Okay, I have a serious question....I am DUMBFOUNDED...

[Ecumenist]

I have three 3 year old Brugmansias, (angel trumpets). They are still quite small, (about 2.5 feet tall). I have one white one and 2 pink ones. The white one recently forked and I was thilled because I knew that that signifies imminent blooming. I was outside watering them and I noticed that white one actually has what looks for all the world, like small flower buds. They seem to be elongating but I wasn't aware that they would bloom at that size and begin the blooming at this time of year. We've already had a mild frost and the nights have been getting quite nippy.
Does anyone know what's happening to the plant and could it actually be starting to bloom at this time? I grew up with them, I'm a native Angelina and always loved them but I never have had them from seedling size. Anyone's input is welcome...

[Gato Moteado]

1. hey there...i love brugmansias too

i had them in my yard when i lived in austin and now i have them here in costa rica.

first of all, 2.5 feet tall sounds way too short for plants that are 3 years old. when i lived in austin, my brugmansias would grow at least a foot or so per month and sometimes much more. the freezes in austin were almost always enough to kill them above the ground but the roots generally survived the cold weather and shot up fresh plants every spring which would grow incredibly fast. each winter, my plants were usually close to 8 feet tall before the frost would get them.

as for your plants blooming at this time of year, that is certainly possible and probably to be expected. mine would start blooming late summer or early fall and continue to bloom all the way until the freeze would kill them back. and even though it looks odd for a 2.5 foot tall plant to start producing large showy flowers that will probably hang to the ground, i have seen them do this as well. i used to start new brugmansias from cuttings and several times i had newly rooted cuttings produce a flower or two while still in a gallon pot.

what kind of soil are you growing your brugmansias in? are you fertilizing them?

one thing you can try is making some cuttings from some large plants and growing them in pots. as the plants grow, move them to larger pots each time. use a good quality potting soil and fertilize the plants regularly. brugmansias tend to do very well in large pots and this way you can drag them into the house or garage or some other shelter when the temperatures get below freezing so they won't die back to the roots. you should be able to get brugmansias from cuttings to large flowering plants in one season and within 3 years they should be huge and filled with blooms.

[Ecumenist]

2. I do indeed fertilise them...

They get monthly infusions of diluted seaweed and biweekly waterings of compost tea. They're small because I got them from a grower and they were in small pots. They've been planted out in a LARGE clay pot in a rich organic mixture. I've had them a bit over a year and last winter, it got REALLY, R-E-A-L-L-Y cold for about 2 weeks. Think HARD ALL DAY FROST. I was worried that the white one, (the one that seems to be blooming), was killed by the cold. Alas, it they came back, albeit late in the season. They didn't really show any evidence of growth until late in May/early June.

The Pink Ecuadorean Brugs haven't forked yet, although they seem to be doing fine, with the exception of a VERY minor case of whitefly.

The Brugsmansia that was the most damaged by the freeze is the one that forked and is seeming to bloom.



Wha' Gives??

[Gato Moteado]

3. i dunno......sounds like you're doing all the right things

have patience and maybe they'll put on a burst of growth

[flying_wahini]

4. I have about 16 cuttings rooting in water right now.

need to pot them up..... wondering if I can put 2 or 3 per gallon pot..
or should I do them all individually....

They are all sprouting and have nice roots coming on... by the way...
I live near Houston, so I may keep them outside and covered on the coldest
nights...



and also, clay or plastic???

[Gato Moteado]

5. i'd put one per pot

and i'd move them up to larger pots as they grow if you intend to keep them potted.

since you're in houston, you could put them in the ground, though i'd wait until spring. mine always came back after the freeze in austin, and you're at least a half zone warmer in houston so you should have no problem.

as for plastic or clay, i'm not sure how much it matters. i never liked the look of plastic so i only used plastic pots for temporarily housing plants.

[flying_wahini]

6. thanks so much

appreciate it, will send photos next summer!