Beautiful! I'm jealous. I have 13 and none of mine have buds yet and I too give them epsom salts and MiracleGro.

I have never heard of anyone being successful with rooting a leaf. I root most of mine in damp vermiculite in canning jars. With the clear glass, you can see when roots are formed and this method works well even with hard to root brugs and with green cuttings. I do use water for some of the hardwood cuttings taken later in the summer.

None of mine have buds yet either. It's so nice to see these beautiful blooms, thanks for sharing them.

Cheryl

Hi: I live in Memphis, and this is my first year with a
Brug. I was told that it should survive Winters here if
is in the ground.
I have a Variegated one ,that is planted in a large
pot, which is about 25 gallons in size. The Brug is very
healthy looking, and has already Y'd. I can see a few
flower buds have formed.
Should I cut it back this Winter and plant in the
ground? I was going to cut it back, and put inside my
Cedar Garden Shed for the Winter. I could then plant it
outside next Spring.
What do you guys think would be safe for my Brug.
I am giving it Miracle Grow twice weekly, but it gets
daily watering, and is setting under a 15 foot Photinia.
It gets about half day dappled shade from huge Oak tree.

Fernzilla, I believe that all of the variegated brugs and versicolors are amoung the least root hardy in our zone. I leave all my variegated and versicolor ones in pots and then store them inside a closet for the winter (leaving them to go dormant). I don't even think that your unheated shed would be warm enough for a variegated one (I think they need to be get stored above 40 degrees).

Many of the other common ones like Frosty Pink and Charles Grimaldi have proven to be root hardy for me. But because I like EARLY blooms, I dig up and store all my brugs in my garage for the winter.

On a different website, someone posted about taking leaf cuttings---but the success rate was VERY poor. I'd stick with stem cuttings, myself.

Thanks everyone for all the interesting comments. I took two cuttings & followed the instructions posted here & the friends I gave them to report they are doing fine. I have one more question though. When you bring them in do you water them? Also do you make sure and get them out of the yard before the first frost?

When I store my dormant, I give them a couple of cups of water each month, just enough to keep the rootball from drying out. I try to get the versicolors and variegated ones inside before the first frost, but some of my other ones will continue to bloom even after a patchy frost.

Why do you store them in a closet?

I have only had one bloom thus far. I think I am wanting them to bad. How often should you apply epsom salt. Is sprinkling it on the ground sufficient?

Regina, A closet is not necessary, but it just so happens that I have a large closet in my basement that is large enough for me to store my temperature sensitive brugs in for the winter. I let mine go completely dormant and so they don't need any light at all - - just a little bit of water periodically.

The rest of my brugs are stored dormant in my garage. And yes, my husband's car sits out all winter long!

TnShadyLady, how do you store the brugs that you dig and bring in? How are the root balls treated--wrapped, put in a pot with soil or what? I have several that I would like to bring in for the winter instead of starting next spring from rooted cuttings. Can I store them under my house (unheated, but not freezing either) like some people store their banana plants?

Farmerbell, I pop mine out of the ground, trim the top back to about 8 inches above the "y" or if small enough to 8 inches above the 2nd set of "y's", trim the root ball to fit in a large nursery pot, and fill with dirt. I usually set the nursery pots inside 5 gallon buckets which adds an extra layer of insulation and makes them less likely to tip over.

I know a few folks that wrap their root balls in burlap.

I can't really say about storing them under the house. While it may not completely freeze, I would think that temps would stay pretty cold for extended periods of time. Also, the brugs will not make it if their rootball is allowed to completely dry out, or if kept cold and damp. My brugs are stored in my basement garage where temps usually stay between 45 and 50.

It does take some effort to store my mature brugs, but I have blooms earlier and I have found mature brugs to bloom much heavier than 1st year cuttings.

Thanks for the great information. I will print this and try it this fall. I was at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia last Saturday and they have a brug trimmed into a tree form and the trunk was about 5 inches in diameter. Beautiful!! I want that too, especially the heavy flowering. Mine come back from the roots when I leave them in the ground, but they are just now getting buds, even with heavy water and fertilizer.