My Brugs are about 5 ft tall. Full of leaves and leaf buds. Each has 2 Ys. I was feeding Miracle grow every 2 weeks. 2 weeks ago started even week. Water every 3rd day, they rarely wilt.

BUT, no blooms!

Should I trim off some leaves?

I'd say you're not fertilizing nearly enough. I had heard a long time ago.........double strength Miracle Grow every other day. I try and do it twice a week.

Anna, Thanks for the reply. I'll up it to double strength MG 2 times a week. I also changed to MG Bloom.

I do, i trim leaves below the Y. I'm training my plant , Brugs, to be in tree form. So far I've had numerous blooms. I use Osmocote for fertilizing, about 3 shakes every week. You can never over fertilize brugs in mu 10 years experience

Thanks Julie. I'll start picking leaves off.

What's the difference between large leaves and tiny leaves close to the trunk?

The larger leaves under the Y can be removed and I also removed any smaller ones coming up the trunk of the tree I do this because I want all the growth to concentrate within the Y for more blooms

Thanks Julie. That's probably the biggest thing I've done wrong. I have hundreds of tiny leaves on all trunks and loads of big leaves. I was afraid to pull them off because they might form another Y .
I thought more Ys would be more blooms.

You are fine and doing great! I found that within the Y you will get more Y's. And More blooms!!!! You're welcome, dont mention it glad to help!

Hi Pandora,

This is my first year so obviously I'm new to Brugs. I have a 'Cherub' that has just started budding this past week. The buds now look like okra - same size & shape; the variegated 'Snowbank' is still just puttering along. I've failed to fertilize either one (dealing with a dying friend has hampered many things here) although I did put them in brand new 50/50 soil (top soil/compost) when I built the raised beds for them.

I too cut off lower leaves - most had been devoured by caterpillars and cabbage worms. Like any flowering plant I would think that plenty of water is a requirement (something else I've failed too do religiously). I too have heard they are heavy feeders (another reason for lots of water since some nutrients leach easily, and all need water to be absorbed by the roots).

One other thing is these buds began when the heat began to back off. Does anyone know if they slow down blooming when it's hot? I hope to learn a lot more from answers here - thanks for the question!

Hi DigginDirt! Sounds like you've had a rough go of it this year as I have. My mother passed away in April. When I was in Georgia I never watered my plant because I planted it in a full sun area it did fine though. Now I live in a humid Louisiana Bayou and we get lots of rain but it is very hot as well. Mine are in pots here. Even with the Sun blaring down on them they still continue to make Blooms. They just last a shorter period with the heat. I always water mine though in pots I kind of spoil them I even water under the leaves LOL.

In my experience, the cool weather in the fall 60 and 70 degrees, my brothers seem to get darker in color.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Julie. Yes, it is hard some days but I can not imagine what it would be like for someone to have to walk that road alone.
I moved to NC 26 years ago from Louisiana (Shreveport then Alex). I don't miss the humidity but I do miss the food!

Pandora alluded to a question I wonder about too: do Brugs ever "Y" below their initial "Y"? I haven't seen them do it in pictures but I thought maybe people trimmed everything out to encourage growth higher up. I've read a "y" will come where a leaf is shorter on one side of the midrib than the other where it meets the petiole; I'm not seeing that on mine but perhaps I'm not looking closely enough. If it ever stops raining I'll look again.

I haven't had that experience but I have had Y's forming off of the Y. I hope you can see it there's a bloom hanging down from 1 Y and a longer one on another
Julie

Beautiful!
Many of my leaves are riddled with holes (the cabbage worms think it's an all-you-can-eat buffet). BT works great when I can get home early enough to spray, but that hasn't been the case for weeks. Next year I hope that will be different story when I put "No Trespassing" signs in that garden.

Lol! Snails are my enemy now lol **Crunch Crunch** Ugh

I haven't had snail issues this year. I can usually keep slugs at bay with DE (though I put it out to control ants). I hear Epsom Salt stops them too but haven't tried it (I DO use Epsom Salt for roses and other bloomers but for the magnesium needs of plants). I haven't had a problem with slugs/snails on Brugs - just moth caterpillars, hence BT as it only affects 'pillars without affecting useful bugs.

Regarding leaf plucking - leaves feed the plant, so if you continually pick off leaves, you could exacerbate the problem of no blooms. Less leaves equate to less food/energy being created by the plant making it less robust with the added potential to abort any buds that may be forming.

Carter, that's good to know. My brugs finally started blooming a few weeks ago. Way too late for me. I've had trouble finding what they like the last 3 years.

This year I see:
1. My Brugs can be put outside MUCH earlier, can stand low Temps in 40sF (2nd biggest mistake)
2. Falling over in wind sets them back and mostly due to V-shaped pots that I have (2 pots)
3. Want more sun, found better spot this year
4. Must have about 10 60 10 fertilizer and more often than recommendation.

Cut back 3, but have 2 in garage for 3 weeks, still blooming! Surprised.