Brugs around here

Thanks to a plant trade I got 2 root cuttings of Datura, a Double Purple. I am told that I will have to keep them inside for the winter, is that true? Can I plant them out now, or will they die? Could I keep them outside, but sheltered near the house?

From what I was reading on PF, I was thinking that they sounded like annuals here. What's the deal?

You'll want to cut them back and overwinter them in the garage. They'll go dormant. Give them about a cup of water a month until spring and then you can bring them out in April or therabouts.

Rob - I just brought mine in recently: mine were in-ground, dug up, root pruned a bit and potted. If you leave them outside they will turn to mush & root kill below 32°.

How big are they? Rooted & in soil?
Do as Kathy posted - keep them in the dark (or dim light), water to keep the roots alive, pull off any leaves that grow. When the low temps are reliably above 45° at might, is when I take mine out. Mine were HUGE this year, so I was able to get quite a few cuttings with "Y's". Fun plant - next year I will plant some in ground & the rest in pots as they are easier to move in a pinch. Be aware they are water-pigs in the summer. Mine flowered beyond what i expected, so in my opinion, they get a high rating.

AnalogDog, sorry but Daturas are an annual. but Brugmansia you can overwinter in a cool place 45-50f. I've been reading about the way people winter them over on the Brug forum. I decided to try putting them in my basement in the bathroom under some florescent lights. our basement has never been finished and I never use that room, other than taking a wee. I might start cuttings in January if I have the room. I have cable beds to set the cuttings on for bottom heat. I did it before and it worked well. Jim

This message was edited Oct 31, 2009 11:05 AM

Okay, I'm confused. What about my newly rooted brug cuttings I have on my windowsill right now? Do I pot them and store them in the garage, or or let them grow like a houseplant, or what?

the1pony, you can leave them on your window sill, most likely will have enough light to get through the winter, Jim

Pony - I have done both & for the situation I have, I find it easiest to let them overwinter in a dormant stage. If you have full spectrum lights to grow under then try that. Either way, as long as you keep the root system alive/healthy, you'll have a great plant next summer.
Under lights, they tend to put out weaker growth, and infestations of aphids can be ridiculous. Low light & above 45°, pull off the new growth - remember everything wants to grow. You can direct growth for a few months & keep that root system going strong.

This message was edited Oct 31, 2009 12:24 PM

Okay- I'll let them ride as they are in water for a while longer, they're just making some nice roots now. Then I'll pot them, put them in the garage and keep them leafless. Thanks, guys! :)

PONY, YOU MAY GET SOME DIFFERING INFO ON THIS, BUT I HEARD THAT WATER ROOTS AND SOIL ROOTS ARE DIFFERENT AND IF YOU LEAVE THEM IN THE WATER TOO LONG THEY MAY NOT TRANSITION TO SOIL VERY WELL. SO AS SOON AS I SEE ROOTS I POT THEM UP. WHATEVER TYPE OF PLANT THEY ARE.

Ah- okay, I have to go get more soil in the next couple of days, I'll pot them as soon as I get it. Thanks!

Patricia - that's very interesting.

I don't know if the roots are actually different, but I have found that if I let something root in water I have to gradually introduce it to soil or I'll lose the plant. I've never figured out why that is since it seems like roots are roots. But it has happened enough that I'm careful now if I've let the roots go too long with just water.

In terms of datura and brugmansia, of course they are different plants. Rob, your title refers to brugmansias, but you have a datura cutting. The reason that might be important here is that I had a datura in the ground for 8 years and it came back every year from the roots. Last year finally killed it. I wouldn't take a chance this late in the year, but if you put that datura in the ground next year, then I would take cuttings of it to root over the winter and then leave the plant in the ground with a nice mulch cover. They do take much longer to bloom that way, though. My datura usually bloomed in September.
I wouldn't even consider leaving my brugmansias in the ground. But they are still outside in pots. I'll leave them there until it gets a little colder.

Thank you Pixy for straightening me out. I just read a DG article on the two, which has straightened me out.

Now, what I got was 5 cuttings of stem. 1 was green and quite rough sort of warty. The other 4 were all black to brown colored, all seemed to be more woody than herbaceous. Can this still be Datura, and not Brugmansia? I thought that herbaceous and woody were a solid distinction between the two genera.

Technically they are both in the brugmansia family, even though they are different plants. I believe that datura are mostly considered herbaceous perennials while brugmansias are considered to be more shrubby. I did think that datura stems were smoother, though. Take a look at this photo:
http://www.missouriplants.com/Bluealt/Datura_stramonium_plant.jpg

I've read where some people have left their brugs in the ground and they do come back by the roots, but I imagine that with the growing season here, you'd never get a bloom out of them.
I also learned what I may have done incorrectly with my brugs this year. I have two in pots and one bloomed and the other didn't. The one that did not bloom actually got more sun and probably stayed in the heat more. Evidently this was not a good choice on my part. Better luck next year, I say.

I also have a great deal of trouble with spider mites with these plants. I battle the mites constantly and the plants can defoliate overnight due to the mite problems. I think I have to take these plants out of their large pots and root prune them over the winter. Then give them fresh soil. Maybe this will help. It was so annoying this year that I almost tossed in the towel.

Argh. I hate spider mites. Nasty little buggers.

I hope my brugs do okay and bloom for me. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage as many as I got, I asked a lady for one specific one and she sent me several different kinds. I only have two of the really giant pots to put them in... eek. Don't know exactly what I'm going to do. Guess there's time to figure it out though, since they will be in smaller pots til spring.

I direct sowed some Datura seeds in one of my beds- Black currant swirl and Belle Blanche. Hope they grow.

Is it ok to direct sow Datura seeds on the ground now? As part of the trade, I was given some yellow flowered Datura seeds. And I wonder what to do with them.

The people I got my seeds from both told me to direct sow in the fall.

Pixydish, what were you using to control sprider mites? and how often? I'm thinking I'll try to be proactive and spray them once a week with Neem oil, I'm just guessing about this, last summer I did have problems with the spider mites and 3 plants defoliated. the neem seemed to help,but I wasn't consitant due to spending most of my time with the Hosta hybridizing, Jim

Spider mites and mildew are often the results of lack of moisture.

Rob - sow some of the seed in-ground now, and the rest in January indoors. That way you'll have success regardless of the winter weather.
My Daturas have not survived Winter (in-ground) the past 3 years. They were planted in rich, well-drained soil in a sheltered area. Mulched about 6-8" over the crown. But i am one zone colder than you, so you might have a better chance. Those started from seed flower very well each year. Fun stuff & pretty easy.
Spider mites are a problem indoors - I just discovered the beginnings of an infestation the other day, which would be the not-fun part.

I used to use neem oil to control them, but I had to spray too often and would forget. Then the mites would take control and I'd have a defoliated plant before I knew what was happening. This year I had to start using a systemic insecticide. Should have put the spray date on the calender because once it wore off I didn't know it until the plant started suffering again. It happens literally overnight I think it's an ortho product. I've always had some trouble with them on the brugs, but this year was an outstanding year for spider mites. Like I said, I think they were getting too much sun and heat, even though the leaves were not scorching. I did keep them watered, but likely the hot dry microclimate did little to help fend the creatures off.

I've never done daturas from seed outside. I'll have to try it. I started some double purples last year, but I did something , don't know what, and they never really took off even though they germinated. I moved on to other things.