Newbie with lots of questions

Hi all,
This is my first post in DG. However, I've been lurking around for quite awhile now. I've learned so much but now have a few questions of my own. I hope y'all don't mind... :)

This is an Angel's Trumpet my mom rooted just before she died last year. My stepdad UPS'd it to me and I immediately planted it. It bloomed once over the summer and now has begun to bloom again. Can someone ID it for me? I don't really care if it has a name, I'm just curious. My kids and I just call it "Grandmom's Angel Trumpet".

I'm in z6 and brought it inside about mid October. A number of the leaves fell off but the blooms remained. We're having an Indian summer now so it's back outside for some fresh air. I gave it a good dose of insecticide and tried to kill off the gnats that got too attached and comfortable and then put a good layer of sand over the dirt. I REALLY want this to survive and thrive next summer so I want to do all the right things. Please let me know what else I need to do. I plan on putting it into my basement for the winter once the blooms have finished. Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much for reading this. I know it was a bit long!

LoraB.
Billerica, MA

This message was edited Nov 1, 2005 10:15 AM

Here's another photo of the whole plant. I'd love to take a cutting or 2, but I think it's still too small. And I wouldn't even know where to cut or what length to make it.

Thanks again!!
Lora B.

Hi LauraB
Welcome to DG and get ready to become an addict like the rest of us,
I can't ID it for you but sure someone will.
last year I said NO MORE and here I am with a new Plant Room full of Brugs, and more cuttings to arrive. you will love it.and you have already started with knocking out our dreaded gnats. LOL





Doris

I do not think that one has a "official" name, at least I haven't seen it with a name. Does it stay white? How special she is though that you have this from your Mom. I will pray it lives for you. I love the name the kids have picked, it makes this brug the most special one of all.

I would take cuttings if it were mine. But get a sealer first because you want to make sure no rot sets in to the mother plant and wash your hands first. I would make sure your clippers have been boiled for 5 minutes of a hard boil too before you cut on the mother plant just to be on the safe side with this most special plant.

I would cut the smaller shoot off by the base but I would leave the 2 bottom nodes so you get more sprouts from the stump. Then I would cut that piece into 3. I am estimating here for I am not there to really see it. You could get more. Keep in mind as you do it, which side is up for it can be tricky to figure it out if there are no leaves. I would make sure a node is close to the bottom of each piece. Take off all the leaves except the very new, small top few. I would seal the mother plant's stump immediately after cutting, and also the top of each cutting except the very top one of course. Make sure your hands are clean.

This will give you hardwood to root which will be more likely to take and not rot esp. since it is late fall now. . Do you have a nice warm place inside that is well lit but not in direct sun while it roots? I would put one in water and one directly in very fast draining soil to maximize your rate of success with this very special brug. I would place the top piece, the most green, in a rinsed so beaded clear plastic bag and close it tight. This piece by the way would be in a small pot of wet but not sopping fast draining soil, LOL. It makes a little GH and keeps the cutting hydrated as it roots.

I would use new soil, fast draining soil and very small pots. I personally use those 16 oz red plastic drinking cups for my cuttings. They are so clean and disposable. I just poke holes in the bottom. Brugs like them for they are deeper than the regular 4 inch pots so they put down their long roots. However, I think since you are new at this, you should get the 8 ounce ones to reduce your chance of rotting. Make sure you use fast draining soil. Rot is your biggest enemy here.

And most important, DO NOT WATER unless the soil is almost dry.

Everyone has their special way and I bet a few others have methods that work as well for them. The main thing is use very clean pot, soil, hands and cutters. Do not over water.

I want to welcome you here Lora along with our very dear Doris. I am so sorry for your loss. A Mom leaving us is so very devastating. I just know this plant is so very special to your family.

Lora beautiful.. call it angel tears also some do..fertilize to.. but everyone hear knows i'm also trying.. Good luck, it survuived mail it will continue to..

Twyla..

welcome to DG, lora. so sorry to hear of your loss. what a beautiful brug your mom left behind. it has a beautiful name already.

if kell, doris, and twyla can't identify, i won't even try. lol. i know so little about my new addiction.

see you around.

annapet

Thank you all for responding. It is indeed a special plant to have. Mom's passing was very quick (pancreatic cancer) but she knew it was coming. So she and my stepdad rooted a large number of the Angel Trumpet's from the huge mother plant in her front yard. I think she did it with the idea of her friends and family having something to remember her with. A fantastic idea, I think. She was such a special lady.

Now that I've shared WAY too much... Sorry about that.

kell, could you please tell me more about your suggestions for rooting? I have regular potting soil that has been open for a month or so. Would you recommend I get a new bag and mix some sand into it in order for it to be really clean and fast draining?
What do you use for sealing the stumps and where should I go to buy it? Or do you use something from around the house?

How short can the cuttings be? I think I can get 3 (3" cuttings) or 2 (4 1/2" cuttings). Maybe they would be a bit longer. I'm not so good with judging distances.
I have a good spot for rooting. Could I use an 8 oz clear plastic cup w/ drainage holes or should I get a flower pot?

If you've made it this far, THANK YOU for taking the time to read this!!! :-)

LoraB.

You have mail Lora!!

watch out, lora....supplies are coming. THEY do help you get deeper and deeper into this.

would you like rockwool with that?

Rockwool?? OK, I've thought and thought about it. I just don't get it!! :-)

I went to HD yesterday and got my "supplies" and now I'm too nervous to start cutting!! I think it's a case of information overload... I think I like my grandmother and mother's way of doing cuttings better. Just stick it in some dirt and see what happens!

Here's another question for y'all. My stepdad is flying up to stay with us over the Tksgiving week. He's in Houston, Tx. If he takes a few stalks from my mom's original plant the morning he flies out, do you think I could root them here? Or is it already too late in the year to take a viable cutting? That way I wouldn't have to risk screwing up my little brug.

If you have an opinion on that, please let me know.

Thanks,
Lora B.

Try it!!! Why not? And you will get plenty of pieces to do so you increase your chances of success. The pieces should root OK esp if you keep them warm. And do not water unless they are almost dry! Let us know how you do, Lora!!!

On any cuttings I get that have been left without water for awhile, I do recut the bottom and stick them in water for a few hours to rehydrate them before I put them up. Gives them a less stressful start. And if you have any willows, make willow water and stick them in there. People swear by it. I think others like Superthrive.

This message was edited Nov 6, 2005 2:38 AM