Not a single freakin one! I've tried different brugs in different locations for years (15+) and have never had one survive the winter. I know folks in 7b that have no problem. I think 7a is just a half zone too cold.

Karyn, don't tell me that! I had a lot of success with brugs in the ground in 7b, and I've only moved about 30 miles north! My mom lives here in the same town---my hometown---and she had nameless pink in the ground for several years. Winter before last, every brug in this county died---but since I didn't move here until October of that year, all mine were indoors anyway. Last summer I put several NOIDs and a couple of Chrales Grimaldis in the ground, and about half of them came back, so...

Hummm...guess I need to start experimenting with microclimes.

Where are you living now? If you are in TN, So. VA, N.C. or further south you shouldn't have a problem. The Eastern Shore of MD/VA is also ok for keeping them inground year round. For the folks in the DC Metro area (where I am) it's just too cold. We are right on the border of 6b and 7a so depending on where you are you mght be fine. I think that most brugs have about the same requirements except for the Sphaerocarpium group. Some might be a bit more cold hardy but I don't think there's a huge difference in cold tolerance with most brugs.

Besides the warmth a really important factor is a well draining area. It's the cold and wet roots that rot. If they're dry they can take significantly more cold. The soil around here is non porous red clay. I can only amend it so far down and I think the combination of cold and moisture is what does them in here.

I now live in southern TN, very near the AL state line. Where I moved from was near Florence, AL---if you look at a zone map, in the north-western corner of the state there's a spot that's a half-zone warmer than the surrounding area---that was my back yard. (*grin*)

When I lived there, almost any brug would survive the winter in the ground, but some wouldn't perform well that way---mostly the versicolors. 'Species' came back three years, but never flowered until I started taking it in for the winter. 'Frosty Pink' and 'Charles Grimaldi' were real workhorses, putting out tremendous flushes of blooms until the day the weatherman convinced me to cut them down. And I have a NOID white my mother's neighbor grew from seed that's VERY hardy---it was the ONLY brug that flowered for me last summer.

I totally understand the wet-feet-in-winter thing. My yard is on a hillside, so the upper 2/3s is very well-drained. (The lower 1/3 is a bog!)

Okay, I guess I'll just go for whatever strikes my fancy and experiment!

I can only dream of being in such a nice warm winter area. LoL Good luck with your experiment msbatt!

~Tina

I am going to try a couple of NOIDs outside, but under optimal conditions. They will be in a raised bed, approximately 24" deep (30" wide) along the south wall of the house. So Southern exposure, winter sun, reduced rain/snow exposure, fast draining bark/perlite/Turface medium, heavy mulch and a wall shared with a heated room. If they don't make it there, there is probably no hope. The two brugs will share the space with a couple bananas and a fairly hardy taro.

I tried a couple in a similar area but my soil was only amended about 18" down. They didn't make it but maybe if the drainage had been better they would have. The soil here is heavy red clay. Let us know how it works.

I took the cover off the bananas last week, and both immediately started to push out new leaves. So this morning, I pulled them out of the raised bed (described above) where they spent the winter. With the bed opened up, I noticed that lots of things have stared to sprout, including the Brug that spent the winter beside the bananas.

I only left one Brug outside, a NOID that looks similar to Jamaican Yellow. I have it in a pot, so I can move it inside if the cold returns.