It has had 2 flushes of 2 blooms separated by several days. It now has a new flush coming with 9 blooms on one Y and 5 or six that are a week or so behind on another.

It has not responded too well this season. Doan think it liked being in my basement over the winter.

Attached is the flush last year the day that I had to take it in - October 14. :-(


The second attachment is a cream triple Datura meeting the Brugmansia - Angel meets Devil :-)

David I think you might be right about the over-wintering in the basement. If you can just prune it back to a reasonable size and keep it going with some leaves on it through the winter, I'll bet you'll see a lot more bloom, and earlier than you got this year. When/if mine get too cold in winter and go dormant (although they never lose leaves) it takes them nearly 2 months to start blooming again no matter how warm and sunny the weather is.

It's a bit of a chore keeping them growing indoors as they tend to get spider mites all too easily, but as long as you keep your eyes out for them, and spray with the soapy water at regular intervals it's not too bad.

My mother had one she grew in her living room in Vancouver BC for many years. Luckily the living room had a large patio door facing east so moving it outside was not too much of a problem for the summer. It was pretty big, too! She even got blooms indoors in the springtime some years.



As long as I can keep them warm, they keep on pumping out blooms - the cycle is a little longer when the nights are cool but it's about once a month in summer, and every 6 weeks or so through the winter. Needless to say, I go to some lengths to keep them warm!

Don't forget you can root the cuttings you get when you prune it, too! Gifts for friends?? Mine make roots in about a week in a jar of water, and then take off once they are potted up.

My biggest problem Elaine was not mites, but aphids. All over the freaking place. Did not bother me that much, but my wife seemed really bugged by the bugs. They just laffed at Neem oil and Insectacidal soap. Sevin was my last resort. **

I do think that maybe keeping it growing is not the way to go. Some folks strip them, wrap in bags and toss in garages. That would not work for me as it gets below 32 in mine and I ain't gonna heat it. Heh

** Part of my problem is that I have so many different types of things growing in my basement over winter. This past winter, I had maybe 50 different species from Brugs, Datura to Commiphora, Boswellia and banana. Among others.

Of course a few feet away, I was starting hundreds and hundreds of seeds. I have 8 banks of flourescents with natural light tubes and two 500 Watt warehouse lights - metal halide. Gets quite warm down there.

A great indoor winter remedy for gnats and spider mites: a teaspoon or so of hydrogen peroxide in their water.

Woohooo .... just had to take my dawg out to do business before bed. The SCENT!
My > 6 feet NOID Brug has been blooming for nearly 2 weeks and now has > 10 fresh blooms and at least 10 - 15 more coming. Blooms on 6 branches with none on 2 branches.

Still no sign of a Y on my other one. And it is approaching 6 feet. Grrr ~ 4 weeks til it has to go in. I was at least hoping that it would Y first. Started from seed ~ 18 months ago

I purchased MAYA they told me the cutting was above the Y she is about 5' straight up no Y no buds but beautiful big leaves that keeps falling.

kareoke said:I purchased MAYA they told me the cutting was above the Y she is about 5' straight up no Y no buds but beautiful big leaves that keeps falling.

Heh Doris. Frustrating - I know. The second plant is growing ~ 5 branches, but nary a Y.

Regarding leaf drop - I was alarmed when my first Brug last year started dropping leaves. I thought it was gonna die. Then I learned that is just their nature - always shedding leaves. I know of no other plant for which this is the case.

I am thinking about chopping this plant now into 2 or 3 pieces.

I don't have aphids but the spider mites are awful. It means to be a no winning war.

My Arborea has finally decided to bloom. Even though it really does not have a true Y. It has some branch splits on opposite sides of the main stem - but they are not a Y.

Oh well - it is gonna bloom assuming it doesn't get too cold. 3 buds on one branch and one on another. They do look quite different - being an Arborea.

My NOID Brug # 1 has now been blooming (now ~ 10 blooms) constantly for ~ 6 weeks and it has ~ 20 more buds coming. Too bad I am gonna have to lug it in in the next few days. Oh well - last year when I brought it in to the basement it had 22 blooms. Seriously thinking about chopping about 2 feet off the top - but should have done it a month ago.

Oh David, that would be a shame! Let it finish blooming and then chop it off, if you have room.

How 'bout a picture?? What color is it?

David,

My Brugmansia seeds from Arghya Gardens has just arrived. Okay...plant the seeds in a soil media like I would other seeds? How long for the seeds to germinate?

Kadie

@dyzzypyxxy = I posted a pic of it above in this thread from last year. Looks pretty much the same this year It is a creamy yellow.

@Rainbow- Arghya Gardens is a quality outfit. And good stuff - fer sure. You are in Guam. Those seeds should take right off and should germinate in a couple of weeks max given your growing conditions. Any medium will do - I usually use seed starting medium and then move them to pots of real potting soil once they get 2 sets of real leaves.

Which seeds did you get?

David, thank you for your advice. Here are pictures and labels:


Hybrid Brugmansia Seed - Alicia x Berkonigin


Hybrid Brugmansia Seed - Sweetheart x Rubirosa

Kadie

Lovely choices. I got seeds for Alicia x Berkonigin from her (cannot remember her name. grrr) myself. Great minds and all that.

I forget - Have you grown Brugs before? They love water when they have grown, but don't over water the seeds/seedlings. (Good rule for all seeds BTW.) Most people fail growing seeds cause they apply far too much water and the seeds rot or you get damping off.

No have not grown Brugs before. I do know they grow in my climate as I have seen them once in someone's side yard. Thanks for the tip about not over-watering seeds/seedlings.

Keep us posted on your progress. Since I have ZERO knowledge or experience growing in your zone, I would be interested. Maybe start a Thread called something like "Growing Brugmansia from Seed in Guam/Zone 11b".

Over in one of the other forums, Tarev has kept a thread going for 3 years.

Okay...I'll consider starting a thread about growing Brugs on my western pacific island. Tarev, who hails from the P.I. (wet tropical climate like mine) has been living in northern California for a number of years. I don't know whether she is growing Brugs, but she does have a wealth of knowledge about growing plants in a wet tropical zone.
@tarev

David,

Oh, okay...you mean start a thread for my Brugs progress on my island and keep it going for an indefinite number of years...like Tarev had done for her Adenium and Plumeria threads in northern California.

Kadie

Hi KD, I do not grow brugmansia here, but I do remember seeing them in the Philippines, usually in the cooler elevations in the area of Tagaytay. There is often cool mountain mist there which plants like. Temperature in Phil lowlands at times goes from 74F to 90F, while in Tagaytay it goes 70F to 78F. I saw some online photos of some other growers in the Baguio area, much higher elevation and temps there can go from 58F to 73F, with the coldest in January at 50F sometimes. The one I see is colored white.

I saw a neighbor of mine here growing their yellow brugs in a big container, but it is always protected by their porch overhang.

Maybe you can try it too, just protect it if it gets too rainy there.

I do tend to make a long thread of plants I grow Conditions are so different year to year and reviewing them makes me understand later what truly worked and my errors!