Brugmansia 2

My brug has flowered constantly from early July but in the last two weeks has taken a severe battering from the wind and now has about three torn leaves at the top of each branch.:(
i am tempted to leave it outside all winter although at 6 ft high I think I should cut it back first but by how much? Walnut any advice?

 

Hi Strongy, go to page 2, All will be explained, Im looking there myself...

 

What a shame young daisy just clean the cut up with a stanley knife it will be ok it will regrow(always walk backwards with large plants less likely to do damage as you have found out)
Strongy I managed to overwinter quite a few outside last winter cut them down to 6" if you leave them taller they tend to start regrowth from the bottom and the bit you have left ends up a dead stalk,make a wire cage fill it with straw cover the top to stop the rain getting in (important) I have used a plastic bag and roll it down in very wet weather,leave it up if it's dry to give air circulation and to stop any rotting,they should be safe until spring.


If you want to keep the main stem to give you a flying start next year chop the branches above the "y" just leave a couple of inches of the forks,take the plant out of the ground/pot chop its roots down so it fits in a 10"pot store it in a frost free g/house,conservatory or garage give it half a cup of water every couple of weeks,gradually increase this in spring when you see signs of growth,don't keep it too warm 7-10c and it will want to grow.
As Ivory has said what you break off or cut off you can use as cuttings.
I have found that seeds planted last October and grown through the winter in my heat /lightbox (temperature of 18-20c) made 8ft tall flowering plants by September if you want them earlier into flower bring the planting date forwards, I think this is the way to go.

 

Thanks Walnut, ill do that..Never thought of walking in backwards,Duh :dh:

 

Hi guys .I got one of thse brugs in the spring and its flowering away very nicely just now.If i overwinter it in the garage bearing in mind it would be in total darkness{no windows}Would it be ok?Thanks alot...daz

 

D&D the important thing is that they are frost free, keep the compost barely moist,leave as much growth on as you can (cut the soft growth back) when they start to grow in spring and you can see were the buds break you can then cut back to new growth,do not forget you can take cuttings now keep them inside let them root through winter a good backup incase the parent plant fails,Don't worry about the size of cuttings the bigger the better I have just took one off a main stem it is about one and a half inches diameter and three foot long stood in a bucket of water usually they root easily.

 

Walnut thanks alot my friend.People like your good self alow newbbies like me to grow these wonderfull plants.Thank you one again for the good advice.All the best...daz

 

Walnut, I have three all 5-6ft high from the cuttings taken in march, two have been permanently in the greenhouse one has been outside so I will cut that one back as you suggest, the other two I will cut back to just above the y and use them for more cuttings next march.
Thanks for the advice.:thumb:

 

You are all welcome to any advice I can give I will be posting some seeds to our seed banker (Little Miss)shortly Brugs and Daturas anyone can give them a go.

 

Watch this Space ......

 

:okies: ok

 

I found some bruggies rooting on the compost heap from when I cut them down to bring in last autumn! the warmth of the compost must have kept them going.

 

0)Good to see you back Waco,yes they are pretty resilient (off to check the compost heap)

 

one of the problems with compost heap was that I couldn't tell iff shoots were roots or shoots, anyway I will definately take more cuttings when I cut back for winter as you seem to be able to make such a better shape with them. Oh and the double orange Bruggie has not set any seed??? I don't want to loose it as I paid a lot for it!

 

Excellent idea Walnut.

I can't believe a year has past since mine flowered. I am going to reduce the forest canopy this year, so I might find a sunny hole to plant another brug under.
You have all done really well this year getting them to flower:thmb::luv: