I will be purchasing my first brugmansia this spring. Because I live in zone 7b, I will be looking for one that is good in a large pot. I don't want one that will grow to be over 8 feet tall. The summer weather here is hot and humid. Any suggestions as to a good cultivar for me? Thanks for all suggestions!

I have often thought that the cultivar doesn't really matter. Its what color you like. They only come in such a limited range, or as singles/doubles/triples. Pink, Salmon, yellow, creamsicle orange and white are it.

If I had to pick ONE, I would pick CULEBRA because it has unusual leaves. Its white. I have grown may drugs, we used to trade for them all the time and there was a lady here in my area who hybridized her own. Mine now are all the plain old standard Ecuador Pink which is a great old standby. But even in a container they can get tall tall tall. Mine are unground and are over 12-14 feet tall.

But its easy to keep them at a more reasonable height, all you need to go is prune them every winter a few weeks before you plan to bring them in. This also encourages branching.

They tend to drop leaves in winter anyway, and indoors I am sure they will drop leaves. But they come back fine ind Spring.

I have a small Culebra that I got in a trade a year ago, its still in a container in my greenhouse and I think I am going to leave it there.

I thought I remembered something about the cutting coming from above or below the Y. One of them yelled a shorter tree while the other yelled a taller one.

Hi, I am jumping on this thread to learn more. I have had brugs but I am in zone 6 and lost my one in the ground that I have had 2 yrs. I bought 2 that are suppose to be doubles. That is new for me.

Do they do best in partial sun? How often do you feed them? I have heard they are heavy feeders. I am interested in taking cutting from them this Fall if they grow big enough. Does Youtube have any good videos?

Thanks for any input.
Teresa

i had 6 Brugs in pots outside year round for the last 15 years
lost 2 one winter several years ago when we got some snow
now have had the 4 since and one is in bloom now

Teresa, @bluegrassmom you've heard right, they are very hungry, thirsty beasties, but will pay you back for all the feeding and water with robust growth and more bloom cycles per season. They love rich soil, mulch and it's a good idea to hose the leaf canopy once in a while if you get a run of hot, dry weather because spider mites love them. They don't seem to invade if you just hose the plants down regularly.

Mine often go right through winter blooming about every month to 6 weeks in cycles. I prune them when needed to keep down to a reasonable size, always after a bloom cycle is just finished. They're in full sun through the winter, but get shaded nicely from the midday sun in the hot months. Full sun in Florida . . . what can I say, it's brutal.

I'd suggest for winter, just take some cuttings, and bring them indoors to grow on your windowsill. They root very readily from cuttings, and will grow fairly slowly if you give them a cool spot near a sunny window. Then you'll have plants ready to rock when it warms up enough in the springtime.

I have some nice cuttings growing, I got them from a member. Since they are cuttings, I don't want to take cuttings of cuttings this fall. Sometimes brugs survive the winter here, sometimes not, and that's only the ones in the ground. Mine is in a pot. How do I over winter the whole pot inside?

Lynda, I have brought the whole pot inside before and overwintered them. One year I had 8 pots in my son's room. It looked like a jungle. I really need a greenhouse.
Do you grow tomatoes? I saw the Eat more tomatoes on you profile

Ok, that sounds like a plan! Did you give them water and light? Oh, yes, I'm a confirmed tomatohead! I've been seeking the perfect tomato for 23 years now. 😆
Some pics from this year.




Last year.

You can definitely keep brugs going all winter by bringing them inside. My mother used to have hers bloom in her living room, and she lived in Vancouver, BC! Nice big southeast facing windows got good sunlight all winter, then she moved them out to the patio once the nights were warm enough again.

Cool. I have a large south window. But it will be competing with an avocado and a crown of thorns!

If you grow them in the ground, I would suggest what I do, which is just chop it down low enough that you can cover it when the temps are going to drop below freezing. It is literally one of the fastest growing plants in nature. It will come back stronger and still bloom for you by late spring. If you look at the thread I started titled "still going" you can have a idea of the growth rate. Mine was easily 10-12' tall and 8-10' wide before we got our winter storm. I cut it to the ground and it's already about 8' tall and 5' wide again. It's a very hardy plant, don't be afraid to experiment with different ways to make your life easier.

Wow. I think I will do just that. I will have to find a place for it. It hasn't gotten very big in the pot.
Thanks so much!

For newbies I would suggest B. Frosty Pink as they do the best in the full sun. Easy to grow!

Mine are staying small should I add plant food when I water?

You really can't overwater or give them too much fert when the weather's warm. They are very hungry, thirsty beasts. I give mine timed release pellets in spring, and then fertilize with soluble fert after each bloom cycle is finished as well.

Go for it!

Wait a minute, yes you can over fertilize and over water a Brugmansia! It will kill the plant!
General rule is not to fertilize if the temps are over 85-90 as the plant will not take in what is
needed and it's a total waste of money according to some experts. You want a healthy plant
that will last for years. You can force a plant to bloom by feeding them a Bloom Booster.

Been growing them in Florida for at least 15 years. They do fine, grow and bloom monthly through our brutal summers here. Regularly in the 90s from May through September.

The fertilizer regimen above works great and my plants are huge and healthy. The only thing that kills a brug here is if they're planted in poor, sandy soil and the nematodes get to them. Even then they decline over a couple of years. So you have time to start anew from cuttings if you see one declining.

They're very lusty plants and lots of people grow them here.