From what I gather, brugmansias can be as poisonous as they are beautiful. My question is, do they also pose a threat to wildlife (birds and hummingbirds in particular)? Also, are the warnings and precautions inflated?...do I really need to wash shears with warm water and liquid detergent after working with a brugmansia?...do I need to wear protective gloves?
How big of a threat are brugs?
I think that the biggest threat is that they are addicting.........like coleus..
Hap
Don't know about the other stuff......you'll have to wait till one of the experts come on....
Not an expert here,but I have had my share of Brug Eye,you might want to wear glasses if you are chopping or pruning,and becareful not to rub your eyes.
I have had them 8 or 9 years,never had a problem with them,other then a little juice in the eye,not painful,just blurrie.
The cleaning of tool is a good idea to keep sanitation between plants.
Root (welcome to our addiction)
Addicting? Are birds affected in the same way?
So it discomfits the eyes...Not as dangerous as I hyped it up to be. But I'll still be sure to wear sunglasses like you advised.
HUGE THREAT! brugs are so addicting!!! but we're all high happy about it and there's no 12 step program.
welcome.
From my personal experience Brugs have no ill effects on birds.
Last year I had a terrible time with a family of Orioles. They were pecking holes in the buds of many of my seedlings to get to the juice that was inside.
It didn't seem to bother them one bit. They continued their destruction for a couple of weeks until they decided to move on.
Hummingbirds also love the flowers.
Caution should be used with small children and furry pets that might eat a part of the plant.
i do not think brugs are a threat to wild life. i see wild jack rabbits, wild birds eating leaves of brugs and datura. in the three yrs. in this house i live in, so far i have not seen one wild animal dead. i see the hummers getting nectar from brugs and datura... so far all are alive and kicking.
the only thing u need to be mindful is it is TRULY ADDICTING!!!! hope that help u.
Root...that eye thing is caused by the atropine in the brug sap. Same thing they use when they dialate your eyes. I had heard about diverting your head when cutting brugs...but thought it was an old wives (just up my alley) tale.
Carol
How toxic are the leaves? I got my first brugs in the mail tonight and have planted them in pots outside. I think I'll probably have to overwinter them inside. One of my indoor cats is a 'living lawnmower' and has been known to munch on my plants. So far she's only gone after little palms, anything that looks like grass, or vegis I'm trying to start inside. She also will defiately nibble on my night blooming jasmine. Do brug leaves taste bitter or burn the mouth like many ariod do as a deterant for potential nibblers? Has anyone here had a cat munch on their brugs?
I too was worried about this. I have read reports of animals doing a little munching and being fine. However, I would NOT want my Miss Kitty having a brug buffet. I would do 3 things :
1) give Kitty a garden of his/her own. plant a pot of kitty grasses for the cat and place it near the feeding area, this has helped me so much
2) place the brugs in a place the cat doesnt spend all her time, she may go look for them but dont have her walking by them all day
3) when you first bring them in spray a little of that bitter apple or something similar on the lower leaves.
I have found that my puppy did not like tabasco sauce on the corners of my kitchen cabinets. ONE dose of that stuff cured him!!!!
I think the only threat about Brugs are that you get so addicted that you just gotta have every one you see, hear, or read about, and as far as I know there is NO cure.
Doris
Silly stories of incredible poison are being attributed to them; I even saw one person asking if the fragrance was as deadly as a friend had told her!!! Nuts!. A LOT of plants in the field and garden are "pretty poison"; Don't eat them or put them in your eye, and they are only wonderful!
My cats, one in particular, Loves flowers!! Eats them and the leaves to nubbins, if I don't shoo him or put the flowers out of reach (hard to do with a cat). But he doesn't touch the brug leaves. Nor will my goats, and I hear deer don't like them either. I think they must smell/taste bad to most critters, people included.
Edited to say those were lovely zinnias that morning!
This message was edited May 6, 2005 10:39 AM
i believe they are hallucinogenic when eaten in mass quantities.
LOL....zinnia salad bar!
Bitter apple. That's a wonderful idea! I wonder if she would leave my edible plants alone. She's been so good about not munching since I've been buying her organic wheat grass. Spoiled! At least she's never touched any of my orchids or nanas.
Thanks for all the information. I gather that brugmansias are fairly safe with wildlife. It's also good to hear they are attractive to hummingbirds. It's true this plant is addictive. After spotting this plant blooming prolifically in someone's yard, I knew I had to have this plant.
I remember someone saying last summer that they rubbed their eyes after cutting their brug and had a little of the juice on their hand. They went blind, but just temporarily. That would be so very frightening. Since then I have always been careful to wash my hands immediately after. My cat likes to eat grass and some leaves but never ever touches the Brugs. I think some animals have an instinct of what is poisonous and what is not, but I'm not a vet so I'm just guessing.
I'm not sure all cats have an instinct of what is poisonous. My cat repeatedly tried munch on my Monstera deliciosa leaves... I found multiple teeth marks and a cat with swollen lips.
emilyrasmus - I'm sorry but I could not help but LOL.
It would be a strange thing to see....
I think someone needs a day job here. ROTFL
Hap
How much of a threat? A big threat to your sanity, as you'll want more, more, more! LOL You'll see!
Oh that pic is too funny! LOL! I had one of my new brugs inside as I was looking at the roots and guess who started muching on the leaves? I scolded her and she quit and is fine today.
