I am looking ahead to fall. These monsters are close to 20 years old. They did not bloom very good for me last year but that was my fault. I was extremely remiss in my fertilizing so I take the blame. How hard can I prune these back when I put them in their winter accommodations? The light is not good, but heated to 58 when the passive solar is not heating. (at night, etc.) I assume just enough water to keep them from drying out? I do not have my "real" greenhouse any more so have to make do with what I have. I live in Wisconsin.

I can't advise because mine are always new growth from the roots, the above-ground parts don't survive. But I do save cuttings in jars and jugs of water over winter, to get a head-start. Adding this in case you would feel better about cutting if you can preserve the cuttings, or some. If you put some in the ground for summer, you might be impressed. I never try to dig anything back up, just cut off and re-root. Not sure there is any benefit to having older, woody parts.

That is where these blooms came from. A cutting stuck in a milk jug of water over winter, then put in a big yard pot after frost was done.

I believe if you cut most growth back to about 12" above your first Y, you should be okay. You know your plants best and you would know if one wouldn't like that or not. The reason to keep the first Y is so you have blooms earlier; I found it frustrating to wait for brugs to Y again every year when the growing season is short.
You probably realize that new growth that hasn't hardened off usually won't make it through a winter dormancy alive anyway.
If you're going to store them unpotted with each root ball in burlap it may be that you'll need a little more water, but I know of someone who drilled big holes (using a hole saw) through the sides of 5 gal buckets before using them as permanent pots for her brugs and setting them into much, much larger planters at the start of each growing season. She would repot with new potting medium into those 5 gal buckets each spring before setting them into the massive planters they'd spend the summer in. At the end of the season she just pruned back the brugs and then cut all the roots on the outside of the buckets before pulling the whole thing out of the planter. She stored all her brugs in their buckets, tipped over on their sides in her crawl space and watered about half a cup per plant every two weeks (if I recall correctly) thru one of the holes in the side of each bucket.
That worked for her in CT, but you'll figure out what works for you where you are, depending on relative humidity etc.
Enjoy the process!!

That's an anecdote about real toughness!

You can force a Y anytime by removing the growth tip. If I didn't do this, the blooms would be way above my head. I want to be able to sniff them.

PS: I agree that keeping some or all of your cuttings as insurance in case the main plant throws a fit and decides to die in dormancy is a great idea. Worst case scenario is you need them. Best case is your have a bunch of gifts to give.

purpleinopp said: That's an anecdote about real toughness!

You can force a Y anytime by removing the growth tip. If I didn't do this, the blooms would be way above my head. I want to be able to sniff them.

Unfortunately, pinching back didn't always work for me. It might force branching from the leaf nodes but it didn't always force a Y for me.

FPF said: PS: I agree that keeping some or all of your cuttings as insurance in case the main plant throws a fit and decides to die in dormancy is a great idea. Worst case scenario is you need them. Best case is your have a bunch of gifts to give.

Exactly, well said! Not every spot has enough time between the frosts to see Brug blooms from a grounded cutting, but I use all kinds of tropical stuff that I've saved & propagated "as annuals." Most of the plants sold as annuals are frost-tender perennials.

FPF said: Unfortunately, pinching back didn't always work for me. It might force branching from the leaf nodes but it didn't always force a Y for me.

Branching is branching, not sure I understand this part?

Ys are not the same as branches. The plant doesn't bloom until it forms a Y.

On left is a true Y. On right is a plant that has been pinched and has grown branches from leaf nodes.
One can cut above the Y and the plant will flower more quickly next season because Y formation is the precursor to blooming.
If there isn't a Y, one may be able to see when a Y might be forming in preparation for blooming because the leaves become asymmetrical. I can't recall the exact word for it right now, but it looks like this.

Leaves that are concerned more with plant growth are even across the base where they meet the stem, like this.

That's fascinating, thank you. That's a wild theory. I'm not sure how that could make a difference, but you explained it very well.

When taking cuttings, one could preserve the Y.

What did the tip of your branch do after you remove the tip? Did you take any pics?

Not a theory, actually. I was a mod for a Facebook brug group for a while.
So while I'm not a hybridizer, I do have some knowledge and I still have brugs, tho not as many as when we lived in the PNW.

Absolutely, one may preserve the Y, if it's cut off the main plant when pruning, and keep that one for oneself unless there are multiple Ys - yes this does happen.

Loss of the leader served to make the plant less of a standard, more of a bush. Since the Y typically happens at the point of growth, I then had to wait until side branches were well enough grown to form Ys.

The picture in your post above is of a Y with blooms. The first bloom will typically form in the bottom of the V part of the Y, where the two side branches form. Mine that formed there always dropped, but it looks like yours held. Congratulations!

PS: I was gifted a plant grown from a Y cutting one time and the cutting was only about 4" longer than the bloom that had formed on it. That was a fun plant, and serves to illustrate just how small a brug can be and bloom if it already has a Y.

I planted some in the ground quite a few years ago...........they were GORGEOUS, but let me tell you it was like digging graves to get them OUT of the ground before frost. LOL I really don't have anywhere to plant them without digging up some lawn, which I really don't want to do.

AnnaZ said: I planted some in the ground quite a few years ago...........they were GORGEOUS, but let me tell you it was like digging graves to get them OUT of the ground before frost. LOL I really don't have anywhere to plant them without digging up some lawn, which I really don't want to do.

I hear you! They really have roots when they're happy, and they want to stay there, thank you very much!

I'm glad you've found something that works for you, so you don't have to resort to a jackhammer.
I also am short on fertilizer time, so what your said really resonated, especially as my first bud dropped yesterday. So upset, but my fault.

FPF, has a good grasp on Brugmansias! Thank you for taking time to educate!

I read this, this morning but had a busy day so I'm just getting here.

AnnaZ, what is your goal for next year? What varieties do you have? Did you know some Brugmansia no matter what you do will be shrubs where as some are tree form. I have been hooked since 1995 when a friend brought me one to over winter due to his client didn't want the hassel. When he returned there was the mom plant and 6 babies.

You asked how far back you can cut. This year we put ours out right after our last frost date in the PNW and we got below freezing and snow! So we have been cutting back dead tops for the past month to get them to take off. Here are some photos to give you the ideas. First one is cutting back to 6 inches above the soil for the older brugs. If done right they should start shoots from the roots. But remember they need to grow, Y before they will bloom, maybe by fall if you push for growth until it Ys and then push for blooms with a bloom booster fertilizer.



I like the tree form so most of ours have been trained that way and a lot of trimming to keep them that way.






Sorry the Clematis are behind, so zoom in.





Here is our B. Frosty Pink and she is a shrub form.

I would recommend you allow them to just grow, fertilize and in the fall move them to bags and lay them on their side as recommended. While they are out of the pots, make sure you have good soil available to repot them. You know you can shave off some of the outer roots? Repot in good dirt. I would also take some of the newer limbs and root them. Do it in soil once the nubs form as it will make for a better plant.

Yes take them above the Ys as they should bloom for you the first year!

Some of us went to the publishers of the German version of the Brug Bible when we were at Yahoo to get the book published in English. I highly recommend the book called Brugmansia and Datura / Angel's Trumpet and Thorn Apples by Ulrike and Hans-Georg Preissel a Firefly Book. I have a first printing in English!

Scream if you need added information. Happy Growing!

There were two post before I could get my finished. AnnaZ, I dug up my west area to plant 128 varieties and you are right it was a huge pain to dig up so we went to the 5 gallon pot in a 5 gallon pickle bucket to move them easier with a appliance dolly. Save your back!!

karmahappytoes said: Thank you for taking time to educate! ...

You're welcome.
I don't always say things as clearly as I would like, but I try.

FPF, you did a great job and I love your drawings!! Do you have a copy of the book?
Where in the PNW did you live if you don't mind me asking.

Thanks! And no, I don't mind you asking. We were just south of Roseburg, OR, for 11 years.

Thank you for answering, that is a beautiful area! I'm up north of Portland in SW
WA State. The best area to grow Brugmansias.

Yes! Brugs do wonderfully well there. (And dahlias, hosta, azaleas, rhodies, iris, peonies, roses and sempervivum.)