Gordon requested a picture of blooms on plants.
Here is 'Wildfire'
Blooms on plants
Exquisite!
I never knew that I could get so moved by a plant that blooms. Only been growing brugs for a little over a year and am still trying to collect pollen but to no avail . I just haven't got the knack for it yet.
Just beautiful, just started on brugs so I have a long way to go to be able to post such a wonderful sight.
Susie and Samigal
I only started with Brugs last year, so come on, anythings possible :-)
Thanks for the nice comments.
Alan
Alan "Wildfire" is absolutely gorgeous. I seriously need to get that one, If you get seeds from it may I ask from a few in advance?
I would love to bye some too, when available
Robynznest, if you get summer temperatures above 80, they won't grow or bloom for you. You would have to have an air conditioned greenhouse.
Thank you for that info........now I know why my red one didn't bloom this summer
I guess they don't like it hot then. How about an air conditioned house with plenty of light? Would they bloom with it that way? What is the difference between these and a regular brug?
Rooobynznest, I can't honestly answer your questions. If someone has tried it, I haven't heard or read about it. It would be a tremendous challenge and many obstacles to overcome.
Brugmansias are divided into two groups:
The aurea group includes the species aurea, insignis, suaveolens, versicolor and X candida. This is the group most of us grow because they can tolerate more heat. Even this group can object to very hot conditions by going into a summer dormancy period performing best in spring and in the fall. These Brugs can be cross bred with each other.
The arborea group includes arborea, vulcanicola, sanguinea, and X flava. This is the cool growing group. Preissel and Preissel make the comment that in B. sanguinea, temperatures above 71ºF inhibit flower development. Buds will form, but will dry up and fall off when they get about 1/2" long. At temperatures between 50º - 60ºF, flower development in B. sanguinea is "expected to be good". B. vulcanicola comes from very high altitudes (9,800' to 11,550'). B. vulcanicola is supposed to be very sensitive to moisture in the planting mix. In the wild, they are found on the side of vulcanoes. B. arborea prefers high altitudes and cooler weather although it can tolerate slightly warmer temperatures than the others in this group can. B. X flava is a cross between arborea and sanguinea.
Brugs tend to grow best in areas with good air circulation. In the house tend to get buggy, spidermites being the most common pest indoors.
Given this information, are you willing to keep the house that cool? Set up some sort of lighting system because no matter how bright the house interior is, it is not sufficient for any but the most shade loving plants? Spray for pests in an enclosed living environment?
I had no idea of the difference, I guess I thought they were all about the same. I keep my brugs in the garage in the winter unless it is going below 0 outside and the garage gets too cold. Then they go to the basement. I don't want all that trouble with the others so I guess I will pass on it. Thank you so much for educating me on these beautiful plants.
Thanks Alan...
They ae beautiful with the black backgroung for sure...elegant..
T o see them blooming on the plant I can see more of the life and times of the flower... a dozen great ones there in bloom.. I can then see the leaf and limb structure.. and how the flowers form..
Oh..Alan.. it sounds like you were quite an accomplished grower before switching to Brugs last year... but your success speaks to attention to thtem as well... good work... with so many of the most difficult ones... virus and all you endure..
OK... I've a few questions for you.. [ and others]...I was wondering what you think I should cross some of mine with.. I have three I'd like to hear about...
First a RED Sang which should flower real soon.. as a first year seedling
Second: ..a Flava Lilac X [Volker ]...which has a real smooth clasic aurea leaf.. it flowered awhile back and had a light pinkish flower....and will be flowering again.. real soon..
Third: another Flava Lilac X [ Volker ] but this one has the fuzzy leaf of the Arborea group..
I have these and a pilleof Aurea blooms...
Well thanks so much forgiving this some thought... All the best there.. Gordon
Hi Gordon
Thanks for the praise.
What to pollinate with what?
The Red Sanguinea:- If you have or can obtain any Arborea pollen I would dust the Sang with this.
Reasons:- Red colour into Arborea,reduce the maturing time of Sang. seed pods (9 months for sangs,4 months for Arborea) Heat tollerance of the Arborea into Sang.plants
Longer tendrils on to Sangs. etc. Also try the Lilac x pollen on the Sang. Lilac Sangs ?
Both the Lilac x's I would dust with the Red Sang pollen and the Arborea.
Reasons:- Arborea for the same reasons for dusting the Sang.
Sang. pollen on the Lilac x, deepen the Red colour in Lilac genes.
If you have lots of blooms and collect lots of pollen, cross with your Aurea's, you ay just breach the gap between Group 1 and 2. Good luck
Alan
I have to get busy this week!!!
"If you have lots of blooms and collect lots of pollen, cross with your Aurea's, you ay just breach the gap between Group 1 and 2."
WOW! WOW! Alan? I want that. Stunning! Glow in the dark!
that is a beautiful plant, my brug that is so happy in the ground is in mostly shade, reaching to the sun, when I bring her in, she will have lots of light , a fan, some mist , and some company.. hope she does well inside..
Gordon I would definately cross that sang to the flavas (probably first to whichever one bloomed darker). That cross has the potential for taking out the yellow from a sang bloom and possibly getting you a little closer to having color go all the way up the bloom. That's one way to get those cool dark colored flavas: keep back crossing the common light-colored flavas back to pure sanguinea (darkest one you can find).
Arborea also may possibly lend it's great disease resistance, as well as it's heat tolerance that Alan mentioned. Fragrance is another thing it can possibly lend that is often lacking in the flavas; larger flower size too. Be prepared though for a majority of yellowish blooms in a first-generation arborea cross. Let me know if you need some arborea pollen.
- Tom
This message was edited Oct 3, 2008 9:15 AM
You have one heck of a green thumb going there Alan. I love what your doing. Now for the question: Are you grafting some other Brugmansia to the tops of these in hopes of utilizing the roots from some candida to speed the cuttings along or are you air-layering these?
Eric
I still have not attempted 'grafting' even after all your teaching!
I can't get a single Flava or Vulcan to root, tried everything (I think)
Air-layering is the experiment being tried on the Wildfire. I'm also trying it on Rosa Lila and Amethyst. Fingers crossed.
Alan
Have you already tried pure perlite for those Alan?
- Tom
Alan, come on over to the dark side. Graft those buggers. You can always graft them to something with roots high up like you would do for air-layering and then remove then plant them. After they start to take off, fill your pot with a bit more dirt to let them root naturally. Then, if you want them on their own roots and I would if I were you as I've seen what grafting them to candida, etc. can do to them over time...you simply remove the grafted stock as the top half will have rooted by then. One word of advice, don't push your grafted vulcanicola, flava, etc. type hybrids too much even though you are tempted to grow them fast with those candida roots. I had to toss one of my flava's that I did this way recently as while it was over 4 ft tall in this short growing season...it was so darn weak looking that I was afraid it was going to pick up something. I honestly think this group needs to grow slower and not that it just hasn't developed the ability to grow faster as it is prone to root rot, etc. If you doubt me and have some cuttings to spare, push one next year that has candida roots and you will see the explosion of growth followed by the sickly symptoms after it reaches 3-4 feet in height.
Eric, very interesting.. grafting.. I had a sport off Maya that I was growing into it's second season this year.. it reached about 3-4 ft and died off... I couldn't find ANY physical reasons..root rot, disease, bugs... just wilted and continued the downcline to death... quite agonizing to watch and I felt helpless. It had such pretty green variegation in the leaves.. no one I've asked about it replies.. do they just do that sometimes? Like a miscarriage or something?? Nature ridding of the weak? (sorry, no technical terms, but hope you know what I mean and off your topic.. )