Hi Mike,
Once I have roots I pot them up and put them under grow
lights, they need to keep growing at this stage, they dont
have a big enough root system to let them go dormant, thats
what I do with mine.
Thanks,
Karen

Karen is correct. A newly rooted brug cutting can't be allowed to go dormant. They need to be actively growing for a full year minimum before being allowed to go dormant. If it's big and healthy next fall you can allow it to go dormant but if it's not big and strong I wouldn't allow it to go dormant then either.
Karyn

Phew! I thought there was something more to it. I've been doing it this way! :^?
Theresa

good question sibhskylvr!

an answer I needed, thought I didn't know it :)

Great answers here but I'm one that won't allow them to go dormant until they are at least 2 years old and then that also depends on what variety and the growth patterns. There are some varieties that shouldn't go dormant at all and some varities that need more root systems than just a 2 year period. Just like planting direct in the ground one also has to be careful there too.

Karma which ones do you keep going? The only ones I don't let go dormant are my variegated and some of my slower growing (mainly doubles) brugs. Are there others that I shouldn't let go dormant?
Karyn

Any time I plant up a new baby I keep it inside with borderline mimimal conditions low water and natural light from the E~ and W~..Most of the ones I grow in pots are treated the same way..I don't have a GH...YET!!!! There is leaf loss .. It hasn't seemed to stifle blooming or new growth.. I would LOVE to be able to put everything in a dormant state...LOL I am already sick of having plants in the house and it is 78* outside..LOL
Chena

I think we should do what works for us.

Mine go dormant of necessity- the cuttings root for 2 months, go dormant for 2-2.5 months, are brought back into the light for 1 month and then out they go, in late March, early April. I lost 3-4 out of 45 cuttings doing this and I was a newbie at keeping cuttings inside- I was told this would work, so I did it. But my brugs are not inside as long as some others up North.

This year I have my sunroom but still have too many cuttings to keep them all in there! So, some will go dormant, but not as many as before.

Brenda B

karyn1, yes all the variegated, doubles and triples that have fuzzier leaves, mainly the heat lovers. B. Culebra some folks will do so but I'm not one as last year I lost power in the greenhouse and it froze back to the ground. I've had 6 and none of them returned when they were less than 2 years old. To my surprise our 5 year old one did but it's still so small. B Snowbank (4yr) according to my chats can take cooler temp due being a tissue cultures but I'm afraid that one was lost last year in the same power loss over night. Just be sure you have a back up plan!

Don't even say power outage. A number of years ago we had an ice stom that paralyzed the area for almost a week. No power, nothing and you couldn't drive. The streets were solid sheets of ice. Needless to say just about everything in the GH died. I had 10 yr old tropical fruit trees and all kinds of flowering plants. It was awful and there wasn't a thing I could do. The GH is 3 miles from my house and I certainly wasn't going to try walking, besides that what would I have done when I got there anyway? I'll just die if that happens again.
Karyn

Man, that bites Karyn. I would hate to lose all my stuff like that. I was just thinking a similar question about lighting which is why I got back up and came in here. I have potted up the cuttings and have them outside and they are leafing out. Is this a mistake? Should I start them indoors and leave them there instead? The weather has still been so nice but now I am worried it will shock them when I do have to bring them in. Tell me quick and if I need to I will bring them in tomorrow before they grow anymore. Thanks

Karma, thanks for letting us know which brugs shouldnt go dormant..I wish you would just write all this down somewhere..I need a handbook on all this stuff..lol...
This year I have set up some lights out in the breezeway and have most of my cuttings potted up...Now my problem is with heating them..I have one heat mat under some but the rest are waiting for me to turn the heater on..I dont want to get it going too soon since there are tons of leaves still on the older brugs..I dont want to start the aphids and mites..seems when I left the room in the high 40s low 50s I didnt have bugs until February....

Brenda I didn't realize that such a young plant would be able to support dormancy. Maybe I'll try it with one I can bear to lose. Kristy I think they do best outside and would leave them out as long as temps allow. We do have a couple generators at the farm but there was no way to get there. It was terrible to be sitting at home, knowing what was happening in the GH and not having any way to do anything about it. I couldn't even include them in the insurance claim because they weren't part of the business : (
Karyn

Hi, I know I don't post much, but I feel like i don't have much to input with all you experts. I did let cotton candy and jamaica yellow go dormant after only one year and they did fine.
Duane

Thats terrible. It seems like you should have been able to say there part of the business but stored elsewhere. I would have driven my husband nuts if that happened to me.

Karyn - I'm so sorry that happened. All those beauties gone.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing like that happens again.

karyn1, I can feel your pain and have walked in your shoes after having no choice but to start over when Mother Nature shows us she is in charge!! It is one huge pain to start over even a special insurance rider isn't going to cover the cost.
juttz, I have been asked to think about a monthly newsletter on what can or should be done monthly off my website but I'm not to sure if that is a route beings that we have a difference in gardeners. I am in the process of updating the site in my spare time??

Karyn & Karma,

What a tragedy- I get upset if even one cutting croaks! To lose my whole greenhouse collection is unthinkable.

And, about dormancy of cuttings- remeber, mine are only dormant for 60-75 days. And they are well rooted when I put them in the dark.

It did freak me out to do it, also, and to see them turn yellow and drop their leaves- that was difficult to watch. But most of them came thru. Any special, hard-to-replace cuttings got to stay under the lights, so your thought of using an extra cutting is a great idea- then you will know if it is possible.

We get ice storms here that knock out the power but have not had any for the last two years. You will see some mad scrambling if that happens this winter, as I move what I can to safety.

Duane

ALL input can be helpful to some - even the smallest bit of information where brugs are concerned. :) Post more!

Mike

If I can root some cuttings, I won't have the option of potting them and keeping them on the inside of the house. Can I keep the cuttings in a container with water until next spring and then plant them?

At what point do you use the bleach for a minute or so, when you are first putting the cutting into the water to root, or after they have rooted?

Jim

Ah-those dreaded ice storms and power outages.I've seen so many of those.When I build my greenhouse I set it up with Propane heat-no electricity needed!!!My circulation fans go down-but it stays nice and warm for my brugs.I let all mine grow full tilt

Jim I usually leave my cuttings in the buckets until spring. I don't have room to pot everything. I don't use bleach so I can't help you there. We use propane to heat but the fans and starters run on electricty. If the greenhouses weren't so far from my house it wouldn't be a problem to go switch on the generator. The greenhouse manager lives in a house on the property but he happened to be out of town so we were out of luck : ( Besides that Rolando hates that I winter over my plants in the greenhouse, even though they aren't his responsibility and I'm sure he was secretly thrilled that they were killed.
Karyn

Karyn

And this guy still lives there ............to not take care of the greenhouse if anythng happens????? How can you be around this guy if you believe he is that malacious??

I would do a slow burn in his proximaty! (sp) I'm not forgiving at all re: plant abuse!