First brugmansia in my life germinated :))

I'm hoping it stays hazy here Jenny as I definitely found them to be heat sensitive (leaves wilting badly in warm sun), thriving better in some shade, hence the shading hanging in the greenhouse at the back. I contacted someone who specialises in Brugs (and Cannas) a few weeks ago and they also confirmed that; in their experience, this variety doesn't like hot sunny weather....

 

Its huge! and looks so HEALTHY ... you can go off some people, can't you, eh? !!

 

Don't deadhead some of the flowers and you should get some fruit. Picture above taken today. The fruit takes several months to grow to full size. Inside you will have loads of seeds.

 

Thanks Peter...a couple of questions if I may, how long can I safely leave it outside given we're slowly moving into autumn now? and given its now 8ft+ in height I presume it ok to cut them back to overwinter them?......finally , are there any special requirments for winter care or is it just a case of keeping on the dry side and frost free?, Thanks in advance

 

I think there is no rush Bilbo. I understand that B. arborea will take some frost, and in the past Pete has even overwintered some Brugmansia outside.

I am probably looking at November to take mine inside - but it all depends on the weather. You can cut all the foliage back quite hard - giving plenty of cuttings material Some of mine had their stems broken by autumn winds at only three feet and came back this year. But my preferred method would be to keep the fork so that new growth next year can start above the fork and so flower quite early. Cutting below the fork makes the plant regrow the stem and refork again, which delays flowering.

I keep mine in a summerhouse, so I have to cut the height back to fit the highest headroom of 7 feet, and to get it through the door (on the slant).

There are two ways to overwinter Brugs, or for that matter many tender plants. Dormant, or slowly growing.

Dormant implies that the plant is totally asleep. You can remove all the leaves if you want, and it won't want any water or light, but it must be frost free or very nearly so. However its better to have some light as it will need this when it awakes. I prefer to leave some leaves on as they seem to start into growth better when things warm up. My summerhouse and greenhouse are kept just frost free and the plants go dormant quite happily.

I also take some plants into the hall in my house, which has an average temperature of 10C. At this temperature Brugs will still grow slowly so they need some light and water. I use a single fluorescent tube hung over several sorts of plants and it just keeps them ticking over. In fact my Brugs continue to flower for a while and fill the house with the beautiful scent. B. sanguinea flowered most of the winter like this.

 

Brilliant Peter, thanks for that, its a big help

 

Bilbo - just an after thought - remembering what Pete said about overwintering Canna earlier in the year.

This probably goes for many plants. In the autumn there is often a lot of rain before plants are moved under cover. This means that the pots may be very wet. so if you cut off all the foliage from a Canna, or Brug, or anything else, there is no way for the plant to suck up and get rid of the excess wet in the compost. Consequently there is a danger of roots rotting. So its better to leave some foliage on to help dry the pots out; you can then cut the excess foliage off later. But I think its better to leave a bit of foliage on overwinter and let the plant have a little bit of light (ie not complete dark) just to keep the engine ticking over. They say this of Alocasia - if it goes completely dormant it can be more difficult to restart next spring.

 

Thanks again Peter , that's kind of what I do with my Cannas, if they're small enough I just move them under cover (if they're in pots) as they are and allow them to almost dry out...if they're too tall I just cut them back as much as is needed

 

I am very grateful to Pete for pointing that out.

I have lost Cannas overwinter and I am now sure that it was because I didn't allow them to dry out properly. The ones with green left on came back OK.

 

In my unheated conservatory (but it doesn't fall below freezing, in practice) my Cannas continue to grow - after lifting and potting, and only really "slow down" in the dead of Winter. My C. Mystique was back in flower (and 7' tall!) in April this year ...

I do keep them very dry over the winter, but I don't bother to actually let them dry out.

 

Your Mystique is amazing Kristen.

They do say that rhizomes should not be allowed to dry out completely - as compared with tubers where it is OK.

 

You do me more credit than is reasonable! I bought it (2L pot I would guess) late last Summer, left it in its pot [potted on at some point] in the conservatory over the winter ... and on 2nd April it looked like this:

 

My potted Brug is in bud!!!

The one I planted freely in the garden had its top scorched in the July sun, so... it's still growing.
I'll try to protect it for the winter though. It's putting profuse side shoots, and, hopefully, these can be collected as cuttings.

None of them is comparable to Bilbo's giant plant!!

 

Are they "above the Y"? (Or is the plant from a cutting, taken "above the Y" anyway?)

 

No, Kristen. My freely planted brugmansia hasn't Y-branched.

Both my plants are current-year seedlings.
Can material other than 'above the Y' be useful as cuttings?