This is weird. I responded to this already and could swear it took. Oh well, here it goes again. If your garage remains above freezing that would be a perfect spot. Complete darkness is fine. It's a good idea to keep the pots elevated off the cement floor. The wooden palates that hardware stores use for the delivery of large items work great. They'll need very little water, a cup or two per month depending on the pot size. just enough to keep the roots hydrated and it's better to under then over-water during dormancy. I stop fertilizing my brugs about 4 weeks before they go dormant. Once the temps begin to warm you can start watering and feeding your plants. I'm not sure when that is in your area, March?
Karyn

HI Karyn-
Dummy me- I was so driven, I forgot to check previous posts on this topic- sorry about that! Thanks for the info- I'll try it this winter- & thanks for your time!
Kasha77

I meant I responded to this specific thread earlier and was sure it posted. I guess not or maybe I was spacing out. lol
Karyn

I store mine in our garage as well. However, I keep a de-humidifier running as well as a small electric heater set to about 45-50 degrees. Also, I keep two florescents on a timer for about 8-10 hours plus I have two sout-facing windows. The cool temperatures keep the spider mites down. This setup has worked well for storing my bananas, citrus and epiphylums.

My two cents, Kasha...I've stored mine in a completely dark
garage (as Karyn) said) for several yrs now and they always
come out just fine. Just remember the monthly watering
routine. (one cup Karyn??)I store my cuttings there also
without any problem. Most of the time, though...my winters
are mild. My garage is attached but unheated.

Margaret

Thanks everyone for your input-
Karyn- I did go back & check the older posts, thanks for mentioning it! Got great info there. By the way- it warms up here in March, last chance of frost in spring is April 16th.
Dave- you are very diligent- although that sounds like more work than I want to invest in-
Margaret-
That's what I want to do- I think our conditions are similar. Can I start my cuttings in those conditions? (out in my garage, in temps. above freezing, total darkness) Or do they need light?
Thanks again-
Kathy kasha77

I thought cuttings had to grow under lights? I kept just one grow light last year in the garage and it gets a little light from the windows at the top of the roll up doors but not any direct light. My largest one kept growing and blooming all winter on and off. I really need to let that one go dormant this year its so large. I wish it would get taller. It has lots of flowers on it right now and I can't see the inside of them unless I lay one the ground, lol. I think its more of a bush type. Glad its in a pot or they would be really low hanging. Its way to heavy to lift onto a table but I wish I could see them better, lol. I might kick out the riding mower and put it in the shed where its dark.

Hey Kasha!! Im just up the road from you in Union Grove. I have overwintered(a few years ago)in a dark basement where the furnace was..it was still cool enough for them to go dormant..just had to make sure I watered them..This go around..were getting ready to move, hopefully for the last time in about a month...and will have an unheated garage..since I dont know how cold it will get in there..Im apt to bring them in the house til I can see what kind of temps the garage will have..I do have a rather high crawl space..but that would be a pita to have to get in there to water them and still dont know what kind of temps we would be facing. I do know our weather gets a little more harsh up this way compare to Statesville..I had never put any of my brugs in the ground, so dont know about the overwintering ..I do know that a neighbor down the road has one..and its huge in the ground and Im pretty sure they overwintered it in the ground..its right next to their house so some added protection there...Maybe we can get together sometime and talk plants lol..
Charlotte

I've done this for five years the exact same way without
any problem. I'm surely no expert in any way...not one
hint of light and my plants always grow to be huge.
Good luck.
Margaret

Since I have a heated garage, I could possibly overwinter my few brugs in the garage. But, there's some daylight. Would it work if I place black contractor bags over the brugs for the winter, vs. placing it in a dark closet, etc.?

I'm getting a Snowbanks in the mail any day now, (1 gal size) from Ebay. (only $12.00 for it!) I'm thinking of overwintering it in the garage, on pallets like Karyn says. I think everything else will stay in the ground, mulched, unless I trade for some rooted cuttings... but maybe they should go in the ground too, they might not be strong enough to overwinter in the garage, & I don't want to lose them, especially since they're named varieties.....Charlotte, nice to meet you through this site! How close are you to Mooresville, NC? I don't have any Brug buddies close by... By the way good luck on your move! Gramsharon- I'd be afraid of poor circulation, causing mold or disease... You've all be very encouraging, (I feel a little more confident, although I don't sound it!) Thanks for the info & your experiences! They really help!
Kasha77

They won't go dormant in the heat. You need to keep them at about 40 F. All you need in an unheated space is a heater that will turn on when it gets too cold & keep them raised up off the concrete. Cuttings need light but not a lot (I use fluorescents). If you are keeping them under lights, they will need a lot of light.

Linda

Kasha, Im about 20 minutes from Mooresville and Thank you for the luck..Im gonna need all I can get lol!

Last year was my first year with brugs and I stored mine in my unheated but attached garage. I also store other plants as well, shrimp plants, potato bush, cuphea ignea, several different ferns and they all did well.

Mary

Kasha I would not recommend letting your snowbank go dormant this year. It is very slow growing and since it is a new plant I would keep it going at least throught his first winter.
Shawn

Hi Kasha-It should work fine for you.Here in North Georgia (zone 7b)before I got my greenhouse,I used to overwinter my brugs in my attached,unheated garage.I just dug up the rootball,and potted them up with fresh potting mix.Remove all the leaves-they will fall off after you dig them up anyway,and make a huge mess.They will basically go dormant.Just put a themometer in there-to make sure temps never got close to freezing.Also Cuttings can be overwintered in there.Just keep them all watered-that's all I ever did with them when I had to keep in the garage.I've got some that I've been overwintering for about 5 years. Mark

Shawn-
I just received my Snowbanks today, it's only 8 inches tall, but in great shape- I will take your advice & keep it growing- do you mean in my house? In a sunny window? I've never done this before, any advice to keep this beauty alive would be greatly appreciated!
Mark-
Did you have any light in your garage when you overwintered them in there? Were your cuttings already rooted when you put them in there, or can I just stick fresh cuttings in potting soil (with rootone)& start them in the fall? I thought cuttings needed light- please enlighten me too!
Mary-
Did you have any light in your garage?
Thanks all!
Kasha77

The only light in my garage is a flouresent workbench type ligt and my garage doors have the little square windows at the topn, and face north. The light was never directed over my plants, sometimes it was on, sometimes not (just depended on if anyone turned it off or not). I really didn't do anything for my plants but water them and that was when I remembered!!! We do use the garage door on a daily basis, the kids use the key pad to get in the house after school. They all survived with neglect. I do agree to bring your snowbank in the house for the winter and keep it growing. I didn't store any cuttings out there so I can't help you there, but would like to know more about it, I think my family got tired of all the little cups everywhere. Hope this helps some.

Mary

I had pretty much the same conditions as Mary but put one full sun bulb and one grow light bulb in the shop light fixture. I had a table beneath it that the cuttings were on and all the rest of my tropicals spread out through one side of the garage. I would leave the door open on nice days while I was at home and that was about it. Most did fine except the cuttings I got later around Christmas. I think if they get a little bit of a start and begin to root they would be ok like that. I don't know about starting cuttings with no light at all. It just doesn't seem like it would work. I had a small space heater in there that I kept on fan only but the heat part would kick in if it got too cold. It never got below 45 and that was on the very coldest night. Stayed about 50 with the doors closed. I am thinking about using the shed for the ones I want to go dormant since its dark and colder in there.

Kasha, I kept my Snowbank in the dining room under fluorescents last year & it will be there again. The leaves would fall off & then grow back & then fall off again. In spring, it came back very nicely & has bloomed on & off all summer. It is covered with buds now & is about 3 1/2 feet tall with a really nice 1 1/2 foot basal. It is not the beautiful variegated plant year round that I thought it would be but it is still very pretty. I was almost ready to get rid of it last winter but now I'm glad I kept it.

We have started to enclose the porch but only got as far as framing in the sliding glass door. DH leaves for work at 6:30 am & won't be back until Friday afternoon so I hope it doesn't get too cold too fast. I will be spending the winter worrying that they are too cold or too hot (along with too wet or too dry or too buggy).

Linda

Yes Kasha, I would keep it in a sunny window, in fact that is what I am doing with mine, it is still pretty small, I got it on ebay this summer. I kept my other variegated brug going last winter, it can be kind of a pain but I don't know if a small snowbank would survive dormancy. My other brug was pretty big. It lost all its leaves when I brought it in and I had to strip them several times because I kept having mite problems, but with a smaller plant I think it will be easier for us. My big variegated brug is going dormant this winter because I'm not putting up with it, but I think the small one will be easier to deal with. The problem is that Snowbank is a pretty slow grower, and when you let brugs go dormant there is usually some dieback of the most tender growth. But it should be big enough by next year that maybe you could let it go dormant then if you wanted to.
Shawn