General Discussion & Chat: Best/ worse/ ? did you learn today #30 visit with friends..., 1 by Gitagal

Gitagal wrote:
A short tutorial on growing Daturas, since several of you got seeds from me for these plants.

Sure you can, Betty! Start your seeds inside (remember, they are a bit slow to germinate) and when the seedlings have1 or 2 sets of real leaves, transplant them in a 4" pot and keep under lights or on a very sunny windowsill. Rotate now and then for even growth.

When the weather is warm and you can put plants out, first put the 4" pots somewhere with Very filtered light for about a week. Then move them to a brighter spot and finally in full sun. Allow the Datura plants to grow to at least 5-6" in the 4" pots. By then they will have a good root system already.

Have small holes dug where you want to plant them permanently. This is important! Daturas do not like their roots "messed with" when transplanting. So--just lift them out of the 4" pots and set them, gently, into the dug holes. Firm around and water in.

At first they will look like they are not growing, but when they start--LOOK OUT! You will see a difference in size every day!
You may want to put a stake for support near the plant early, as they can really lean one way or another towards the sun.

When blooms are done, allow them to drop off naturally. If you pull them off too early by hand, you may pull off the developing seed ovary.

When you see the pods starting to ripen (they look like mini-hand grenades) keep an eye out regularly to catch them when they start to split open. If you do not do this, they can, by themselves, just pop open and spew their seeds all over the bed--which will come up next year...
As soon as the pods split open, remove the pod (with scissors--DO NOT pull!) and take all the seeds out on a paper plate and let them dry. I put mine on top of the fridge.
Label your plants--as they look very alike. Also--label your seeds--they look alike too.

ALWAYS wash your hands when you have handled any parts of a Datura as they are toxic if ingested. Same goes for Morning Glories and Moon Vine. They all belong tot hrr Nightshade family of plants.

OK! Here's what the seed pods look like when growing. Te pods on the purple one are smooth. On the yellow one they have sharp, soft spikes all over.