Caused by my reading AlohaHoya's tread on the Brug that stopped growing when planted out, and some of the responses, I've got a question(s) to anyone growing Brugmansia. I went and began looking for soil requirements for them and it only speaks to the Ph preferences. My question, knowing that they love fertilizer is: What type of soil do you have naturally where you live? What if anything have you done to improve those soils. And in either case, how do your Brugs do in that type of soil.
As you may already know, I haven't begun my "addiction" yet, but the Datura I grew last summer where in a rather moist clay all spring, with sunshine from about 11am to 7pm. We had a record setting rainy spring but the summer was average so they weren't wet all the time. They did really well, with many blossoms.
I would love as many people as possible to reply because the answers could possibly help a great many of us, Newbies or not. And it may turn out to be a nice adddition to the PlantFile Information. Anybody agree?
Thanks
Richard T
Soil Preferences For This Addiction
Great question Richard. Our growing conditions are all different, so I'm sure we all have to do different things. My soil is almost pure sand, so I have to amend with organic materials and water, water, water. I have much shade and have to find where they will get the most sun. For others who have much sun, I guess they look for some shade in the afternoon.
Your seedlings look great.
LindaSC
My soil is very poor and sandy. The topsoil was sold from this land many years ago and it was always used as a cotton field, wheat field or corn field. I've had to add lots and lots of compost. I don't have much shade so Linda, I'm one of those looking for the afternoon shade for my Brugs.
I have nice black soil here in my yard unless I dig too deep and then it rolls up clay. My soil is rather dense and I would like to loosen it up, but I don't have what it needs to work those long days anymore. LOL! The soil here holds moisture fairly well, but not enough to cause rot. The flower beds that have been amended, do not hold the moisture well at all. I've never tested the PH of the soil, but I'm a firm believer in "don't fix it if it ain't broken". My brugs grow very well in the garden soil, the amended soil, and in my pots of soilless mix. I grow them in full sun and partial sun, both doing very well. My seedlings grown in the ground, about 75 of them last year, all bloomed but one or two. Those grown in pots of soilless medium only made bloom in about 1/4 of those planted that way, but they were started later. I only fertilized with cheap granular garden fertilizer, those seedlings/cuttings planted in the ground. The potted brugs, seedlings and cuttings, got water soluable in 20-20-20 and 15-5-15. At different times, of course. I have to say that the cuttings I grew in pots compared to those in the ground, did much better as far as numbers of blooms, but I wasn't embarrassed about the ones in the ground as they bloomed very well, also.
My soil has a lot of clay or is sandy & gravely ,depends where it is.
Different parts of the yard produce differnt growth rates.
My brugs grow in the ground all summer and get fed when I think of it.
I'm away alot of the time and that is why they are not grown in pots where they need daily attention.
But when I do use potting mix it is a pro mix that nurserys use.
For feeding , I use my own mix plus soil additives.
I keep a salt based fert like MG or Peters around just in case I have no other choice at the time.
My soil is plain old red clay. I have to use raised bed on the flat and Highly amended soil on the slopes. Cost is high when you import all your garden soil. Pile on the leaves and till in the fall.
My soil is rich and black, this was a pasture for a variety of animals, cows, horses, chickens, quail, etc. I have sunny and shady locations and lots of both. I have some low spots that must be raised before I put brugs into the ground. I have a large pile of the nicest compost we've ever had and I plan to spread it over all the beds before I add cedar/cypress strip mulch which helps with bugs and weeds. Weeds used to be a real problem until I followed the mulch instructions and used 3 inches on top of the ground. I used a variety of fertilizers and I just received a sack of 15-5-15 (thanks, Brugie!) that I've been trying to locate and have delivered for 16 months!!! Bugs are the biggest problem I have, slugs and cats being the worst...
Well it sounds like SherryLike is the luckiest of all so far. A former pasture? With all those years of free "fertilizer" being "dropped" on the ground must really help. All that natural "Fiber" too. LOL
And Brugie with her good Iowa black dirt sounds pretty luck too. Brugie, are you saying that the seedlings grow better in ground and cuttings do better in containers? The rooted cuttings might very well do better in a potting mix.(?), What do you think? And you mentioned soiless medium. May I ask what that was?
Scooterbug: It'd be interesting to see in which soil type you have that the Brugs do best. Clay? Sandy? Or a mixture of both. You having different types would be able to say which is best. (for Wisconsin seasons)
With everyonelse having sand or OK. red clay I can understand having to ammend it. One to hold moisture and nutrients, and the other for drainage and organic matter to loosen it up. The clay around here is brown but still drains somewhat. It's not the hard pack stuff you can have in some areas.
Rich, all Brugs do better usually in the ground than in a pot. You'd root your cuttings in water or potting soil and get them growing before you'd plant them in the ground.
Thanks, I'm learning....or trying to.
Rich, we're all learning. Some are just further along than the rest of us. LOL
Richard - I am relatively new to Brugs (last summer was my intro with just 2 I grew from cuttings), these were grown out in 5 gallon nursery containers in my backyard. I used commercial, pro-mix to which I added a little aged manure. They bloomed fine all summer long reaching 6ft in height by frost when I had to cut them down still dripping with buds. sniff. For fertilizer - I used regular Miracle Grow for half the season - then by July - switched to every other weekly watering with Alfalfa pellet tea - everything loves that! Oh, yes..I also gave bi-weekly spraying with Messenger on everything I grew which really did seem to help keep things going right up to frost.
I also grew 17 Datura plants from seed (also in nursery containers) - same soil, same fertilizer - same great results.
This year will be another one of mostly container grown flowers - while my DH finishes construction on my new Victorian garden (50 X 65 ft) which will have a special section for my Brugs and my Daturas. Then, I will be planting them in the ground in amended soil.
Diane Krny
Wow, Diane, your Victorian garden sounds like a dream!! Please send photos along the way...
Oh, Yr in for a treat sherry. Maybe Diane will give us the link to where she posted a lot of pics of her place and the work her DH is involved in.
Dianes place is like an ol story book IMHO and her dh is what as little girls thought we would all get , a talented & compassionate man.
At least that is the impression I got . So mbbe this ol chick has a romantic eye that only I can see through. How's that for blabbering .... bwaahahahah
This message was edited Mar 4, 2005 11:06 PM
Wow...she sounds neat!
We don't have soil!!! we are on a 300 year old lavaflow..with about 3" of topsoil, big weeds and a local tree they call Ohia...Puhutikawa in NZ..a type of myrtle I think. SO, when we plant a tree, we have to get a backhoe in and with the drill, make a 3.5'square hole. That hole we fill with black cinder and "canewash"...residue from the Sugar Mills...No nutrients in it AT ALL. So, we put Chicken Manure in the bottom, the "soil" and then the planting area we add a mixt ure of peat, Dolomite, coir....and pray a lot!!!! The Brugs are tough, and I fill depressions in the rocks with cinder/soil and plant them....or I just dig holes out of the rock with a crow bar and stick the cutting in. In most places we prepare the area with cinder soil...= fast drainage (we fertilize every 10 inches of rain). I have just learned that I need to give fertilizer faster than the slow release....
The Brugs love it...but I am bored with the continuous fertilizing!!!!
Still love em
Carol
I had good results using compost from my big mulch pile made up of leaves and grass cuttings from the yard, broken down with my chipper/shredder and placed in piles from fall and spring. We dug out the bottom from the oldest pile last spring to fill my nine big pots, and amend the soil for the plants and seedlings that went into the ground. My borders were established beds where the plantings went, from five or so years of mixing in compost. I added more as the summer progressed. This, and KAufmann's home brew, as well as Rose systemic with fertilizer was our remedy, here.I put an inch of gravel in the bottom of my pots - which have to be watered every other day. I have 14 pots, now overwintering in the GH, with 50 potted cuttings, and 15 cuttings in water.
Thanks, and yes, Scoot, your thoughts and mine coincide, with regard to Diane, her place and her hubby and I greatly enjoyed her story and her photos and might go back and take one more run through, I love the barn doors...
Carol, I love your experiences in paradise, your planting is so different, I love learning about other areas and yours is really interesting. Next time you backhoe and drill a tree, send us a pic!!!
Rich, it boils down to the fact that growing 150 brugs each year and being the age I am, I don't like to dig very well. So digging up plants in the fall is out of the question except for the very few that I grow from seed that will be held over another year. I do prefer to move pots into the garage rather than dig, pot, and then move them. LOL! I did have a couple of plants that were duplicates last year and so I had one each in the ground and pots. I have to say that those in pots did much better for me, but they also got more feed.
My soil is nice Richard - and the real gardners in my area know how to use it to their advantage - I'm learning, inch by inch, lol!
Brugie:
I'm finding out that age can have little to do with it. And after the last few days I'm finding out that all of us come to the point that we can't do the things we'd like to. With my "disease" (INJURY), I'm coming to the conclusion that even pots may be out of the question. The legs are going faster than I would have liked, so it would appear that perhaps brugs are going to be too much work for my abilities.
Anyone that was willing/planning to send me cuttings please save them for someone that will be able to care for them. As much as I would have loved to try them it looks like I won't be able to do the work. Sorry!
But Thank You Truly, to those who were keeping me in mind. You will remain in mine.
Richard
Rich, I'm so sorry to hear this. My prayers are with you.
Dang it Rich, I'm sorry to hear that the legs are deteriorating faster than expected. You may have to find another way to garden that will fulfill your gardening needs. Maybe some gorgeous house plants or window sill gardening. I'd love to grow herbs during the winter, but my house doesn't have window sills. Take care and if things start looking up, don't hesitate to let us know. I hope you will still visit often with us here on the brug forum. You don't have to be a grower to enjoy this site and its forums.
Richard, what a tough turn, I am so sorry. Maybe you could have one brug inside that you can enjoy. I hope warm weather will help, hang in there, I shall pray for a miracle, they do happen and I hope there is one there for you!!!!!