some of my bulbs in pots and put the pot in the garage,dirt and all for the winter. Every year they come back beautifully,without any problems.I dont water them either,would I do the same with the Brugs?
Thanks for all your help,the more I am learning the more excited I am getting about this opportunity to grow these magnificent plants! :)

Ok ladies! I have officialy sown my first Brugs! I gave them a pep talk and wished them luck! I am skeptical on a few of them though,:(. After peeling the corky stuff off,it didnt seem what was inside was any good! What really stinks is that they are the ones I only have one seed of! :O Oh well,I still sowed them,we will see what comes of them if anything! I put them on the top shelf in hopes they will get that bottom heat they like. As soon as I see a sprout I will let you know! Thanks again for all the help and encouragement,you guys are the best! ;)

Hi girls-
I have been learning alot- & I just re-read this old post of mine, those were actually Daturas- not Brugs! Sorry about that! I'm not sure how to post photos, would love to know!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
thanks!