I am new to growing Brugmansia. I purchased a 'Charles Grimaldi'
by mail order and I put in in a pot in a sunny window and had a plant light on it all winter. (That was probably foolish...I probably should have kept it dormant during the winter, right?)

Well, one of the "arms" of the "Y" died off as it did start to have leaves and then quit.

Come late spring, I planted it outside in the ground. It barely had a few leaves on it, so I really need some help with this. I have seen beautiful pictures of this variety, and I am looking forward to improving the healt of the plant, rather than buying another one.

I plan to dig it up soon, and put it in a pot again as our winter can get fierce some years, and there is no predicting the weather these days. PLEASE ADVISE.....

Thanks so much,

Evelyn

@gone2seed can probably be a lot of help here. I know brugs are heavy feeders. Good luck

You are probably right to dig it up and pot it for the winter.With enough light it should continue to grow through the winter.Pot it in rich,fast draining soil.I would add some "Black Cow"composted cow manure to the mix.Brugs are heavy feeders.One thing to check for is spider mites.Brugs are heaven for these and they can make a plant unhealthy.I use a soap solution for these and other pests.The solution I use is here.
http://99-40.com/brugs/pest.ht...

Nice link JT! Thanks

Thank you for the link, JT.

How about posting a picture of your plant for us, Evelyn? I've had a Charles Grimaldi for 3 years, and although it is in a huge pot and is over 6ft. tall now, mine is not the most vigorous brugmansia. Most of my others are far more lusty and bloom more often, too.

When you bring it in for the winter, don't forget it really likes lots of water as well as fert, and humidity. So spraying it with water from a spray bottle will help it get through the winter, too. They are tropical plants so they will grow and even bloom year 'round if you keep them warm enough and can give them enough sunlight. Use warm water to water it, too. Cold water will shock it and could set it back.

Thank you, Elaine. I will take a picture tomorrow, but uploading it is another thing here. We are on a very slow landline. I will try.

Evelyn...I'm on dial-up and always resize my pics before posting them here....goes a lot quicker for me if they're smaller.

Thank you, Ginger!

someday my neck of the woods might join the 21st century

Yeah, mine too...LOL!!

I don't know if you plan on keeping it indoors or outdoors?
Here's what I do -
I keep mine in an unheated garage over the winter.
I strip all the leaves and let it go dormant.
I give it a cup or so of water once a month.
I do not fertilize it while it is dormant.
Bring it back outside in the spring when freezing temps. are gone.
Start fertilizing again at that time.

Duane ~ What a good idea! It doesn't have many leaves on it anyway. I will look for some soap to make a good solution, before I bring it indoors.

Hello,
I'm pretty much a novice grower when it comes to these plants. A neighbor gave me a small one a couple of years ago, it blooms pretty well outside in a pot but it was very late in season. I overwintered it in basement under fluorescent lites, it didn't do much except retain a few leaves, I put it back outside the next summer, no blooms all summer but when it was moved to garage in a kind of pre-basement move, it started blooming, I let it bloom out in kitchen then moved it to basement where again it received but marginal light, but remained alive; so this summer back out it went but this past year, no blooms. Presently it is getting ready to translocate again to basement. I noted about they are heavy feeders, my lack of diligence in maintaining a regular fertilizer regimen probably was detrimental to their possible magnificence.
Now, if I understand Duane correctly? it should be possible to allow the plant to go dormant over winter (cup of water a month only). If I can do this it will allow limited basement lighted area to be better utilized by other tenders the next 5/6 months.
Summary - so it's ok to strip plant of leaves, place it in an out of the way spot where it will not freeze, water otherwise dry pot about a cup a month...until able to boost/rejuvenate next spring?
Thankyou for any confirmation/advise.

My garage does not freeze "usually" in the winter. If my temps. stay really cold outside for a long period of time, it will eventually freeze in there.
I have a thermometer in there that I look at if it gets really cold. If it gets at freezing in there, I open the door from the house and let some heat in there for 30-60 minutes in the morning. (when my wife isn't looking---;o) ).
There is no light in there what so ever.
The sticks (brugs) will loose "part" of the branches sometimes by spring, turning dead looking. I just cut those off in the spring and it starts right up again.
I keep the leaves off during the winter, because it will try to grow a little. That's about it.
I have lost a couple, but not usually. If I do lose one, it's probably a variety that won't winter over very well here in Oregon and it's not a "keeper" for me anyway.
Oh, by the way, I've had my "Charles" for 5 or 6 years now along with some others.

ok, thanks; I'll put mine in a covered stairwell where temp maintains above freeze mark.

I'd still bring it in and grow it in the house through the winter if you have the sunny window available, Evelyn. It might not harm it to let it go dormant, but it sure will not do it any good. Your plant isn't all that robust anyway, so why not repot, give it lots of TLC and try to get it growing some leaves this winter. You will be WAY ahead by the time it's warm enough next spring to put it outside.

Once they start blooming, mine bloom about once a month as long as the weather is warm. If you have yours growing, it will start blooming sooner and you could see two or three bloom cycles before your nights start getting too cold for it.

Starting from a dormant plant, it will take at least a month longer, maybe more to get it really growing. You'll be much less likely to see any blooms by the end of summer.

Thanks, Elaine. I appreciate your suggestion.

gingin said: someday my neck of the woods might join the 21st century

Too funny!!