Some of mine will bend really far when I wet all the leaves, like when I spray the tops and bottoms to help control pests. In fact, a green shoot on my NN did this last night and it freaked me out, but it didn't snap. Maybe this one got too wet and heavy and snapped. Sorry this happened but the staked one looks really good and I see some buds. Which one is this?
Shawn

Very odd ! I've always been amazed at how they would bend and sway in the wind. Even during tropical storm force winds I have never seen one do this. ~~~Georgia~~~

That is sad Barry. Could a large bird have tried to land on the top of your brug and snapped it with its weight?

It befuddles me and it is as if I am cursed. Far too many bad things are going on, not the worst of it is: the garden is sinking. Really. Something is wrong under the garden, where there had been place 2 fuel tank 2 years ago. I was shocked to see the water not pooling anymore where I intend it too, but running into the ground like there is a big hole under there, which has to be what it is. A walkway into the garden and at least 20 sq/ft around it has sunk quite a bit. I fear I will loose part of my garden or the Association I live in will have to dig the tank up. It isn't good.

Shawn The Brug staked and budding is Frosty.

I can surely feel your pain ! I hope you took the top of that plant and are planning to root it. Shouldn't take long. Good luck with the sinking, sounds like you know what the problem is there. Be careful and don't fall in ! ;=) Georgia

Barry, Im so sorry your brug snapped, Im thinking along the
same lines as Eloise, probably a bird put to much weight
on it.
I hope the sinking stops and you dont lose any of your
garden.
Karen

The only ones I had to stake were a couple tiny ones that were being bent over by the wind when I first started putting them outside. It seems that more wind = sturdier stems in my garden. I've had them snap in high wind but the leaves were beat up too. How much & what did you feed it??? I'm fertilizing mine every 5 days but they're not breaking. I agree that it looks like something landed or tried to climb it & broke it.

I did have one last year that only had wilting problems with the new basal stem. It wilted badly in the heat. I looked for insect holes & didn't find anything wrong. The older half of the plant was perfect. None of my others have done that since. If they're gonna wilt, the whole thing wilts & then perks back up that evening or the next day.
{{gwi:511884}}

Maybe they will agree not to dig until the end of your brug season. Just put up some caution tape around the area & don't walk on it. We have coal mine tunnels that collapse around here occasionally & they can go suddenly so be careful.

Linda

I staked my ones that I got that were really tall already when I got them but we have 40 mph and higher winds frequently. The ones that I got smaller seem to adapt better and haven't staked those. Sorry about the sinking.

Thanks so much all! It makes me feel better, and
YES why not have it assessed, I can dig doWn in a spot, and perhaps have it taken care of in the fall! I Suppose it take a woman to suggest that :) Thanks Linda, that cheered me up. Must check the seriousness of it though, dont want to find out the tank falls 20 ft and causes a chemical spill!! That would be disastrous.

Hmmm.. A bird climbed on it, yes a possibility!! In combination with succulent growth, that makes sense!

Barry I had one yesterday the top 1/2 bent almost to the ground. No wind some rain. Its brothers right next to it are fine. So I staked it and it was fine today. Strange, Maybe it was a bird.

Your brugs look so healthy that I do believe there is no stopping them. I look forward to you picture perfect flushes.

thanks Jim
I know they want allot of food, but I am wondering if I will get mostly foliage and few flowers, no Ys on quite a few which is what I wanted, - height, but now I am thinking it took 3 flushes last year to get a huge flush.....
Is this possible with the seedlings, especially, which have no sign of flowering?

Barry look at it this way, now you have two plants and a lesson learned? It will need support if you keep feeding them and it appears to top heavy. Isn't this so much fun?

Just my opinion, but that doesn't look to me as though it snapped from a bird sitting on it. It would still be kinda connected, not completely off. And the break looks very clean for a snap?
Barry, did you pull it the rest of the way off? before you took that pic or was that how you found it?
Even if a kid was kicking a ball and it hit it hard enough to break it..it would probably still be hanging on, and kinda ripped looking. Bothers me it's so clean like that.
Just my opinion..I could be wrong.

Barry

If you started your seeds in December, they should most of them bloom by October. Are you putting all into the ground? They tend to make a standard form and seem like they don't Y until around 6-8 feet. That's normal for mine last year. I did have some shorties but they still did not bloom the first time til September. Even if they Y, if it is super hot, they won't set bud, just keep growing. Pennsylvania is different, tho, than GA weather. good luck and sorry to hear about the sinking- what the heck???

Oh, and a squirrel knock off the top of one of my seedlings last year- I was ready to scream, as it was just starting to bloom! It had a juicy green stem, not woody growth!

Daniella yes it was attached but just barely.
Brenda, All brugs are in the ground, some cuttings are budding some are blooming, some are y,ing, no buds, as you said - it is hot. so if I get one or two flushes from the seedlings, or late starters, what can I expect? You have to remember I had an astounding 425 flush. I would be satisfied with a couple hundred...

So can I expect the seedlings to just show there wares, and not put on a good exhibition?

Barry

Well, ya got me beat all to heck with your 425 blossoms- is this brug going strong for you this year, getting big and leafy??

My experience with the high heat was the brugs kept growing during the heat. And they just kept y'ing...... and y'ing..........alot. No buds! When some of my brug seedlings finally did their first flush- September, they had lots of blossoms, some of them several hundred each! I think you have a very good chance of most of yours blooming- they are so big and healthy already! Now, I have been taking off all my secondary shoots and just leaving one, so all the energy and growth goes into the one shoot. I even remove all those little leaves that sprout on the shoot. Like I thought I mentioned earlier, if you have many duplicate seedlings from the same cross, you can experiment and see which method works best for you.

Oh, Barry, are you in for some fun, when those babies start blooming for you. You may as well set up a tent and live out with 'em!!! That's where you'll be anyway! Your neighbor's are already talking 'bout ya, aren't they??? LOLOLOL!! Oh, yeah, you're in for a show!!
Brenda~

I think I need to remove my side shoots maybe thats why I'm not getting any flowers. I was leaving them so I would have more material to share cuttings in the fall, lol. I did have some buds but they all fell off.

If I left the side shoots and the many from the ground, I would have these huge bushes, which I don't want, so, Yes I trained them to one, and two or three in a few instances, such as Tiara, which is doing fine. No Ys yet, 3 branches, looks good,-one of my only good doubles.
Thanks Kylie!

Hi Barry: Sorry to hear about the snapped brug. The ends look so cleanly "cut" hard to figure out what caused it. I've had to stake Adora and the silly Strawberry Creme. That's the one that doesn't Y, but keeps growing straight up with just one trunk! Adora is similar, but has tried to Y. I stake not so much for wind protection (altho the Santa Anas are strong) but mostly for protection from breaking while wilting in the strong heat we have here. They really droop and bend. Good luck on the "sinking" problem. Things have got to start looking up for you soon, you've served your time. Gloria