It's rather difficult to answer questions because often information that is needed to provide a more accurate answer is not provided. If you didn't say how often and how much water you used or if you didn't tell them what the weather was like, they assumed lack of water was a possibility. Two gallons maybe sufficient for a small plant in a 1 - 3 gallon container, but it may not be sufficient for a root bound plant in a larger pot. This summer, I lost between 75 - 85% of all my Brugs due to heat stress and not being able to provide enough water to keep the Brugs hydrated. The humidity was very low and transpiration very high. In essence, the leaves lost more water than the roots could absorb. Under this kind of stress, the Brugs lost most of their leaves and refused to set buds. They went dormant and died. I'm hoping that with cooler fall weather some will return from the buried stalk, but so far, all the roots I've looked at are dead. This summer was brutal and one for the records.
In what sized pot is your Wretched Mess and how long has it been since you re-potted and replaced the potting mix? From what you are saying it seems that Wretched Mess loses her buds even when it is outside. If it is getting enough water, fertilized once or twice a week with a complete fertilizer and doesn't have a pest infestation, then it just might be a genetic flaw and only you can decide whether she is worth the bother. Many Brug hybrids were rushed to market too soon and/or before they were thoroughly tested in a large part of the country. Some Brugs grow and thrive only in certain environments. In others, as time went by, genetic defects were discovered that the cultivar wasn't worth the trouble to grow.
Just in case you do spot thrips: They are difficult to get rid of and require multiple treatments. Here are some links that might help.
http://pestcontrol.about.com/o...
http://www.ehow.com/how_238739...
http://www.northcoastgardening...
http://www.naturescontrol.com/...
Brugs definitely grow bigger and better in the ground. The roots tend to stay cooler which is a great plus. If roots get too hot or damaged by the heat, the resulting stress can result in all sorts of problems. I would love to grow mine in the ground, but then I would have to take lots of cuttings for the following year because I wouldn't be able to dig them out, not after the back surgery I had this year.
One alternative to planting in the ground and having to dig them out in the fall is to enlarge the pot's drain holes and bury the pots just 1" - 2". This would allow the roots to grow out the bottom through the larger drain holes. Then all you would have to do in late fall is expose the bottom of the pot, run a knife or use lopping shears to cut the roots along the bottom of the pot and prune the top to compensate for the roots cut off. In the spring, remove and trim the rootball, use new potting mix and repeat the process. Until the roots anchor the pots to the ground, it's a good idea to tie the pots in place with some stakes and rope. I did this one year with good results. The Brugs grew almost as well as if they had been in the ground. My only problem was that my yard is a former Bermuda grass pasture. The Bermuda grew through the drain holes and into the potting mix. I ended up having to remove
all the potting mix so I could get rid of every strand of Bermuda. A single node of grass left behind re-infests the pot.
