Welcome to Seattle Rosesong! There are actually several of us brugnuts here in the PNW, and several of us like to get together at the big Green Elephant plant trade(first Saturday of March & November), especially the one in the fall. Two years ago we even put on special sub-meeting there on brugs with a talk on care & culture and hands-on lessons on pruning & rooting. Everyone took home lots of new starts. When you're at the PNW forum, make sure to also monitor the PNW Exchange Forum too. Not just the Green Elephant, but several good trades throughout the year. Gardening paradise here, lol. :^) I will caution you that it is tough to keep most of them going in-ground through the winter here though. It's possible if they have good drainage and you don't get an abnormally cold year (like this one), but they are slow to come back in the spring. Most of us keep them alive Oct 25th to April 15th in a garage or basement that doesn't freeze. The arboreas, sangs, vulcanicolas, & flavas can stay outside under cover almost all year except when it gets down to the very low 20's. The key is keeping them not too wet (hence under cover) and also very close to the house on the coldest nights. I should have tons to share in the Fall, maybe a little at the spring trade. :^) - Tom

Hi all, Well, the leaf curling started to happen when they were in a south facing kitchen window which gets really good sun for most of the day. The other advantage of that window is the humidity of the kitchen, which keeps off red spider mite. I certainly do know how hard it is to look after them indoors, which is why I started them off in my south facing bathroom window, which also gets great light and humidity. I moved them because I thought the leaf curling might be an objection to the fluctuating heat you get in both locations, and also because they were doing so well that they outgrew the window sills. Now the bathroom window is full of courgette and green bean seedlings and the kitchen is loaded up with tomatoes:-) In case you're wondering, sadly a greenhouse is not an option - but I do have some south facing patio doors, so I think I'll move them there. As for putting them outside, they will of course go out there as soon as possible. Karyn, we get plenty of sunny days here in London (although not this last week) but in March it's often only warm in the middle of the day so there's a lot of shifting in and out of doors to do. I've got to do that anyway, though, and it occurs to me that moving them to the patio doors would make that hardening off much easier, so I'll definitely go for that. As for outgrowing their pots, Tom, I mentioned before that I potted them on only a few weeks ago and I check their roots and water levels every day. They're certainly not drying out between waterings, but it's possible that the compost I potted them into is not free draining enough. I know they don't like to have waterlogged roots. I'm also a bit suspicious of that compost because the leaves started curling around the same time that they went into it. I don't think there's much I can do about that right now that wouldn't be even more stressful, though. If that's the problem then they're just going to have to tough it out for the moment - at least until it's time to pot them on again. I certainly hope you're both right, not least because if you are then they'll grow out of it and also because the alternative is looking like broad mite. I'm not entirely convinced of that though, because although the leaves are curling they're not discoloured or dropping off wood> - yet! Oops! I may have just jinxed myself. Thanks so much for your help, I'll let you know how things go. Sara

Randy, Just saw your post. Looking at the photo again, I'm not sure about the sanguinea ID. It could actually be 'Inca Queen' but with much paler flower due to cold temperatures. Once it warms up a bit this spring, the color might intensify and go even further up the corolla. On the other hand, for 'Pasachoa' the color goes up too far. The yellow sanguinea from Annie's is most likely 'Inca Princess'. I got one from them about a year ago. It was the only yellow sang they had. The flower does develop the characteristic orange tinge upon ageing and it matched in all aspects the 'Inca Princess' plants which I received from two other sources.

An insecticidal soap works as well on soft bodied insects as Bayer and is much safer to use - safer for both you and your plants . It is recommended to dilute rather than go stronger with garden products . No matter what you are using , more is not always better especially when using fertilizer and insecticides . I think of it just like paint or nail polish . Several light coats turn out much better than one heavy one . skinnyhoops - read every word on the package label ( I know it's a lot of reading ! ) and then go to the Bayer website and look for answers to your question . You can also call their 800 number or e-mail them with specific questions . Please post what you learn . Curious gardeners would like to know .