How to deal with brugmansia/datura cuttings.
I have placed them directly to water in November. They were there until last weekend. As you can see roots have appeared, although occasionally all water was gone - two strongest cuttings have survived. After roots appear, you may just pot them in fine gardening soil. Keep the water moist, as they love a lot of water.
Brugmansia or datura?
It looks like all of them are Brugmansia right now. Oficially, botanically there is no name like 'datura', however there is a difference in flower characteristics. They are all considered as Brugmansia.
Brugmansia flowers are usually pendulous and hanging down, while Datura flowers are rather erect, facing up or slightly down.
My huge brugmansia came to me thanks to blogging.
These brugmansia cuttings come from a very nice person living few streets away, that I met thanks to blogging! Can you believe it? I am just about to tell you how it has happened.
One day I made post about beautiful brugs I saw in Warsaw, and somebody came and made a comment. I made comment back. He e-mailed me pictures of his brugs growing in the garden (taken indoor for winter). After getting the permission to publish pictures of huge brugmansias growing in their garden, I asked for cuttings in the proper time, which is in the Autumn.
So, one cold day in November, just before real cold has come, I went to pick it up. To my great surprise I have received not only cuttings, but also one huge brugmansia plant dug out from the garden, plus some other interesting plants.
I kept the big brugmansia plant mostly dry entire winter, watering it very sparingly every 2-3 weeks.
It seems very fine today and has to wait until May 20th - thats the last frost date in Poland.
Hi~~
ReplyDeleteWhat a story. To think he lived so close. Now the two of you can compare notes. There's nothing like having a gardening buddy close by to share plants and musings.
I wintered over a brug. several years ago but it kept getting aphids. Where the little buggers came from I don't know but I finally got so grossed out I dismissed the plant to the great compost heap in the sky. Last summer I left one in the ground with a pile of leaves over it. Since I live where the ground rarely freezes, I'm hoping it will survive but if not... you win some,you lose some. :)
They're so beautiful and fragrant - you will love them Ewa! Your cuttings could pretty tall in just one season - one cutting I had grew four feet by the fall.
ReplyDeleteI find tender top cuttings root easily directly in the soil.
My brugs have been fighting with spider mites indoors over the winter - I finally got tired of it, cut them back very hard and wiped down the stalks. The new growth looks nice and healthy. They do seem to be prone to spider mites indoors - I might try overwintering them in the warmest part of our attached garage next year. . . or maybe just one to experiment just in case.
Mine like lots of organic fertilizer, and they're very thirsty in hot weather. I found out about the fertilizer late in the summer after having no blooms yet. Within a week after fertilizing, they were budding already. I'll be feeding them earlier this time! I want as many of those heavenly blooms as I can get!
A lovely story. I will try that if I ever get brugmansia cuttings. I had one plant but it died from no water when I was away.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun meeting a gardener not far from where you live.
ReplyDeleteBlogging has given me several "blog friends" from all over. It is nice because if not for blogging I wouldn't know a thing about Poland I can tell you.
Grace,
ReplyDeleteMy overwintered plants often get unwanted guests - possibly because of stress they get while changing condition. It helps to wash them down with water. After placing plants outside again, nature makes the order, if you keep washing down aphids.
But this is as you said: winning/loosing makes the world go on.
Linda,
ReplyDeletethanks so much for additional tips.
I keep the largest on - not shown on the pictures yet in the bright cellar, almost without watering through entire winter - just little water every 2-3 weeks. It seems to be OK. There are some small shoots coming and dying continuosly, but it looks fine. Finally I gave it serious watering and fertilising last weekend.
Just one week after fertising they make new buds! that's amazing.
Nicole,
ReplyDeletewater, fertiliser and semi-sunny spot is the key to grow happy brugs.
If you get your hands again on cuttings in the Autumn, give it a try.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThis is cool to have blog friends. There is still chance, that if you decide to move to particular part of the world, you can meet people, you would never meet otherwise. This is what I love about blogging.
Maybe it sounds weird, but world seems more friendly, since you 'know' people liveing there.
Also seeing countries you will never visit through their eyes, is so interesting, and so different from 'official versions' sometimes :)
Thank you for visiting me often since the beginning of my blogging journey and taking your time to comment.
What a nice neighbor to share his plants with you. I have two brugmansia in the garden. They will freeze to the ground but come back every year. I am glad to know that autumn is the time to make cuttings as I would like to have more. I'll be trying your technique later this year.
ReplyDeleteJan
Always Growing
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIC_enUS306&q=datura
ReplyDeleteThere IS a thing called Datura!
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteDatura is also brugmansia. In general all of them having trumpets facing down are brugmansia, all of them having flowers facing up are datura.
Greetings,
www.erowid.com has more data on brugmansia It is from the DATURA family of plants,the other one is jimson weed (Latin =Stramonium) also from this Datura family. Verry toxic! Used in Shaman rituals see link- Brugmansia my favorite Tree on this planet!
ReplyDelete