Why are Brugs so popular?

I've only been gardening since retirement (2 years) and I have many lovely plants but no Brugs. What am I missing? Why are they so popular? This is one of the most (if not the most) active forums on DG!

I have to believe my garden is incomplete. Please fill me in.

Thanks.

dwdruley...I didn't know that brugs existed until April of this year. I was given a few rooted cuttings by a garden friend. Once I saw one bloom and smelled its fragrance, I was hooked. It is the most beautiful flower. I take flower photos for my small greeting card business and I thought that angel trumpets would make a fine addition to photograpy...

If you can imagine a tree/bush full of blooms that are 8 to 15 inches long or more and know that it will do this almost monthly...then you go out in the evening and smell the wonderful fragrance that the flowers put off, it is hard not to like them. However, imagining is one thing, but having one right there in your yard, makes it even better.

Butterfly in my yard in September.

Butterful is my favorite, for color and smell.

Thanks Brugie,

Since I have trees and a privacy fence, I need to ask how many hours of direct sun do Brugs require?

Also, I can make room for 5-6 plants (for starters, at least). What would you recommend that an older man could enjoy in the summer of '05?

It sounds like "Butterfly" would certainly be one.

Thanks, in advance.

dwdruly they won't be winter hardy in your zone, you will need to dig them up. or plant in pots like I am doing for next summer

In your area, if you can give them 5 or 6 hours of sun, they would probably do very well. Many brugs will do okay in dappled shade if it is hot. I had some that did well with maybe two or three hours of sun this year and it was a cool year. Most of mine were in full sun, but that can also be a problem if it is really hot. The blooms can wilt. I prefer morning sun and afternoon shade, but sometimes I can't have what I want. LOL! For just starting, I would try a Dr. Suess for yellow, Butterfly, Rosamond, or Pink Beauty, for a pink, Versicolor Orange or Peach, Maya, for one with a variegated leaf and peach bloom, and for white.....well, I'm not a white brug lover, but US Conn. Treasure blooms very heavy. If you were to grow some seeds, you would probably get a variety of whites to chose from, depending on the type of seeds you would get. There are just so many different brugs available. If you would like to see many of the brugs that are available, just click on this link and go through the alphabet, one letter at a time. http://davesgarden.com/pdb/finder/index.php?sname=Brugmansias&submit=Go

Thanks both,

I have no experience using pots. It sounds like it could be quite a chore but does this enable you to keep a brug growing for several seasons and have it get bigger and better?

Or should I just plan to reseed each year?

Any details on the pots would be helpful including where do you put them all?

Thanks, again.

They do get bigger and better. They have to be pollinated either by hand or by nature, and some pods take up to 9 months to become ripe. I use 7 gallon pots for the most part, and it works out ok. As far as storing them, lol any extra bedrooms, closets, bath tubs, basement, you name it, Im sure you can store it there.
There is so much more detailed information, if you do a search on what you are looking for, that will help you so much. Years and YEARS of trials and errors in these pages.

dwdruley,

For the least amount of labor , I think this is what you are asking .....................

would be to take a few cuttings every year and keep in water until they root ( or over winter) in a 'glass' .

In the Spring plant those for enjoyment of the previous years brug you loved.

The mother plant would just be allowed to die outdoors but ............

the cuttings are like her children and will be exactly the same as she was.

Seeds can be a tedious procedure and seedlings do not come true to the parent.

So I would recommend cuttings which are easily gotten from our generous brug lovers here.

Just say the word and someone will eMail you with an offer for only postage.

Wow, no wonder this forum is so popular!

I've got enough here to start me in the personal brug business and maybe next summer I can post some pics showing the fruits of my labor.

The suggestion on "cuttings" vs seeds is an excellent one. However, I have one key question. Is "bigger and better" worth the storing of some pots? Or is this too subjective to ask?

Just a reaction is what I'm asking for.

I keep mother plants of some because they have seed pods maturing on them, but in general, I start fresh each year with a cutting taken the late summer/fall before.

I'd say yes--keep over a couple and see what we mean, lol. When you keep them over you will have quicker and more blooms than the cutting. I overwinter mine in the basement, they like a little rest, and so do I ;>} My Dr spent it's first 2 years in a pot, I planted it in the ground this year, and will somehow dig it up again, I hope! Just look at the size of this baby...

Hello dw....and welcome to the brug forum. You've come to the right place for all your questions. These people are really gooooood!!!

Brugie, tell me why you start with cuttings every year? Do you never keep a large brug? I know they grow fast and furious, but I'm wondering why you don't keep the mother plant. I had such a problem with aphids and spider mites last year with cuttings that I thought the mother plant would be the way to go.

Brin, I do keep some mother plants that have pods on them, but cuttings take so much less room and I don't have a greenhouse. Growing so many brugs, and if I kept all the mother plants from them, we would have to move out. I just don't have the room. Right now I have two in Jim's shop and about 15 in the garage that doesn't freeze as well as four in the house. I gave away about 30 named brugs this year and I can't even tell you how many seedlings took rides to new homes. Just no room. Even if I did have a greenhouse, I would still do some from cuttings. I don't usually have a problem getting them to bloom at all. This Pink Beauty was from a cutting. I think it did very well. It had at least three flushes of bloom this year and was about 7 ft. tall. This was just one of the several branches on it.

That makes perfect sense Shirley! And you have 'the touch'.....your PB is just beautiful! I have soooooo much to learn. I think my tallest plant (Snowcone) was about 7', but it was in the ground. (I had others in the ground but they didn't get to that size.) I don't have a greenhouse either, so room is a factor here also. Thanks for the explanation!

Snowcone ? Where did you get this one?

I have not heard of it and must update my list if it really exists ... lol

Scoot, Padre sent it to me last fall. Try this link http://www.americanbrugmansia-daturasociety.org/brugmansia%20s%20gallery.htm And I'm not certain, but somehow I have it in my head that it might have come thru DonnaB.

Need some???? We have plenty to share!

that's pretty ! ! ! !

I have no clue why they are, dwdruley! I personally think they are so overrated! Run! Run! Run!

WARNING, WARNING, get out while you can. At the end of my second year I have over 100 that I'm trying to figure out how to get into a small gh (and still I want more). They are terribly addictive. Once you see the first bloom, smell the intoxicating fragrance, you can't escape. PS I have cuttings that I can send, email me. LindaSC