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Newbie Needs Advice for Winter

15 years ago

Hi everyone. I just found out that the plant cuttings I got from a friend in Texas a couple of years ago are Brumansias. It's so nice having a name.

I live in eastern Massachusetts, and have been keeping them inside in the winter. But they have gotten what I think are aphid infestations. The soap solutions I sprayed on them pretty much destroyed the leaves, so I finally cut them to the ground. When I put them outside in the spring they come back and even usually get a few blooms which makes it all worthwhile.

I've already brought them inside this year - we had a night in the 30's. Not sure what to do now - let them go dormant or try to keep them in the sunroom for the winter. And if I keep them in the sunroom, should I cut them back, and/or try to deal with the insects some other way. For dormancy, all we have are a heated house, or an unheated garage. I'm afraid the unheated garage might get too cold for them.

Here's the one that just finished blooming -

{{gwi:554311}}

It has some nice Y's so I'd hate to lose that and go back to square one in the spring.

Here's th other one -

{{gwi:554312}}

It's about 3 1/2' tall but has no Y's and no blooms this year. It does have a side shoot -

{{gwi:554313}}

Should I cut this off?

I also realized that I haven't been fertilizing them enough. If I keep them in the sunroom for the winter, how should I fertilize?

Thanks everyone for any guidance you can give me. THese are both NOIDs so I guess it's not so critical. But I really like them and the fact that they were gifts and a little bit of Texas that we have in MA.

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Comments (3)

karyn1
15 years ago
I'd let them go dormant. There's not enough light in the sunroom unless you suppliment. It's not only the light intensity that's lacking but also the number of hours of daylight. Unless your temps are below freezing at night I'd probably leave them outside and only take them in if they were calling for a frost. I'd cut them back when it's time to take them in and root the cuttings. Your brugs should reach blooming size again with a regular feeding schedule and the cuttings that were taken should also bloom. You might also want to consider a larger pot.
Karyn
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ejr2005
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Karyn1.

I brought the plants outside again and will watch the temps at night.

I'm thinking I might let one go dormant and try to keep the other happy in the garden room. I will have other tropical plants there so I'll have to try to figure out what supplemental lighting I'll need to keep them happy.

I'm pretty new to gardening, so I still have lots of questions. For the one going dormant, do I need to keep it in a cooler place or just a dark place? My only choices are warm and dark (basement) or cold and dark (unheated garage the sometimes goes to freezing). Should I cut the leaves off in addition to part of the stems? Is there anything you need to know about cuttings (size, place on plant, etc)? Can I keep the cuttings in just water until the spring? Do they need any additional nourishment?

I'm also planning to move them into bigger pots (14"?) but will probably wait until spring. I can't do too large or I won't be able to move them.
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chena
15 years ago
Looks like Karyn got ya fixed up... Very Pretty blooms!!!
BTW Welcome!!!
Kylie
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