August Blooms

Thanks, Jen & Holly...I think she's pretty dang cute myself!!! (not biased at all either...LOL)
Gita - actually no....although I still have your seeds. I received 2 baby dats at our swap...one was from Sally...I thought she'd given me both but I think someone else blessed me w/the purple.

'Sunbonnet' Chloe ^_^

I just had the first purple Dats here- isn't it wierd how the petals are purple on the outside and white on the inside?? Do yours stand up? Mine hung sideways. Any Dat babies I gave away came from Gita's seed, and all the ones I am growing too.

Larkspur has died out here a month ago- but then I only had it in a maple bed that gets dried out. I'm putting my Larkspur seed heads around some big Iris.

Oh I need a Dat fix.
Gita, Please save me seeds from both your Double Yellow and Double Purple if you can. I didn't get any of yours because I thought I had some from another source and they weren't what I was expecting. As for the Double Yellow for some reason I only have one of those growing. Not sure what happened to the others.
Daylily

My first Larkspur
Delphinium "Pagan Purples"
Picked it up last month at a going out of business sale.

Sun flowers, This one I actually planted myself. No help from those $#@#$#@ Chipmunks. LOL

Holly - I've got a seed pod forming on the triple yellow I have...

Holly,

I can mail you seeds from both Daturas right now!

My yellow one is also lagging hugely behind the 3 Purple ones this year. The Purple ones are big and tall and blooming away!

The yellow one is only about 2' tall and still a single stem...Hmm????/

Thanks, Chantell and Gita.
Since Gita has both I'll ask her to send me some.
Gita, No big hurry on when you send them. I won't plant them till next year. I can send you $$ for shipping or maybe a plant or two next year. What ever suits you best. Thanks so much. Holly

Do you guys plant the daturas in full sun? What is your secret? This is the first year I tried them from seed and they are still small and not even near blooming. I tried a double yellow.

Wind, I started mine in the basement under lights on March 2nd. The yellow ones sprouted but the purple one didn't show anything until I took everything out side that was the end of May.
The 3 yellow ones that sprouted I potted up in larger pots using Miracle Grow Moisture Control , 2 are in full sun. The one has bloomed 4 times, the other once but that one is developing a nice seed pod. The 3rd doesn't get as much sun and is in a combination pot. So I guess full sun is the answer.
The purple ones are still very tiny but I have not done anything with them.
Chris

Holly,
The seeds are already in the mail!....:o) You should get them no later than Saturday.
Don't even think about postage! They all go for ONE regular stamp! All of 42 cents!
That is how I have sent all my seeds. Nothing has ever come back.

wind--
like Chris said--you have to start them indoors early. The take their sweet time germinating--about 4 weeks. When they have some true leaves--transplant them directly into a 4" pot and let them grow in it until they are 5"-6" tall and a good-looking plant. By now--they would already be outside in filtered sun and gaining momentum.
Yes! I plant them in a bed that gets full sun as well. Have the spot ready, and then just lift them out of the 4" pot and place them in the hole. DO NOT disturb the roots any!

They will "settle in" for a week or so and then "bolt" by leaps and bounds. It is amazing!
I would also suggest you drive a sturdy 4' tall stake near them at this time, as they will need staking in a month or thereabouts.

If you just started them from seed in, say, end of may--they will grow and bloom, but their seed pods will NOT mature to the point where you can collect seeds.

I am afraid that my lagging Yellow Datura will fall in this category--and I only have ONE of them! The other one never made it! Don't know what caused it to die???
I may be going begging to some of you for more seeds in years to come.

Wind--IF you need more "tutorials" and photos, I have plenty--of every stage of the Datura's life. Be glad to share! I have done it so many times already...I may need to find all those Posts, c/p all the contents and save it all in my Documents. So much to re-type all the time.....

BTW--IF you did not label which onr is the Purple one and the Yellow one--the difference will show in the seed "apples". The Purple one's are smooth--the Yellow one's have soft spikes all over the the Pod.

Here is a picture of how big ONE Datura plant can get....

Here is a close-up of the double yellow blooms....SO pretty!!!!

This is a YELLOW Datura seed pod. See the soft spikes?

Here is a Purple Datura--if you notice--the Pods are smoother and have some purple "accents" to them. So do the stems, BTW!

This is taken on October 19, 2007.
This is the time you can expect most of the seed pods to start popping open. You WILL have to check daily--as if you miss a couple of days, the pod may have "popped" all the way open and spilled a lot of seeds in your flower bed, which will self-germinate for years to come.

As soon as you see a Pod starting to split open--CUT IT off at the stem. DO NOT try to pull it off, as the 'rind" of the pod is very soft and you will just have the whole thing fall apart in your hands as the stem is VERY tough--but the Pod is VERY soft.

I then take them inside--remove all the 100+ seeds on a paper plate, and put them on top of my fridge to dry. Make sure you label which color Datura you got it from, as the seeds are identical.

This picture is ONE day's pickings from 3 plants.....ALL from the Purple one--see the purple dots on the Pod? AND--NO spikes....

Edited to say--
you want to REALLY wash your hands well after messing with the Pods and seeds or the leaves or any other part of the Datura--as all parts of it are toxic (IF ingested). Why take chances" You just might lick your finger--or something.......rub it in your eyes.....

Gita

This message was edited Aug 7, 2008 11:14 PM

Gita, unfortunately I never got my Datura seeds sown this year :( Do you think they'll still be good for next year? Here are the instructions you sent me:

OK! Datura seeds take a while to germinate. Start them inside in a cell pack and that way you can transplant them on to a 4" pot when they are a decent sized seedling. Allow them to grow in this 4" pot until they are 4"-5" tall--in other words--as big as you would buy them in a nursery.
Prepare a place for them in full sun--allowing about 3' space for each plant. Lift the Dat. out of it's 4" pot and gently place it in the hole you gave dug. They don't like their roots messed with! So--be gentle....Label each Datura--yellow or purple--as they look very much alike. Just that the purple ones have a more purlish stem.
All parts of the Daturas are toxic if ingested. When full grown, they can be 2'-3' wide and about 4' tall and all branched out. I would say that some benefit from staking--especially if they will tend to lean towards the light. Once they start growing--they grow very fast.

As each bloom is done--it will get all limp and hang down. Do not pull the dead bloom off by hand--allow it to fall of naturally, as the seed pod will be forming right at the base and you don't want to pull that off accidentally.
The seed pods grow quite large and look like small hand grenades. I have pictures.
They will start ripening in early-mid Fall and continue until early winter. You MUST wait until the pods start splitting open before you cut them off. Don't pull--they will fall apart in your hand. Each pod has maybe 100 seeds in it. Remove them on a paper plate and put in a warm spot (I did top of fridge) to dry out. Then store in an envelope or such. WASH YOUR HANDS after messing with the seeds!!!.
The only difference in the seed pods between the 2 colors is that the pods on the Purple one are smooth and the pods on the Yellow one have soft spikes on it. You DO need to know which is which when collecting seeds.

Debbie

My yellow thats doing the best- two actually- are in my hottest full sunnest bed, and have been fertilized well. The fert probably explains why the leaves are little too big, so that they are hiding the blooms some.

Glad I read all this today- I have flowers and will NOT cut them off, so I'll get pods of yellow.

Thanks for the seeds Gita, Mine are growing in full sun and usually do wonderfully. Well my white ones are doing wonderfully and so are the smaller white/purple ones. The smaller white/purple just weren't what I was expecting and I lost almost all of the yellow ones when I transplanted them. I put them out right before we took that long spring trip and they really weren't quite ready. Lost a lot of my coleus and some other plants as well, for the same reason.
Morning Glory and Ornamental Sweet Potato "Blackie"

debbie,

Thank you for providing me the Datura info I sent you. That seems pretty complete...
I will c/p it and put it in my Garden file in My Documents....

I have read that Datura seeds remain viable for years in flower beds. I would not worry about it.

Sally--Last Summer, my Yellow ones also did the best. Don't know why my yellow is lagging this year???? They are all in the same bed.....
I still have seed from it--just not too much. I had so much from both last year, that I had way too many in each envelope i was giving away. Now--I have only 2 of them left...Still--there is a lot of seed. Not to worry!

Gita

A few more MG pictures, anyone that hangs out on the MG forum has probably seen these.

Another

again

Hope you are not tired of MG yet!

This message was edited Aug 8, 2008 12:22 PM

almost

Ok, last one. For today at least. LOL

Holly--Your MG blooms are beautiful! Different story in MY Garden!

I think I hate MG by now....As beautiful as the blooms are, the plants just take over....I do not have an "open Garden" like most of you. My space is limited and, fairly structured.

Las year, my Grandpa Otts MG grew up my 8' trellis that my Multi Blue Clematis lives on. Everything has to SHARE in my Garden....I harvested plenty of seeds, but plenty of them also fell on the bed and so many sprouted this Spring. I pulled ans transplanted.BUT--yesterday I cut and chopped and yanked much of it out of my Sweet Surrender Rose bush and my big Azalea bush nearby. It had also invaded my "Broken Colors 4 O'clock". Yanked that too....
I sure don't want to lose the "Multi Blue" Clematis because of a MG! NOPE!!!

Your "Blue Rocket" looks pathetic also! The leaves are all yellow and drying up. HJardly any blooms. That one will go before Monday....Should have kept my "Cardinal Climber" in that spot as I have had it there for 3 years now! It did so well....
I may even pull up the huge "OTTS" one, as I do not feel like dealing with all the volunteers next year. Last year, it grew up the side of my house and started twining about the shutters on the window to my BR--about 20 feet up.

Ode to Morning Glories:

Had them---
Loved them--
now hate them.....:o(

Here it is from 2007.

Anyway---I DO have some "August blooms" to show you from my Garden.

This is my Rose Souvelons Brugmansia. Always a good performer! I take the whole pot in for the winter and it "exists" in my dark basement until Spring. Then I just put it out, and it picks up where it left off.....Plants are amazing!

My big, potted Dragon Wing Begonia....I overwintered that also last year by my kitchen door on a TV table. This one is in part shade--so the colors are not as vibrant as the ones I have in full sun.

And--of course my Kopper King Hibiscus keeps plugging away!

This is from last year--the picture I could not find earlier....
These are blooms after I cut it back and it bloomed again.

My pink Pentas. LOVE this flower--it survives the heat and the drought very well....

And--the red ones.....

And--here is my Tall, Red, perennial Hibiscus. many of you have seeds from me for this one.

Just a reminder-------it takes 3 years of it growing before it will bloom, so don't give up!

My white Balloon Flower--got seeds for this from someone. I know there was white and blue mixed in.

Jill's Thai Basil--blooming away. I decided to let a few of the stems go to seed.
Such pretty flowers!

Last one----
My "Broken Colors" 4 O'clocks. This is all one plant!

The colors are much more brilliant! Sometimes it is hard to capture magenta on a camera.

This message was edited Aug 8, 2008 3:02 PM

Beautiful blooms everyone.

Ruby

My triple yellow Datura with a basket of volunteer petunas in the background.

Phlox Roberts Poore. I divided one plant 2 years ago into 3 planted one in the corner and the other 2 about 2 1/2 ft away along the fence. Mulched with newspaper and compost. I also pinched back a few times in late spring. Now a blast of color.

First bloom of Dianthus Siberian Blue. I grew from seed.
Now I did not change the color this is what my camera took, but when I look at the flower it is more of a lavender shade. The camera is picking up more blue.