Curse You Red Baron!

...to quote Snoopy. We have had such a horrid drought that every bloom I get on my brugs, drops...nevr mind that I ahve been wtering them DAILY. I finally get a couple of blooms htat DON'T drop...and the critters get them. I keep them srapyed with orthonex and Thurcide...so I don't think it is cats. But we have a lot of grasshopppers, turned brown (which means locusts that eat everythign in sight)....not to mention japanse beetles. One, or the other...or both...has been feasting on my ONLY two buds to make it to a reasonable size. I've got some small buds coming up, so maybe I'll still get a bloom or two this year. But next Srping, I am moving them to a shadier spot so it isn't such a fight to keep them from withering....

BamaBella, I have empathy for your plight. My first year with Brugs and they did great until it came time for blooming------------ the blooms "cooked" in the sun whilst they was tryin' to struggle out of the buds. Movin' pots into the shade would be great, but wonder how lack of sun would affect the blooming prospects?

In this neck of the "woods" drought, low humidity and wind are constants. Maybe I'd better leave the Brug growin' to the folks in sunny California and start raising Datura !!!

Put some kind of netting over them. Just make a little sack or use one of the small meshes that come with food or bulbs. Hope that works for you . Joan

I've been struggilg with drought all summer and heat. The aea I planted them looked like aperfect spot...shaded in the afternoons. but as the summer wore on, the shade mvoed and next ting you knew, it didn't get shaded till alte afternoon so it was subjected to direct sun till 4-5pm every day! THen, of course, the drought...mojnths and months of less than a tenth of an inch per month. And now this. ARGH! I'll try to mesh bags. I need to pick up a big bag of potatoes soon and I'll make sure to get some in one of those bags...see if it doesn't help some.

Next Spring I'm digging them up and moving them under the popcorn tree where they will get morning sun and either dappled sun or shade in the afternon.

Oh what a shame Bamabelle. And what a disappointment. Thank God we do not have Japanese beetles here.

Txwillie do you get cooler in the early fall? That is when lots of people in the hot areas will get their big flushes. And do you believe I can not grow a datura to save my life here in sunnny California?

So Sorry to see and hear about your struggle with the elements! Just makes your heart sink really low when you see this happen.

Well, I have ahd three blooms on my datrua which is still sitting in a pot on the carport because I don't want to risk it in this heat and drought.

Kell, they say that 'flowers ALWAYS bloom in Northern California' so it's hard to believe you have a problem growing Datura.Do you not get enough heat to keep 'em happy? They do great in our heat and wind. Last year I had single white Datura growing along the east side of a metal building and they literly took over the bed. Over 5' tall and sometimes over 100 large blooms at a time. This year I had livestock get in and strip the leaves down to the stems around first of July and here within 30 days they are leafed out and blooms about to open up again! Guess they are geared for desertlike conditions.

Temps. around here usually get down into the low 90's, high 80's in September, so maybe the Brugs will try to bloom again. We'll have to wait and see! Thanks for bringing up the possibility!

BamaBelle, I can sympathize with you. Our grasshopper plague has been extra bad this year. Many of my Brugs are down to stubs. Others have had all their leaves and buds chewed off. Even the 2-1/2" trunks of a few Brugs have been gnawed through.

Txwille, I grew Brugs for the first time last year. The few plants that bloomed during the summer had strange looking flowers, but once the nights began cooling off, the flushes improved in appearance. They do require lots of water and fertilizer. Afternoon shade is a must!