How to overwinter Brugs in South.California?

14 years ago

Being a newbie to Brugs, I have several questions as to how to treat my potted plant during the winter months in Southern California.

Do you cut it down somewhat or just leave it alone?

How much do you water?

Do you still fertilize?

I don't know if this plant will go dormant in this climate, if it is left outside.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

Ingrid.

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Comments (9)

lotta_plants
14 years ago
As long as you are not going to get temps below 28* I would just keep doing what you have been. Depending on the pot size maybe put in a larger pot or root prune and repot. Light frost will slow it down but not kill.
figara
14 years ago
Ingrid, I am glad that I found another Californian on the forum. I can not help you much on the subject. I am new too. I bought 2 brugs last summer, one pink I kept it in the container and one yellow I planted in the ground. In the spring I lost the one in the ground. I do not remember when I planted the yellow ,may have been sometimes in the September. The one in the container was fine. I wish I new last year that you can propagate a brug through cuttings. I could have taken some cuttings from it.

Pat
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eloise_ca
14 years ago
Ingrid, I am in the SFV, zone 10. I have a couple of brugs in the ground and do not trim, fertilize or dig them up for the winter. I water them when I am out watering my other plants, and the soil is dry. As for potted brugs, I have a couple in small pots and recall I sort of felt bad for them last winter because it did get very cold some nights. I put them all together among other plants for protection, but that's about it. Of course, I am not the best plant care-taker, so maybe someone else's advice would be best.
haase
Original Author
14 years ago
lotta plants: if it should ever get this cold, I'll just slide my pot into the garage over night. That's no problem.

Pat: my pot is in a protected, enclosed patio. This is my first year with it, and it will be a test. I like the propagation idea, too, I'll see what happens and act accordingly.

Eloise, I knew you live in the SFV. I'll not fertilize, just water when needed, as you suggested. As of now, I wont cut it back. Maybe in the spring, if it gets too tall to fit under my lattice roof.

Glad to have found two Californians. We can exchange experiences with our brugs.

I thank all of you for your input.

Ingrid.
figara
14 years ago
Ingrid,I forgot to mention that I live in Northern California, SF Bay Area. I think the weather here is a bit cooler than in So Ca and I might have planted my yellow brug to close to winter and did not have time to established the roots.
Next year I plan to plant my new brugs (from cuttings) in the ground early spring. I've seen a few brugs in the ground around my area and they seem to do fine.
iris_9
14 years ago
I'm another from CA...see, there are more of us out there than you thought! I'm in the Central Valley where we do get some frosts. The first year I dug mine up and took into the garage...by the 2nd year they were too big for that and I left them in the ground. They come back every year but I always take cuttings just in case. I put lots of mulch/compost around the roots and cover with burlap bags before the 1st frost and they have never died in the 6 years I've been growing them.
Central_Cali369
14 years ago
Hey fellow Californians! Like Iris said, there are more of us than I had though! That's great! I am also in the Central Valley (sunset zone 9, USDA zone 9b) near the foothills of the Sierra Nevada (yes, those mountains are covered in snow in the wintertime!). I leave my brugs outdoors in the ground. Even if frost gets the leaves, they are completely fine, they might look ugly, but I simply think of them as decidious trees. They grow their leaves back as soon as the weather warms up. My brugs are over 10 feet tall each with zero protection in the winter and minimal summer water. I can only immagine the proportions they would reach if protected in the winter and given plenty of water in the summer.
I've even had several seedlings come up where some of my brugs have produced seed pods and they all have grown all on their own for over a year. I think I will probably pot them up this coming spring and give them away.

{{gwi:547347}}
eloise_ca
14 years ago
Josh, I'm glad you checked in and added your input. I thought about mentioning you and your brugs, but then I forgot. Your garden looks fantastic!
haase
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, all.
Central, you have a wonderful garden. Thanks for sharing the pic.
I'm pretty much going to stick with Eloise's advice. She lives closest to me.
Iris and Figara (Pat), I'm not worried about any frost. I'm worried about it being too warm. My poor Brug (I have only one!) won't know what to make of it.( "Is this dormant season or am I supposed to keep growing? And why am I not getting any fertilizer while I'm growing? ") -- I just told you what my Brug is saying, LOL. We have two-way converstions. Oh yes, and I know that I'm nuts!!

At first I thought I wouldn't get a reply from anyone. Everyone on this forum is busy with frost-protection, cutting, and so forth. That's why I am especially happy to know that you guys exist out there, pretty much in my area, and thanks for your help.
Ingrid.