Brugmansia

No.

Yes.

Basically when in growth they need plenty of water and feed. Depending on the type they need varying levels of winter love. I'm assuming that they have a cardboard wrapper and are about five or six quid?
Which species?

 

Much like the other halfs, but white then...................


Very fragrant. Needs to be dry and frost free over the winter then.

My B.sanguinea is not fragrant nor as floriforous.....................


It is much more cold tolerant though, having been outdoors for the entire winter of 2012/13.

 

Allow a couple of years, but they are fast growers.

 

You should get flowers this year from those rooted cuttings that you buy FC.
Seed grown plants usually take a bit longer, but these are taken from adult plants.

Generous potting on during the first part of the season followed by a final pot size, for this year, of around 12to 14 inches, along with generous feeding once pot bound, should get you some august flowers.
They very quickly use up magnesium, resulting in yellow leaves, so a watering with epsom salts now and agin once you stop potting on is a good idea.

If you keep potting on you could lose out on the flowers.

 

Ive got charles cuttings(yellow ones) i took in sept /oct FC,let me know if you want one and il post you one fella
The cuttings from the white one failed for some reason i didnt flower till late on but grew huge

 

FC even I got 3 out of 5 cuttings to root!
Can't wait for it to flower

 

I think potting on, and avoiding root-bound, important to let plant get to "full size" without check - and that that might actually help flowering in medium term (although I expect if you make the plant think it is dying then it will flower in desperation )

I'd be surprised if a decent rooted cutting didn't flower in first year - keep it in greenhouse / conservatory for as long as you can to speed that up.

Only snags with Brugmansia are:

Big plant to over winter (frost free), but its OK to chop it back before bringing it in - you might lose some late flowers if Autumn is mild, but it will defoliate during the winter anyway (unless in a heated greenhouse, or a cold-type [which probably is not what you want, as they flower late I think])

Follow-on from that is once they start making new growth in Spring they may hit the roof before weather is warm enough for them to stay out. Its a reasonable problem to have though

Errmmm anything else? ... protecting them from Capsid Bug which eats within the buds, and then the leaves open looking like lace petticoats :(

But the biggest problem is the fatal risk of becoming addicted to collecting Brugs

I would suggest that you only buy Good Do'ers. There are far too many really fancy ones that are not easy to get to prefer well enough to justify giving them house room. There is a thread here on Good Do'er Brugs, which I'll dig out for you.

Only bits of advice I have are:

1. Make sure Rooted Cuttings were taken from flowering wood - that ensures that it was mature, as immature wood has to grow considerably (until "mature", natch!) before it will flower, so that delays flowering.

2. You cannot overfeed a Brug, but you should set about trying to Greediest plant that I know, and the one that responds best to over feeding. East Ruston told me that they final-pot them with manure etc., a very generous helping of hundreds-and-thousands slow release fertiliser, and a regular schedule of liquid feeding

 

Wayne's Brugmansia Good Do'ers list:

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/brugmansias.51387/page-2#post-675617

(The whole of that thread is worth a read - if you have several hours to kill!)

 

The thing is, what exactly is full size? I doubt many of us are able to grow them to full size.

I wasn't really suggesting growing them in the same pot to a point where the plant thinks it is dying, just potting on early in the season to get some good growth and then going over to more in the way of heavy feeding at the mid summer point.
Otherwise you could end up with the best leaves in town.

 

Brugmansia, didn't they used to be called datura? are stunning, but I think they are also poisonous.!!

Val

 

Big enough to flower profusely?

That describes what I do: Grow them on, at full speed, until they are in a "big" pot - and then put them out and wait for / enjoy them flowering. "Big", for me, is about 18" diameter.

And there are better species to choose if that is the objective, eh?

 

Yes, but incorrectly.
Brugmansia flowers hang.................


Datura flowers are erect...................


Additionally Datura are sensible to grow as annuals. Both are poisonous, but so are Daffs!