The tips of 2 of my brug cuttings are dying back. Why is this happening? The cuttings don't have leaves on them. This is the 1st time I've tried to root a branch that has already formed a Y. Should I cut the dying parts off back to healthy tissue? I'm sure that this has been addressed somewhere, but I've looked in past posts/threads and can't find anything.

Deebie that maybe the only way to save them, I would trim them down to slightly below where the dying part is. Good luck.

Debbie, dId you try rooting the cutting in water before planting it in dirt?

Thanks, Doris. I'll do that today and will be sure to add some cinnamon to the cut ends. And Yes, Sandi. They are rooting in water. Since they have the white nubs already, I'll transfer them to soil. Do you think that rooting them in water has something to do with the dieback?

No, Deebie, I just thought possibly you had tried to root them in soil, instead of water. I think you could snip the end off. It could be very new growth that couldn't take up water. Go ahead and plant them if you have room for them. I have quite a few cuttings in jars and bottles for "back ups" in case I lose a plant. I don't know where I'd put them if I had to find pots for them!

Sandi - You keep the cuttings over winter in jars of water - even after they have rooted? Is this indoors or a GH?

I start them in water until they form nubbies. Then I pot up the ones that are from the same plant in a communal pot. They don't grow much between December and end of February. Spring begins around the end of Feb. here, except for a few cold snaps. I have a small greenhouse and two temporary hoop houses for our long three months of winter.

@Deebie Today this article popped up this morning as "The Random Idea." If J.T. says you can snip off the ends...well, you can be sure that you can snip off those dead ends!!!

http://garden.org/ideas/view/g...

I think I'd keep them in water so you can see if the nubs are growing, Deebie. Once they start to elongate a bit, you can pot them up and be sure the cuttings are still alive.

Are you keeping them warm? i.e. indoors on a windowsill? I've kept cuttings in water for literally months, and as long as they are warm, and once they have leaves they will even bloom in water. One time I stuck a cutting in a wine bottle (with water) and by the time I got back to plant it months later I had to break the bottle to get the mass of roots out.

Thanks, everyone. I did read JT's article, but thought that my cuttings were rotting and that it was spreading toward the main branch. That's why I posted the request for help. But, upon further examination, I find that it's just that--dying tips, which I have cut back, as recommended.

:lol: about placing your cutting in a narrow neck container and having the break it in order to get the root mass out. I had my cuttings rooting in a water filled vase, which was sitting on the fireplace hearth behind another potted plant (beside a sunny window). When I pulled it forward to examine it closely, I was shocked to find that some of the roots are close to an inch long already. One of the cuttings grew the long roots with only a few nubs. The other has lots of nubbies and only 1 long root. Anyway, it looks like it's time to transplant them all to moist soil. all for your help and encouragement.

Good Luck Deborah - keep us posted.

Will do.

@Deebie,

Excuse me for high jacking your thread. While I'm waiting for my first brug seeds to sprout, I have been thinking of buying a 1-gal. brug plant that I saw about a month ago. It is about 2 feet tall from the floor to top. Nursery lady said it was a pink and it's $10. I'm going to go back and look the plant over carefully. But pray tell, what would I look for to make sure I'm buying a quality plant?

First thing I would do is check the drain holes in the pot to see if you can see roots, and if not, gently slide the plant out of its pot to make sure it is well rooted. Or ask the Nursery lady to do this for you. Brugs start so easily from cuttings, you want one you're buying already potted to be well established. It will probably need to be re-potted soon after you get it home, though, if it is. These things grow FAST! I once went through 4 re-pottings for a brug between April when it arrived as a 10in. cutting to September when it was a 4ft. by 4ft. crazy blooming shrub.

Second, are the leaves big, clean and healthy? Run your finger gently along the underside of a few leaves, then inspect your finger. If you see a yellowish stain, check the leaves for tiny spots and the leaf axils for tiny webs that will indicate a spider mite infestation. This is not something you want to take home! Tell the lady if you find those! Then maybe go back next week to see if she's taken care of it - but don't buy it for a couple more weeks because it takes at least two treatments to (mostly) eradicate spider mites. Then, keep a close eye on your plants because they could still come back.

Elaine, thank you very much for the heads up.

Assuming it is still there, I presume in your climate this thing just grows and grows quickly with no rest? If 2 feet tall now, it could be blooming size in a matter of a few months. If the plant looks quite healthy and has a lot of nice leaves, if no bugs or nasties, were I you, I would go for it.

IIRC you are just starting with Brugs with the seeds - right?

Look at pics here and elsewhere and you will know what a healthy Brug looks like.

If you have not found it yet, I find this site useful:

http://www.trumpetflowers.com/...

No problem KD, ask away. I don't consider your question posted here as hijacking, as it's still brug related. It's usually best to start a new thread, because once a reasonable response is given or problem has been solved, the thread pretty much goes dead, as people choose to unwatch it. But this one is still very much alive and you've been given some great advice. I hope that you're able to procure the plant that you're considering, after determining that it's healthy and pest free. You're going to love growing these plants.

@DavidLMO
Thank you for the link. I perused through a bit and have found the trumpet site loaded with information. It will be my first reference source for growing the brugs.

@Deebie
Thanks for your encouragement!

Well, the brug seeds from Arghya never did sprout. @DavidLMO offered to send me brug seeds as well as Datura seeds. Very kind of you, David.

I have not yet bought the brug plant from the nursery. I don't know if I will after all as they are only single pink. I want to try growing other colors and doubles and triples maybe.