Newbie has some basic questions

17 years ago

I am absolutely delighted that a year ago I moved to McComb, Miss. Last fall I saw my first Brug in a friend's yard, and I was floored. Never saw anything so pretty. I am going to plant at least 5 this spring after the ground warms up, and I have some questions about Brug basics.

Is there a book that's really good and has a lot of pictures?

I saw some on this forum that look like they are tree size. Can a brug grow to tree size in a pot?

Will plants get bigger the second year?

How do I find out about the growing habits and light tolerances of individual brugs like CG, Golden Lady, Supernova, Frosty Pink, Creamsicle, Cypress Gardens, enchante double white?

How deep do brug roots grow?

Do the roots survive the winter?

Are any of you members of The American Brug Association? What are the benefits of being a member?

Thanks for your help.

Jim

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Comments (4)

chena
17 years ago
Hey Jim!!!
The BGI has a beautiful Gallery and lots of info.. I am a z7 and over winter several outside with a heavy mulch..Of course I always take cuttings just in case...The biggest threat for me is root rot..Under various conditions they can become tree size in a season.. Here is a link they offers great pic's and some wonderful info.. I hope you will let us know what you are gonna plant and of course we love pic's..
Have a Very Blessed Day!
Chena

Here is a link that might be useful: BGI
karyn1
17 years ago
Hi Jim,
Yes they can get tree sized in a pot. There's someone that posts here, can't remember who that I think is in Canada whose container brugs are over 10'. My tallest ones are about 8'. This is the first year that I'm wintering them over inground so I'll see if they make it. I don't know how deep their roots grow but I'm guessing pretty deep. I get roots coming out of the bottom of a 25 gallon container in no time. Of the varieties you mentioned I know that Charles Grimaldi and Frosty Pink are extremely hardy. Those are two of the three varieties that I left in the ground. You should have no problem with root damage in your zone. I don't know what your winter temps are but a frost will kill back the above ground growth. I don't know of any books but BGI that Chena mentioned and ABADS have good info and a beautiful photo gallery. Good luck with your garden.
Karyn
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Hi there, I am a fellow noob myself. I just started my lighting project using the same shelving you have pictured except for my personal needs I disassembled it and essentially hung it from the ceiling, with each shelf being hung from the previous unit with chain. Now, hanging it is completely unncessary in most cases, your stand up unit will work just fine as it is with the light fixtures hung underneath the shelves. However, I realized one thing in the process about the lights. I bought my light fixtures from Walmart, they are cheapo light duty T8 two-bulb fixtures. They are 4' long and about 8" wide at their base and this is probably standard for this price range. You will have no problem at all hanging one fixture per tier but you might run in to trouble if you want to hang two fixtures side by side. You'll have to measure the depth of your shelving between the support legs, not to the outside edge of the shelves. You may not be able to squeeze 2 light fixtures between those legs unless one of them is turned slightly upward and not straight down which makes it less effective. You may not even need more than one fixture per shelf for what you're doing, but if you planned to then you'll have to take the width of the ballasts into account and make sure they'll fit between those legs, perhaps you can find narrower 2-bulb ballasts or maybe there are 4-bulb units that will accomodate that measurement, whatever it is. The 4' long ballasts are certainly longer than your 45" long shelves so whatever you buy in any combination they will have to fit between those legs. I hope this is making sense? Because my shelving was hung with chain and not fixed with a rigid leg I had a little flexibility, there's some give with chain so I was able to squeeze two fixtures between them, but just barely. As to the kind of fixture/bulbs you choose I'm sure lots of folks will weigh in, there are many threads on this subject. The general advice I took after pouring over them was to go with a T8 fixture rather than T12 because they are more efficient although the bulbs can be pricier but not exorbitantly so. The bulbs will last years in most cases so that's not exactly what I consider a recurring expense. The other advice I took was not to mess with the "one cool white, one warm thing" or specialized grow lights and I just went with bulbs that were labeled "daylight". There are all kinds, "neutral", "kitchen/bath", etc....and I had a little trouble finding T8 "daylight" at my Lowes but they did have them. I paid $8 for a two-pack, don't know if that's good but that was my only option. Bulk will be cheaper but again, how often will you be replacing these bulbs? I didn't need 30 of them right now. I have read many many threads about lumens, penetration, overdriving, light spectrums, etc...until I was cross-eyed. I understand some but not all. In the end, I went with something simple that seems very effective for alot of people. Good luck with your project. My thread with pics is a recent one too, I linked it below. That chrome shelf that's hanging is identical to yours, I had just spray painted it black because it was so rusty from being outdoors. I'm going to hang the other chrome shelves below that one as it progresses. Danielle Here is a link that might be useful: Chrome shelving hung
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Heavinsent
17 years ago
There is a good book out by Ulrike and Hans-Georg Preissel
Brugmansia and Datura Angles Trumpets and Thorn Apples. It has a lot of really good information and lots of pictures. I had to order it from but you may be able to find it in a good book store.
As for Associations The 2 I know of are ABADS and BGI both give you access to galleries and huge amounts of information. BGI gives you three seed crosses and Pollen per quarter with your 1 year membership. ABADS also has seed crosses at $2.00 per cross and free pollen (you pay postage. IMO both are worth joining.
In my zone (9b) they will come back from the roots
msbatt
17 years ago
In southern MS, pretty much all brugs should be hardy in the ground for you. The topgrowth dies back after more than 4-6 hours at 27 degrees or less, but the rootball can survive longer, colder temps---as long as they're not wet. Wet + cold = rot.

Potted brugs generally grow more slowly than ones planted in-ground, but they can eventaully get quite big. But remember, the soil in pots gets colder/freezes quicker than the soil in the ground, so unless you plant on bringing that big pot indoors, you have a higher risk of losing the brug to the winter cold. The soil in pots also gets hotter during the summer, and requires more frequent watering.

Then there's the 'bucket method', which I use for my more temper brugs, chiefly those with Versicolor genes. I take a 3-gallon bucket and drill several 1" holes around the sides, but NOT in the bottom. I plant the brug in the b ucket, then plant bucket and all into the ground. Come fall, I cut around the outside of the bucket and lift the whole plant for overwintering in my greenhouse. I cut back the top just what's needed in order to get it inside, but I do strip off all the leaves. They generally drop them all anyway, and removing them while still outside eliminates the risk of bringing in pest eggs on them. I think it also helps the plant deal with the shock of root-pruning, by giving it a little chance to recover before it has to support the water needs of full-sized leaves.

My in-ground brugs have gotten bigger each year. The oldest one, a nameless, seed-grown white, puts tp about a dozen trunks each year now, and they usually make it to 10-12' before first frost.

Brugs aren't all that deeply rooted, I've learned from digging them up. They spread out pretty wide, but not deep, and they have a tendancy to break or blow over in high winds. One way to avoid damage when you're expecting strong winds (like when there's a tropical storm coming) is to remove most of the big leaves. Brugs drop and replace leaves constantly, so this doesn't seem to hurt them.

Of the ones you mention, I've had CG and Frosty Pink in the ground here sor several years now. Both are quite hardy and heavy, work-horse bloomers. I find they're happiest here with direct sun from dawn to mid-day, then bright, indirect light until late afternoon.

Newbie has some basic questions

Comments (4)

chena

karyn1

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