I'm sure that others with actual experience will weigh in to confirm, but; I came from zone 9, and while brugs can grow there under ideal sheltered conditions, they will die with normal exposure. Therefore, I assume that they would be Toast (well...Ice) here.

I do water them everyday.. as we have had no rain!! in a long time.

They are planter near the deck..

However, they are still skinny one stem... So maybe I do need to up the miracle-gro fertilizer.

I did plant end of May. Not sure why they are small. any other recommendation on fertilizer ?

I don't think it matters. They are related to tomatoes so anything formulated for that group should work. They don't like to sit in water logged soil. They like to dry out in between waterings and they like to get watered every day - kinda like bananas. Mine do best when I mound up rich dark soil loaded with compost and wood chips so there is lots of air in the soil (maybe 18 inches tall for the mound). I pound in one of those tree fertilizer spikes near the roots and then I water with dilute plant food every week. Any time I have left over fertilizer I give it to them.

Thanks!! John,

I just stuck them in the soil...I will amend it. have wood chips, and Miracle gro garden soil...

Have the spikes too!! will fertilize every week too!! There is one that is just 6" .. I guess I can transplant that into a nice pot to bring it in.. Just don't want to lose them.

I had planted moon-flowertoo. However,. not one germinated.. :-( They were so pretty and fragrant... heavenilicious..

I grow a lot of night flowering squash/ gourds.. too. So, I would like to bring the night pollinators ( moths etc.. into my yard... and hence this sudden and delayed interest in these night and evening blooming flowers.

Hi Sabji,

They will freeze in this area. Best thing that I've found is to pot them up now and keep shaded and watered until established. I have mine in big pots on the patio along with a variety of other tropicals that all need winter protection. They overwinter better together in a big pot. Good luck.

Hello Lauren, The brugs did not survive!!! I feel so bad. I loved the huge fragrant flowers. :-(

So good to hear from you!! How are you doing? How is your garden?

My vegetable plants are looking good. Weeding and watering is becoming an everyday affair. No rain for a while now!!

PDN lists 6 hybrids that they claim are "winter-hardy in our USDA zone 7b climate (if well-drained and well-mulched)". Has anyone tried them out here?

Hey Lauren.

Carnivorous, Herbs and Fairy container garden, WOW!!!! I got to come see!! You and your husband have amazing gardening skills.

Yes! when is the fall swap? I would love to see brugs too. I miss them too much.

Casa Lester,

That reminds me , I hope you want something from my list . I am so looking to get a nice big cutting ( rooted, even better) of the Jasmine frojas..

Sabji, this is a good timing, as we still have a few self-layered stems of Jasminum 'Frojas' from a batch that was extracted for a private trade. We'll be happy to trade one for some seeds of Ocimum basilicum 'Amethyst Improved', which you should have as someone aspiring to the title of "Queen of Herbs" :-) .

Casa Lester, You made my Day. Queen of Herbs indeed!!

I would love that title. However, I think you know more on herbs, than I ever will, in my life time . But it sure sounds great!! :-).

I have holy basil, Thai and cinnamon basil. The Thai and cinnamon comes back every year (reseeds) , is spicy sweet and looks beautiful ( 3 ft).

Amethyst improved looks interesting! Thanks ! I will look for the seeds as i do not have any yet.

Would you be interested in seeds of Lawsonia inermis the henna dye plant? I have seeds I can share with you.

Hi everyone, thought I would chime in on this post. I live in Clayton and several of my neighbors have brugs, (different kinds) and all of them have theirs in the ground. They do die back every year but when they emerge in the Spring they come back beautifully! BTW, can't wait for the Fall swap!

Wow!!

Crystal! I would love to know which hybrids these brugs are. Could be hardy ones. Mine in the ground never came back. I would make garden friends to exchange plants for brugs cuttings, if i were living close by. No one in my neighbors have them :-(

Yeah, I am not sure what the names are of them. Some have the double yellow, another neighbor has pink that turns to white. I will ask them and see if they know what kinds they have.

Garden folks are generally very friendly !!

No Harm in asking the names. Come Fall, they will also cut down the tops after the blooms are done. I would ask them for a cuttings they plan to throw away or share something else with them. You will be surprised that most folks are happy to share.

Good Luck!! Crystal.

Hello Crystal, I was scrolling through the posts and came here,...

Did you get to talk to these neighbors who have the hybrid Brugs? Would love to get some of them, if they are willing to share a few cuttings. If possible do take pictures in bloom. Eye candy eh?

Sabji, I lost all mine last winter too, but grew more from cuttings I bought. Now have extras I grew from offshoots, well-rooted plants. Let me know if you’re ever in the Charlotte area.

Thanks!! Karen. Will do !!

Sabji, Have three well established (actually getting potbound) plants from the ones I grew from cuttings from Karchesky Canna:

Golfito

Bergkoningen

Samba Dancer

Let me know if you want to take them.

Karen

Hello Karen, Thank you so much!!

I just Messaged you on the forum messaging in your profile page. Mine is enabled too. Let me know!!

Hi Sabji, just looking at this post and have yet to ask my neighbors but all of them have come back again. None of my neighbors do anything special to them either and one brug happens to be at a rental house. If I can catch them I will ask if I can get some cuttings, it's just finding them when they are home.

Some Brugs are more cold hardy than others, but much depends on the placement, where they are growing. My sister had several last year, but the only one that came up in the spring was the one right next to the house. Years ago I saw B. aurea, a cool grower, survive a NYC winter on the roof of the Chelsea Hotel next to a heat vent.

Hi Crystal

I think you will love the fragrance of the brugs!! Hope you make friends with them and get some cuttings in the fall . They might be the cold hardy type.

All this brug talk makes me want to smell them already!! Hehe!

I hope I can get some cuttings. The placement of each neighbors is really weird, 1 is where their ac drips out, another is at the end of their driveway and the last neighbor has theirs on the outside of their wooden fence. None of them do anything special to them either like covering, cutting, etc. So I am thinking they must be cold hardy....

No need to take cuttings. I start new ones from small offshoots at the base of the plants. They actually root and grow faster than cuttings for me.

Thanks Karen! I learnt something new today! I like to try different methods of propagation!! One more to the list!!

Cheers!

No problem. May they grow well for you.

Help! Tomato Worms

Anyone know how to get rid of them? I’ve been picking off the ones I see. Read somewhere about spraying with soap and cayenne pepper in water, but doesn’t seem to work for me. Would appreciate any help.

Some tomato worms are fluorescent and can be picked off very efficiently in UV light when it's dark. UV flashlights, also called black light flashlights, are marketed as pet stains detectors and can be purchased on Amazon for under $10.

Interesting—never heard that before. Have to try it. Thanks!

Casa Lester, I had no idea ! Glow in the Dark!! Hehe!

I've had best luck overwintering Brugs by applying some chopped up oak leaves for mulch and not cutting back the old stems until spring. The stems are hollow and if water gets down there and freezes you will usually loose them. If you do want to cut them back in the fall you can cap the cut ends with a small piece of tinfoil.

Good idea!

An interesting example of a tree Brugmansia, likely B. arborea, growing in Zone 9, discussed in Name That Plant.