Question about a brugmansia friend

Will daturas bloom in a sunny window as a houseplant?

I had a double raspberry one that was outdoors this summer which became very leggy, can this be avoided?

Thanks for the help!

I can not say, that it will with certainty. I tried a hundred times here in Denmark, but they keep loosing their buds. My Brugmansia plants do that as well, but one of our members had a Brugmansia flowering in her livingroom next to a window, so I can not outrule the possibillity, that Datura can flower as a house plant under the right conditions (which I don't know what is).

Tonny

I never have heard of a double raspberry datura, CaptMicha!! Do you have a picture?

I've never heard of one before either, but it sure sounds pretty.

I grew them (datura tatula nd black currant swirl) indoors from seed last winter. They were blooming when I transplanted them to the garden...

Whoops, I meant black currant, I knew it was some kind of fruit.

LOL! Shoot, I was hoping there was a new one.

Me too! LOL. But black currant sounds great also! I am so hungry!

You sure had our hopes up of a new Datura. LOL

They sure don't breed these like they do brugs!

Thompson and Morgan has some that I haven't heard of before. They certainly have the largest collection of datura I've seen. If anyone know of any other cultivers, please let me know! I love these compact plants! But not the weedy ones...

I think you might be disappointed if you're hoping for a compact plant... I had several of the black currant swirl variety, and they get very large! Most were 5-6' tall and just nearly that wide!!!

That is Datura metel Linn. 'Rasberry Swirl' I am busy right now, so can not look into it before tonnight, but as far as I recall, it was / is a Datura metel hybrid carried by and introduced by B and T World Seeds. The hybridizer is unknown, which is comon for Datura hybrids.

It appears also to be sold under the name Datura metel Linn. 'Blackcurrant Swirl'. Datura hybrid names are both in the past as well as currently used somewhat random. In many parts of the world, there is no particular tradition of taking Datura as well as Brugmansia names that serious. That might change, but it takes years of patience as accomodations to a new tradition is always a slow process taking a lot of patience and understanding from both partys :)

Gretchen, you most plants going by these names are of natural size. In 2000 0r was it 2001 a new hybrid series was introduced from the United Kingdom. The name of the series was Datura metel Linn. 'Ballerina' - mix. I grew out a couple of samples a few years ago to compare to older varieties and to the few wild Datura metel, that was in my collection at that time. Common for all the ballérina seedlings was, that they produced low and compact plants. It was also said, that they bloomed much better, that the older cv. ' s, but they don't, but it appear so, because the flowers on account of the much shorter space between branch nodes gives the impression, that it is a sensational bloomer. In relity the flowers just sits unusually close to one another.

Thanks for the info, Tonny!

Of course...LOL...in Texas everything is bigger!!! LOL, LOL!

They are still blooming, but this is one from a month or so back:

Here's one that I snapped this morning:

Gretchen, that last one surely looks more like a raspberry than a blackberry to me. It is beautiful!!

Love Tonny's information. Always so helpful.

Jeanette

its not only raspberry color Ck. the number of petal it like a Small peony .way more then a triple.
Wow

Gretchen, is these two flowers from the same plant?

Yeah, same question as Tonny! Are they? The last one is just amazing.

I would love to gather more information about color changes in D. metel L., because if these flowers was formed on the same plant, Gretchen, you have just overthrown Danerts nomenclature for D. metel and learned me, that it has no basis in reality. I will start a thread later and keep fingers crossed, that some of you have experiences growing especially the purple and bluish D. metel cv. * s, but of course, any D. metel cv. has interetst. :)

I have written a short note here about a few points of Danerts nomenclature:

http://www.brugmansia.dk/Hovedsider/havesider/undersider/book/Datura%20Genus.htm

No they are not from the same plant, although they were from the same seed pod and the flowers were the same color in the summer. I think the cooler weather and/or shorter days has caused the color to lighten up a bit. Also, it is only a double. In the picture above, it just hasn't fully opened... Here is the bloom this morning:

Edited to add...I went back out to look again, and yes it is a triple...guess I'll have to save some seeds from this one, if the frost doesn't get her first!

This message was edited Nov 20, 2004 7:58 AM

PS CaptMicha -- so sorry we hijacked your thread!

Love the one from Nov 19. You say they are from the same seed pod, are they seeds you collected last year? My BCS all looked like your first one. I have a pod or two that I'm keeping for seeds.

Linda -- the seeds are from a friend. It was my first year to grow them. I saved lots of seeds from the first one, but funny...I have cut the entire plant back to the ground multiple times ((the second and third photo are the same bloom/plant), and it just keeps coming back LOL! Now I'm sure its too late to even hope for any seeds :(

No, no, I've really enjoyed this thread. THANK YOU for replying! Daturas deserve more attention than they've been getting.

Hi Gretchen, I know what you mean about hyjacking her thread, but let me tell you when others jump in with their comments, I believe Capt Micha will agree that we learn more and get more out of it.

Thanks, Jeanette

Glad that y'all fee that way :)

I agree, Michelle :)