Hello. I am still testing the waters in this forum and with Brugs. Thanks to some fantastic members and the marketplace, I am on my way! Anyway, thoughts on Brugmansia arborea, please. I purchased some seeds recently and thought it was a true species- B. arborea. But, it arrived as B. x arborea (white). Is this common? Are the arborea crosses as fragrant as the true species? Also, how does this compare in zone 10B to sauvolescens or sanguinea? So far my sanguinea is alive (I know it's not supposed to be.) I have it in shade and mist it once a day. It is growing- not fast, but growing. I am trying to keep it slow and steady and not expect any flowers until winter. So far so good! Others are doing well- some cultivars seem to be more attractive to broad mites than others, or so it would seem. Thank you!
Brug. X arborea
I recently bought B. arborea from Country Garden.
http://countrygdn.com/infosheets/arborea.html
It is growing well. Since it crosses only with B. sanguinea, B. vulcanicola and B, x flava, any offspring may have little or no fragrance, but I could be wrong.
I hope you received true B. arborea seed because most seed, if photos are any indication, are not B. arborea. The B. x arborea could be an indication that the seller doesn't know much about Brugmansias.
You'll have to post continuing information on your B. sanguinea. I've lost a number of them to our hot weather.
ZZ has mentioned that she has had some Brugs exhibit broadmite like damage on some of her plants. I have had the same thing happen to a small handful of mine. The leaves curl up and deform as if infected with broadmites, but once the plant starts growing, new growth is fine. Really strange!
A picture of one of my arborea seedlings if that helps ...they look quite different to other Brugs in my opinion ...this is a true arborea one of many I grew from seed supplied by Alistair so I know they are the real deal ...this is almost 3ft tall and about 5 months old ...it is Winter here. The leaves are very furry and roundish ...I have seen pictures of arborea crosses and they seemed to have toothed leaves.Good luck with them I had no trouble sprouting them.
Thanks for the picture, Chrissy. That will come in handy later when my seeds sprout! Bummer about the lack of fragrance in the arborea crosses...I'll have to try that vendor- thank you Bettydee! I'll try to get some pics this weekend and maybe show the sanguinea- they are still small though. About the mites- it is sometimes possible to "live with" certain types of "micromite" infestations by allowing the leaf to senesce or cutting off affected foliage. I used to maintain a wall of ivy back in my interioscape days inside a mall, and I used to hose down the ivy once a week and also prune off bad leaves, and they didn't really take over. My plant did drop the affected leaf- as well as all the new tender leaves, but the flower bud is/was also affected, and I wonder if the development of the bloom will be strange. I haven't sprayed yet for lack of time, but I am a little doubtful as to whether this mite is gone even though I've lost the affected leaves. At least the rainy season is here now, so that should help a lot, too- we'll see what happens!
Thanks guys!
Just following up about my little sanguinea- this is an overall shot of my "shady" potting bench.
My cuttings start here and then I move to the sun.
Except sanguinea. I keep it here- the plan is until winter. I don't care if it doesn't flower until then, but I've noticed that Brugs in general tend to do just fine in shade here in So Fla. So, wish me luck! So far, so good.
Thanks for the update. What have the temperatures been like?
Sanquineas and arboreas are both high altitude brugmansias, therefore they resent high temps 80+F will stunt them and the flower buds if they form will blast(drop).These grow best on the west coast where the climate simulates their natural environment.They like warm days (60-70F) and cool to cold nights.(40-50'sF)
Yes, I know. That's why I have given up trying to grow them. I've lost too many of them, but hope springs eternal. LOL
Bettydee, we've been hovering around the 88- 91 ish temps. Not too bad yet, and the recent rain has brought nice breezes.