daturas

i was given a plant that i think is a datura being told it was a purple brugmansia. i need to know if i am right, and what to expect from it. how big? how fast? will it die back in the winter? i saw some brugmansias on Hilton Head that dont die back at all. i'll post a pic of it

I feel sure it's really a datura. Does it have purple leaves? Yes, on HHI and Blufton it will die back in the winter but probably come back. I have one here in the FL Panhandle and mine came back. Even here my brugs died back, but during a warm winter they could stay green through winter on HHI so there's a chance the dat won't die back. We had a couple of freezes this year whcih got all my plants that can't take a freeze, but everything has come back. I lived on HHI 15 years and left in 1993. I still miss it alot!

Daturas grow very much like the brugs but don't have the wonderful scent and I think they take the full sun much better and don't seem to get nibbled on as much. So water and fertilize like your brugs. I only have the one purple dat since brugs are my favorite.

I asked on the forum about taking dat cuttings and one person said they're difficult to root and another person said they had success doing so by rooting like a brug. So I'm going to try a cutting and see what happens.

This is a good brug./ datura website that may be of some help.
B

http://www.abads.net/abadssitemap.htm

Daturas form a large seed pod which will contain 100's of seeds. They are easily started by seeds.
Brugs do not form a seed pod to my knowledge but are easily started from cutting.
Scroll down this web site and I think that you will find this info.


This message was edited Jun 18, 2007 10:02 PM

My dat has formed seed pods, but, unfortunately, I won't be here when it ripens to be able to get the seeds.

Yes, brugs will also form seed pods -- not as easily as daturas, but check out the Brugmansia forum and you'll see. I had some last year but didn't harvest them.

There are no such things as purple brugmansia ( I know kell is probably trying) .. it is most likely a datura.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/707001/

X

it bloomed the other day and it turned out to be a yellow/creamy/ivory(?) color. the software for unloading pix is messd up on the computer, so i cant put up a pic....

Are the flowers facing up? If so it is surely a dat. Brug flowers hang down.

well it was facing up when it was coming out. it was weighed down by some heavy rain, so it ended up looking like a "nodding" variety of brugmansia.. the small seedpod that is forming is very bumpy and roundre than it is long. Its like a prickly strawberry.

Datura, for sure.

ok thanks yall

I'm starting several Datura seeds this weekend that I ordered from Park seeds. I'm from south-central NC but live and work in Saudi Arabia on the coast of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf....strange, but our planting and growing season is just now beginning. Any advice on starting these lovelies? Should they be transplanted to large pots or directly into the flower beds? It never freezes here so we're a lot like southern Florida. I'm unsure as to what our zone would be but banana trees do fabulously well. Thanks for any advice!

Datura is easy. You can plant in pots or where you want them to be. Just put them in some good draining potting mix about ¼ inch deep and keep it moist but not wet. They can take anywhere from 1 week to 6 months to sprout. Most sprout rather quickly unless the seeds are old or if night time temperatures are below 60°. If you plant them in pots and wish to transplant to the ground later, wait until they get at least 2 sets of true leaves. Datura can take full blazing hot sun as long as they are well hydrated. Otherwise they do best with morning sun, afternoon shade or very bright shade.

In the picture below you can see what just emerging seedlings look like and older ones that are beginning to get their true leaves

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here is a picture of a Datura with a seedpod

And here's a flower. I think this is one of the more common ones but it blooms like crazy so I like it.