Tropicals & Tender Perennials: New to the World of Brugmansia and Totally Addicted!, 0 by delecie

delecie wrote:
Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and also to the world of Brugmansia. I'd like to write a bit about my addiction and then ask for assistance with a problem.

On 9 Nov. 2002, I attended a huge sale at Fairchild Tropical Garden, here in Miami, FL. I had a list of things to buy; Brugmansias were not on the list. I saw person after person walk by me with these beautiful trees so I went in search of them. When I found them, only a few were left, and I selected a 5' tall 'Ecuador Pink' that had one flower and one bud on it. I paid my $15 and went happily home to research Brugmansia and to find a nursery in my neck of the woods that sold them. Later that evening I went outside to smell the flower and my addiction began.

I discovered from my research that it is quite easy to start new plants from cuttings so I went to Ebay in search of cuttings. Nine days later, I had the following cuttings: Isabella, Peach Salmon, Sunray, Candida Double White, My Pink, Cypress Gardens, Insignis 'Frosty Pink', Charles Grimaldi, Jean Pasco, and Wildform. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, cutting my cuttings into smaller lengths and putting some of them into water, some of them into soil.

Well, I'm happy to report that most of the cuttings are doing quite well! Most of them have leaves and they appear to be growing more each day. However, I had three Candida Double White (CDW) cuttings in soil and I've lost all three. I knew that all of the cuttings wouldn't make it but I was crushed by the loss of all of one type. Is the CDW particularly hard to root? Should I have done something different with the CDW cuttings? I also lost one 'Isabella', 'Charles Grimaldi', and 2 'My Pink', but the other cuttings of these types are doing well. I even took a cutting from the Ecuador Pink, and started several new cuttings and they all seem to be doing well. I'm also pleased to report that when I checked on the 'Ecuador Pink' today, she is full of small buds! I think she likes the area where she is planted and she must love the Osmocote that I've been giving her for the past few weeks.

Well, I know this is an extremely long post so please forgive me and just chalk it up to the over exuberance of a new Brugmansia addict! I would love any advice about the care of Brugmansias, particularly advice about my problem with the Candida Double White. I've also posted a picture of one of my new cuttings that I can't believe was just a bare stick, less than a month ago. :-)

Delecie