PlantFiles Pictures: Devil's Trumpet, Horn of Plenty, Downy Thorn Apple 'Black Currant Swirl' (Datura, 1 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
James,
Brugmansias grow very easily from cuttings. You should come on over to the Brugmansia forum and check out the colors and shapes that are being grown today. Everyone there is very generous with cuttings for postage, especially when they trim or have to cut theirs back for the winter. I'm just starting out myself with Brugmansias and have received many cuttings from generous traders. Also, I got a bunch of cuttings from ebay for around $10 plus shipping.

Where a cutting is taken from on the parent plant often determines the size of the new plant. For example, if a cutting was taken from the top flowering portion of the parent plant, the new plant will likely be a small shrub. If a cutting was taken from below the "Y" of the parent plant or from a start which came up from the roots, then the new plant will likely be a taller tree or shrub. If you are really interested in Brugmansias and Daturas, you should come on over to B.G.I. Here are some links:

http://www.brugmansias.org/siteindex.html
http://forums.brugmansias.org/members/signup.php
http://forums.brugmansias.org/module/members/subscribe/subsc...

Here is another good source of information: http://www.americanbrugmansia-daturasociety.org/abadssitemap...

When your Datura flower falls off, you will see a round ball where the flower was. That ball will grow bigger and bigger and have bumps. See the picture of the seedpod below. When the seedpod starts to turn brown or crack open slightly, then you can harvest the seedpod and scrape the seeds out and dry them for storage.

You are right that daturas are in the Nightshade family and are related to eggplant. This is a quote from ABADS: "The genus Brugmansia belongs to the nightshade, Solanaceae family which includes tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco, many kinds of peppers, eggplant, and also includes Datura, petunia, nicotiana, solanum, physalis (Chinese lantern) and other ornamentals." I'll also add that tomatillos, Iochroma, and Nicandra are also related as well as many other ornamentals.

It could be that your Datura was propagated by a cutting, but I've heard that Daturas are difficult to root, and since seeds germinate easily, propagation by seed is usually the preferred method. Variegated Daturas are usually propagated by tissue culture.

Your quite welcome for the information. Check out the Brugmansia forum when you get a chance!