Brugmansia 2

Many thanks Walnut. I looked back at earlier posts and got this feeling - but its nice to have it confirmed. :thumb:

 

I was doing some potting yesterday and it got me thinking. How large a pot do you need for a fully grown Brug or Dat? Mine are currently in 10 and 15 litre pots, but I suspect that they would like larger.

I do have 30 and 50 litre pots but, of course, as they get bigger they get more difficult to repot because of the weight. You can't just hold the plant in one hand, and I worry about breaking the stems if one should fall awkwardly. Presumably you have to put them into their final pots rather earlier that the traditional moving up one pot size at a time.

And what about compost? I currently use multi purpose compost, sharp sand, and garden soil in the ratio 2,1,1 - but that's sheer guesswork.

 

Hi Peter,a Brug would be quite comfortable in a 15" pot, the ones I overwinter at full flowering height (6-8ft) are in 18"pots I did have some in 22" pots but the number of times I have to move them especially when frost threatens makes it quite a task the gunnera and bannana now reside in these pots.Repotting the 18" pots lift the brug with the stem and tap the pot with a rubber mallet the bigger pots I lie on their sides and tap the pot with the mallet.Dats are no problem they only usually grow about 3-4ft in height a 12-15 inch pot is ample or plant them in the border for their final move you can also plant your Brugs in the border then you will see their true potential.
I have experimented with compost formulae over the past few years I used to plant them in pure multipurpose I was using 40-60 bags a year which became cost prohibitive the other problem was it was light and the pots were having to be weighed down with slabs of concrete to stop them blowing over,I started to mix 10% vermiculite with the compost for water retention and to keep the compost open(vermiculite bought in bulk sacks the stuff they use for insulation much cheaper than the horticultural stuff) this again was too light to mix J I.in with it was expensive so now I use top soil I got to thinking it doesn't need to be sterile for its final planting as sometimes they are planted out in the garden anyway,so we have ended up with 4:1:5 multi-verm-top soil the added weight in the pots helps with their stability and this mix doesn't dry out too quickly.

 

Many thanks Walnut. Like you I have come round to using a garden soil mix in pots. Its cheaper, probably better for the plant as it has the natural minerals and nutrients, and it is also a good way of mixing and improving the soil as it is put back onto the border.

Ny neighbour has a lot of pots of pure compost and at the end of the season he empties them onto the border. He never digs it in, but says the worms will take it in. They don't. His border has a two inch thick layer of compost on top and unimproved soil below.

 

Hi Peter. He'll end up with soil he can't plant anything in, tried that:(
I've got Brugs and Dats germinating at the same time. They look exactly the same. So easy to see that they're the same family

 

They change as they get bigger Caj the most noticeable difference is the smell of the foliage, if you brush the foliage of the Dats it has a very distinctive smell,the debate about classification of the two has been going on for years when all they had to do was smell the foliage.:hehe:

 

Hi, walnut. Didn't know about the scent of the foliage I thought they'd decided that if the flower points up, it's a Dat. If it points down, it's a Brug. Let 'em argue as much as they like about the finer distinctions, thanks to you, I know what I'm looking at when I see one. I told the lady that came to plant out the hanging baskets for the pub that I was growing Dats and she said "Oh! Angels Trumpets!", couldn't argue, they're advertised as that in the local G.C.'s:flag:

 

Hi Caj. the daily express had them in on offer the other day advertised them all as Daturas even a "Sanguinea" The general rule about the flowers is correct Dat flowers upright Brug flowers hang down but even this is not 100%true there are the odd brug.that point their flowers up:roll:

 

Just when I thought I had a rough idea about them. I find I don't. Getting used to that:D

 

Walnut - The Brugs and Dats from your seeds are doing brilliantly. I was planting up part of the border today, and stuck a Brug in there just to see what it does compared to one in a pot. It raised two questions.

The first is presumably you have to stake them. I haven't done so yet (other than the one I planted this afternoon) but I feel I am taking a risk and now is the time to do it.

The second question is about feeding. One site suggested feeding three times a week. I can't guarantee that, its almost more than I get :D. But they are obviously hungry and will get fed regularly (well reasonably regularly). But what about plants in the border? I normally don't feed my border plants. I am on clay and with the compost and manure I have dug it I suspect the soil is fairly good.

 

Hi Peter,planting them out is fine and initially they may need staking,try not to plant them so they are in full sun all day or this time of the year they will struggle and so will you keeping them hydrated,really the best way to go about it if you are planting them out is to grow them in a pot (12-14") but drill large holes all around the pot (line the pot with newspaper before the plant is put in then sink the whole pot in the ground,the roots will soon migrate through the holes into your soil and the plant will romp away.The advantage will be apparent in autumn when you dig the plant up for over-wintering inside ,just dig around the pot chopping off all the roots that have grown outside,place this inside another pot or container and take it inside,you can risk overwintering outside but need lots of protection and will have limited success ,in my oppinion it's not worth the effort far easier to take cuttings in autumn grow them through winter and you will have them flowering next spring.
Feeding once a week is sufficient I alternate between phostrogen one week and chicken pellets the other.

 

Thanks, Walnut. I have got several, so I will try them in different places. But I certainly won't be trying to overwinter them outside in Yorkshire. It's bad enough just trying to get myself through our winters :D. I would like to try to overwinter a complete plant, but I am more inclined to take some cuttings in my light box in the autumn - however the box is in danger of getting overbooked!

You said stake them initially. Does this imply that in time they no longer need a stake? And is your feeding regime for plants in the border as well as in pots?

 

Peter after the first season they will not need stakes they are trees and will develope trunks, the top growth can be susceptible to wind damage but are good at recovering any pieces that break off can be used as cuttings they root easily in water you will not need the light box, at room temp.the cuttings will have lots of roots by christmas,the feeding regime I use is the same in the ground as it is in the pots.

 

Thanks again Walnut - never thought of them as trees - but I have had a Google. Its a good illustration of the fact that you don't really learn until you get involved.

 

Peter, I tried overwintering one outside, ( that was with a bell-cloche and all the leaves and straw that would fit in there) it died and I live on the South coast. We had temps of -14 , I don't think they can take that whatever protection you give them:skp:. THe one in the garage also died. :( They all get protected in the Winter from now on.

Walnut, I grow them in 12" containers,having root pruned them in the Spring. Why the bigger containers