1st Burgs arriving today

Hi everyone. I am thrilled to find this site and I have spent several hours reading and reading, as my first burgs are supposed to arrive today or tomorrow. I will be growing them in containers sitting on my back patio which faces the south, but it is covered, so I am planning on setting them on the West end. That should give them considerable direct sunlight. I was concerned about the wind knocking them over, and I really don't like the look of pots sitting out like that so I have built a bottomless box out of cedar and I will set the plants in there and them fill it with bark. Anything wrong with that idea?

Other questions: Blooming: I have seen you mention "flushes" so I take it they bloom, then there are no blooms for a while, then they bloom again. Is that right? How often do they bloom each year? Also, how long do they hold their blooms? Since these are night bloomers, when do you see the open flowers...only in the early morning or something?

Bugs: Is it a good idea to spray with malathion or something as a preventative to an infestation or should one routinely use a systemic product and will that product take care of all the bugs. Something I find fascinating is the fact that these plants are supposed to be poisonous yet all these bugs can live on them. Isn't that funny:)

Anyway any tips for me to start out on? I so want to do this right. I only discovered these plants a couple of weeks ago and they are the most amazing things I have ever seen.

This message was edited May 27, 2010 1:02 PM

Hi Hanna, Welcome to the Brug Forum. You might be able to get away with giving you Brugs afternoon sun, but generally, they prefer morning sun and afternoon shade. A few Brug enthusiasts are able to grow their Brugs in full sun if the humidity is high enough.

There is is nothing wrong with your idea of placing the pots inside a bottomless planter and covering with bark. It sounds like a great idea for those of us in the south who need to protect pots from the relentless heat.

Yes, Brugs bloom in flushes. Each flower stays open from 4 - 6+ days. Their fragrance is strongest at night since moths are the usual pollinators, but they are not night bloomers. The flushes can last for a few weeks to almost 1-1/2 months. Then they rest for up to 2 months while they produce more buds. Some cultivars, depending on their genetic background, have flushes that almost overlap at times. Others have very definite flushes and rest periods.

This one is difficult to answer because there are so many variables. They tend to bloom more in the spring and fall with some flushes in summer if the temperatures are not too high and dry. If they are kept in a greenhouse or an artificially lit place indoors during winter, they may put out some flowers as well. How often you fertilize will also affect how often they bloom, how much they grow.

Bugs: The worst pests are spidermites, caterpillars, grasshoppers and sometimes broadmites. Keeping them well fertilized and growing well helps avoid some problems. Plants that are stressed will tend to fall prey to all sorts of problems. A systemic insecticide helps keep them healthy, but here is no product that will cure all. You will need to address each pest as it becomes a problem. You don't want a pest to become resistant to the product you use although I haven't read of that happening with a systemic. If your summers are not too hot, you can use neem oil to get rid of spidermite. Because it is a contact pesticide, bugs don't develop a resistance to it. However, if the temperatures go above 85ºF, I would use it either early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid burning the Brug leaves. It will kill beneficial bugs, so try to use it when they are not around. Caterpillars can be picked off. Keep your fingers crossed and hope you don't get broadmites. They are very difficult to eradicate and the stuff you need to get rid of them is very, very expensive.

Besides the links that gordo provided, I would suggest you go back into the older posts as well as the tagged threads. There is a treasure of information in many of the older posts. Drs. Preissel and Preissel's book: Brugmansia and Datura Angel's Trumpets and Thorn Apples and Monika Gottschalk book Engelstrompeten are great reference books. Tonny Surrow-Hansen has an e-book out on Brugmansias that you can purchase from him.

Brugs are very addictive! Have fun!

Bettydee, thank you for your response. I went and read those other sites but still didn't have the answers concerning the behavior of the flowers especially. Now I do....thank you:)