My Isabella...Help Please...

I've been growing an Angels Trumpet Isabella in a very big pot for abt 4-5 years now...She's about 4'7" tall
And So far this year she's been really droopy and sad looking..Had 3 limbs coming out of the base,
So yesterday I pulled her out and seperated each one..they came apart easy and all have their own roots.
I put two of them in seperate smaller pots and the main one back in the big pot...Now they look sadder than ever.
But I expected that...
Question 1 Can I pot all three of them back into the big pot away from each other??
Question 2 Should I cut them down their all abt the same size 4'7"
Question 3 Can I use horse manure (it's been sitting awhile) to mix into the dirt to help fertilize them??

My other one is Salmon and it never gets taller than a foot then dies down and starts all over again??

I bring them indoors over the winter...
I'm totally lost here...

This is her in 2005

Thanks for any advice

C'mon everyone!!! I suggested to Phyllis to post here cause I told her that there are soooo many fantastic brug experts in this forum.

***A BIG WELCOME TO ANOTHER (kinda) BRUG NEWBIE***

Jan

go to the following forum (where they're all hanging out...)

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/882414

This message was edited Jul 30, 2008 4:43 PM

Hi lilsista59!! Welcome : )

Here is what I think 1 put them each on there own pot.
2 Do not cut them back you will not get blooms.
3 Yes if the manure is well aged your brugs will love it!!!!

I don't know what is going on with your Salmon??? That is my 2 cents : )

What kind of sunlight do they have during the day, Most of them don't like the full hot sun all day, so I have mine on the east side of the house, and they get the morning sun, then protected from the hot afternoon sun.
Have you been fertilizing them? They like to be fertilized at least once a week.
They like to have the roots wet, but not soaking in water, make sure the pot has good drain holes.
They will have to be brought into the house for the winter, due to your cold temps. Water them every so often, and take them back out when frost is gone, start watering, and they should grow again.
Hope this helps.
Linda Kay

Hey Phyllis.... were her roots pot bound before you took her out and seperated her?? That could have been one reason she was droopy... and I would imagine as big as she is that it will take her longer to recuperate.. you need to join us over on the brug thread.." she's about to # 9"... we are a newbie brug group but we have some pretty good mentors over there too!!

Becky

She's done pretty good till this past year....but it's never bloomed...I'm just finding out about this Y thing now...??
My dd moved into her house in Jan/Feb and took all my plants with her...(killing off half of them..LOL)
And she thought she lost the 2 brugs also...The 5 min ride in the cold didn't agree with them and they lost all their leaves.
But when I got home in April they we're doing great...Then I moved them back to my house putting them in front of a window facing the same direction she had them in....
And they've looked sad and droopy since...
So I seperated the 3 limbs and no her roots weren't pot bound..still had plenty of room....
The one piece looks like possibly a Y but it's really sad looking now cause I transplanted them...
Over the past 5 years I've picked up on somethings....# 1 They don't like change....At least mine don't...
I usually put them out on my upstairs balcony/deck for the summer..It's got a roof so their protected from the full sun..
But the DH has to work on the deck so lugging that big pot around is quite a job so I decided to leave them inside this year...I'll just have to wait to see if they bounce back...
I read something about them liking Epsoms Salt??
Thanks Everyone...

If they are inside they are not getting enough sun.
They need to be outdoors, and get at least the morning sun. Just don't let them get the full afternoon sun. That is too much for most of them.
Linda Kay

Linda Kay
I checked on them this morning and the 2 in the smaller pots seem to be doing better than the one in the huge pot...
That one has the most roots....
Could the bigger pot be the problem??

I think Brugs get tempermental when they have to be in a pot all the time so last year I planted several of mine, then re-potted them in the fall and brought them inside near a window, give them plenty of water, and Miracle Grow twice a week all summer , when they are in a pot make sure they are not overwatered. also make sure you check for mites, and other "unseen" bugs,and never cut the tops off befor they Y or no blooms,also when you disturb the roots it takes awhile for them to come back, also when they get ready to set buds you will notice that the leaves at the stem grows longer on one side.
This is my Isobella last year, this year she is not as big because of all the crazy weather.
Good luck



Doris

Sounds like the one piece was getting ready to bud??
Guess i disturbed them too soon...

Well I just moved them onto the patio...
Will see how the sun is later on...
Put the other one back in her smaller pot and mixed horse manure through it
She looks like twiggy...all her big leaves fell off and she's got little sprouts growing all out of her limb...
And I topped the other pots off with manure also..
Not gonna disturb the Salmon one as it seems to be growing good...Will wait till fall...
Thanks

Check your potting medium. When Brugs stay small it's usually because the soil is too compact and roots can't make their way through it.
A good mix is 50% Perlite to 50% good potting soil.
Repot your cuttings separately. If all goes well, each cutting will quickly fill it's container.
Isabella is generally a fast grower. Mine has a truck 7" in diameter. She's one of the more robust Brug varieties.
Best of luck!

Gordo, I have never seen one with a trunk that big. WOW, have you had her a long time?
Any pictures?
Phyllis, I hope they perk up for you, just be carefull of the manure. If it is too fresh, it can burn the plants. Make sure it is aged.

Linda Kay

I haven't had horses at my house in over a year now...So none of it's new.....

Here she is.
Big girl!

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z72/pantzone/IsabellaTrunk.jpg

Holy cow, now that is a big/HUGE brug!
How old is she?, What color, how tall. Now you have me really curious!
Linda

Isabella. Pink and white. Four years old.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z72/pantzone/Isabella.jpg

Oh my my my...
That is just stunning. I have never seen one that big. Nice job. Thanks for sharing.
Linda Kay

WOW!!!

Looks Like someone's doing something right....LOL
And it's not me....

HEY SISTA'S!!! I'm here and I think I figured out how to post pics from my home PC to here-SOOOOOO, watch out cause I've got lotsa pictures waiting to be shown off!!!!

Have faith Phyllis---we'll help you getting those brugs of yours to bloom!

Jan...picture w/my DD and DH. I'm in the middle (duh!)...red hair = rusty brains!!!

Nice family Jan....
Well be looking forward to those pic's...

i'm babysitting my sweet GD right now..
She's 7 weeks old...
She's now playing the game my DD says she plays so well...
Lets see how many times I can Spit out the suckie and you put it back in...LOL

This was taken a few weeks ago....

Lilsista, welcome to DG Brug forum. I've had brugs for 8 years, 1 is in a 25 gal pot and has been since 2001. It will be repotted next spring. I agree with Kim and Gordo. The potting medium... it sounds like the roots are struggling to push through and grow to support the top growth. They do need to be outside in the growing season for direct sunlight and air circulation.. I only cut on my brugs if they won't fit in the basment in Fall or a limb breaks or I'm trimming lower unwanted branches or shoots for cuttings to share. I've had one in a 25 gal pot for 7 years, just this year, although it is still pushing new starts up from the roots I've noticed it's struggling to produce a large flush. I'm sure the roots are so compact, it is having trouble getting nourishment. Next Spring it will be repotted, I hope it survives, it's one of my original plants. If it doesn't, I've no one to blame but myself, it should have been done at least every 3-4, IMHO. (got a back-up cutting growing, just in case) They will USUALLY react by dropping leaves and being droopy, any time you mess with the roots, move from inside to out and various other reasons, but they usually bounce right back with new growth in no time. And, no blooms for you, in 4 or 5 years?? Lilsista, I admire your unyielding determination... I feed my brugs 2 times a week, wish I had some of your aged horse manure! Please do come join us on the link Jan posted above ((((Hi Jan!))))), some of those newbies who've had their plants growing this season are getting impatient for blooms... Don't you worry, keep communicating with us and we'll help you get some blooms THIS year... Still 2 months growing time, at least!

Phyllis---beautiful baby!!

"B"---HELLO!!!

My 5 year old Isabella is well over 12 feet tall even here in northern NY. She is loaded with blooms and buds right now.To have one that many years and no flowers must mean as Gordo said, heavy soil, lack of fertilizer and light.

I would try to add osme of each and see what happens.

hi I would seperate and put one in a pot on its own,water it in using some fungicide place in only morning sun ,,no hot afternoon sun!! If brugs are left in pots to long they get so root bond that they have a hard time taking up water and also I beleive the roots have a hard time so called breathing,,just from my exsperience .I have a brug that I have had for 3 years and the trunk is about 4 inches on it now and is 6-7 feet tall,,I have about 23 different kinds of brugs in my collection and some yellow and purple daturas all do well for me but have never been able to keep alive a red brug ,Brugmansia sanguinea for some reason they all grow about 18-24 inches tall for me and than die and I dont know why, I can grow just about any plant like my red sealing wax palms that are 8 feet tall I grow them inside my house and they do great but cant grow the Brugmansia sanguinea ,any ideas of why I cant grow this one plant would be vey helpful!!

morishidol,

B. sanguinea prefers cool temperatures year round, won't bloom in temperatures over the 70s and dies in hot weather. There are few places here in the states where it will thrive. So don't feel bad.

I have been told that sometimes salts from non-organic fertilizers can build up in the soil and present a problem. Probably the whole plant needs repotting or at least given all new soil each spring.

Well I repotted all three pieces in new soil....(they we're bouncing back from the initial seperation)
So now they'll just have to bouce back again....LOL
Fed the......And sprayed them with a fungiside...Saw what might be a couple spider mites...
So now i'll just have to wait and see how they do...
I didn't wanna repot the salmon one yet..as she's doing pretty good...Have the soil but will wait awhile...
Thanks all you guys for your help...It's appreciated....Maybe now i'll know what i'm doing...LOL

Well..Lil..
yes.. I'd get them out in the full sun there...I grow all of mine in full sun... the sang is in the shadyest place I have... and some of the varaigated ones can use some afternoon shade up north here... indeed in TX and FL and in the south.. they enjoy a bit of shade.. if they aren't watered often...... that's why you hear that so often...Mothers in north Alabama are in full sun..and do real well..she zone 7 as am I in NYC... but I can see among mine.. the ones unlucky enough to see a good bit of shade... are the slowest...smallest... and bloom the least of all the ones I have.. so get it out in full sun there in PA..feed it twice weekly.. and spray for the bugs often... you'd be amaized how a few bugs will ZAP the boogie right out of the plant...
I mix up a coctail for them...I use a systemic by Ortho.. along with a few hot contact killers... and the floramite..and forbid.. for the mites... they will become accustomed to the posions... but only if there are survivors..
you should have every one of them blooming every year... cuttings... new seedlings.. and old over wintered ones.. three years with no blooms... I'd get them off the porch..you'll have to lace them with the bloombooster to over power the high nitrogen of the horse manure..which will have them growing up fulll and strong... at the expence of the blooms... but the bloom booster will over balance the manure ... and give blooms.. IMHO
Gordon

Here is a recent picture of my Issabella here in northern NY. It is about 12 feet tall and must have 100 buds.

That is so pretty. I bet your whole neighborhood will be smelling so sweet!!
Linda Kay

WOW Brenda! She looks so pretty!

PHYLLIS---Come on---share your pics so everyone can share in your "joy"!!!!!!!!!

Jan

Okay but it still looks sick from the transplant...
Lost all it's big leaves...

Leaf..

Now don't laugh...It looks bad...
Here's the top of the momma brug in the 12 days since I repotted... all thats new growth except that one big leaf...
All the rest of them fell off....LOL
Should I remove it??

And here's the third piece....
It didn't lose many leaves...
Don't mind the stick it's soo top heavy that it grew curved down so i'm trying to help it straighten out alittle...

Another Possible Y

Slight variation in bottom of leaf

Will watch this one too...Who Knows...