My first Baby Brugmansia plant: 'Cherub'

My first Baby Brugmansia Plant 'Cherub', which is suppose to have beautiful salmony dark pink blooms in a couple years, just shipped to me from a Greenhouse in Pee Dee, South Carolina to me in NC, she is about 14 inches tall and a little bendy from the mail but very healthy green. Please somebody tell me how to take good care of her indoors until it warms up in may, here in zone 7, and i can move to a pot outside, should i plant her right away? what size pot? and should she get artifical light, sunlight, or should i leave her in the dark in a dormant stage and have her send out new leaves in the spring? im leaning twords putting here in my bedroom window for sunlight in a big 5 gallon pot..mike

Her is 'Cherub' later in the day after she perked up a little bit, on the floor to the left in the back of her is the other baby brugmansia plant i bought along with her as a Christmas gift, called 'Sun Kissed Yellow' she is about twice as tall as the baby 'cherub' at about 26" inches, they were shipped together in a large skinny paded usps box. i want to plant them each in their own large individual pot in the next day or two, until i figure out what to do though, i've been keeping them both moist on the dirt around the rootball..mike

Each should go into its own small pot — between a 6" to a 1 gallon sized pot and no larger. Soil that doesn't have any roots in it will dry out very slowly. In a 5 gallon pot, what roots the cuttings have will be surrounded by too much water for too long and this can lead to root rot.

Small rooted cuttings such as yours need to continue growing during their first winter as they just don't have the stored energy needed to come out of dormancy. A south facing window would be best. You didn't say what direction your bedroom window faced, but try putting them there. If they get sufficient sunlight, they will produce strong sturdy new growth. If the growth looks skinny with long distances between leaf nodes, they need more light. If you can't provide natural light, about 16 hours of artificial light would be ideal. Take care that the Brugs don't come in direct contact with the windows.

@bettydee..thank you!! it was about 65 degrees today for some fluke reason as it was like 30*F yesterday, so i went to lowes and bought two of their 2 gallon black sterile pots, and 6 month feeding potting soil, with the roots and bark in it as well as some coco fiber in it. i didnt want to get the 100 % organic though because i am fearful of spidermites etc. i planted them in the sun in these 2 gal pots and watered them well and they enjoyed this sunshine until i brought them inside. before i brought them in, i staked them up with some green gardening string rope and thin green bamboo stakes. this pic is right after i planted and watered before i staked them up.

This message was edited Dec 31, 2010 9:34 PM

'Cherub' baby just tied to thin bamboo stick to straighten it with this first piece of green gardening string outdoors just after potting and watering her. i finished straightening and tying her the rest of the way as well as the Sunkissed Yellow baby plant too, and then moved them both indoors..mike

Both Brugmansia Babies 'Cherub' 14 in [left] and Sunkissed Yellow 26 in[right] both moved indoors after being planted and watered outside in these 2 gal pots, and then staked up with some gardening string and thin green bamboo stakes. both two gallon planters are side by side, on a 3 ft tall oak coffee table in my dining room window facing south for best sunlight, as Bettydee recommended..peace..mike

Smaller is better for new plants. They will be using all their energy to filling a big pot with roots. Use a good clean potting MIX, not soil with extra vermiculite in it to keep the soil light. I start my Brug starts in 32 oz styrofoam cups until they get larger, then move them to a larger pot. Try the Velvet Rose Brug post to get some great Brug growing tips.

these were shipped to me and already have a root mass twice the size of my fist as one is already like 26 inshes tall, so they are not new just rooted cuttings and would definetly not fit in even the largest of cups, i feel 2 gallons is just right as 5 gal as bettydee stated would be way to big and dry out easily and not be practical and like you said make the plant spend all its energy trying to fill up the pot, but i also might keep these growing in these pots too during the summer outside until they outgrow the pots, in stead of planting as soon as it warms up, so this was also something i felt i should take into consideration when choosing size and not get one that would be to small too and be outgrown in less then say 6-10 months..mike

Mike,
The reason I recommended using pots no larger than 1 gallon was to avoid the biggest winter killer — root rot. Even 2 gallon pots will have a large amount of wet soil surrounding the root ball. Without roots in it, this area will dry out slowly, not as you just stated "dry out easily." You will have to be extra careful when watering them to avoid the prolonged presence of water in the soil. Use a finger to test the soil about 2" below the surface. When the soil feels almost dry at this level, then add water by the cupful and test again. Add just enough water to raise the moisture level up to "just moist" level.

The ideal potting mix for Brugs contains 2 parts potting mix of choice and 1 part perlite which helps promote faster drainage.

This spring, when you place your Brugs outside and start feeding them regularly (once or twice a week) with an all purpose complete fertilizer with micro-nutrients, such as Miracle Grow. Do not use a fertilizer that contains a high phosphate number. Brugs respond to extra phosphates by turning yellow. You will be surprised how quickly they can outgrow their pots and you may have to re-pot in less than "6 to 10" months anyway assuming they survive being over potted now. This forum has lots of great Brug growing tips. When you have some free moments, go back and take advantage of other growers' expertise. I would also suggest Preissel and Preissel's Brugmansia and Datura: Angel's Trumpets and Thorn Apples.